garykung

I don't really think that driver drove appropriately. At the minimum, if there were at 2 cars stopping/slowing down, the proper way to proceed is to slow down and determine the road condition. It was clear that this was not the case here.

Actually, the car rental company is a party (likely a defendant) regardless of the insurance situation. The rental company has a responsibility as the owner.

The only problem is the car rental company will definitely sue you back to recover and put you on DNR list.

beirut

This. I am not sure about any other states but California and entire Canada includes Liability insurance (though some provinces it's just $100 or 200k) .
And sadly it's still not very usually to have car rental coverage on european credit cards, unless it's top tier ones.

Mike Pacszi

Hey friends, I have just received an email from the claims services stating this.

I belive what he is asking me is to provide the details of accident and/or asking to admit the fault? If this is what he means, then I guess I was not provided with the liability insurance.

garykung

Don't read too far.

The company simply need a statement from you detailing the occurrence of the incident. The company is in the process to determine liability. While you are on the hook, the company can independently go after another party.

In this case, a written statement is better than a verbal statement (as it is a record). Also - tell the truth but avoid admitting any liabilities.

guv1976

It appears that the OP rented from Enterprise, not Hertz. Does Enterprise have the same policy re: foreigners who rent in California?

m907

That was stupid. Sounds like you didn't read the form you signed. I'm sure whatever it was does not help you.

I'm surprised Enterprise didn't push the CDW harder since they push it on everyone.

Be prepared to be required pay everything out of pocket. I'm not saying that's what's going to happen, but be prepared.

Mike Pacszi

I just found out that my credit card does provide some auto rental insurance including theft, loss and damage to the rental vehicle. I will confirm it once again on the phone with them.

Now I think the only thing I need to be concerned about is the liability insurance. I have read quite a bit about the liability insurance online. I know not having liability insurance automatically puts the other party responsible for the damages and injuries of their own but because I am at fault (Maybe I am not), the other party can sue me for causing the damage. Now I dont know how does it go for the tourist visiting USA. I have posted some pictures of the damage occurred. Is it possible for you guys to look at the pictures and see how much trouble am I in right now. The top one is my car and the bottom one is other guy's car.

garykung

2 more cents:

The damage to the 3rd car is quite severe, given the radiator will need to be replaced.

An important question - where exactly did you have this incident? Based on the radiator damage, it seems that the 3rd was catching the light.

Mike Pacszi

I do feel that as well. Thanks for letting me know. This accident took place at Wilshire boulevard, 76 Union gas station, Beverly Hills





I have not received any response from the other party (3rd Driver) neither from his insurance company. This accident happened on March 29, 2019 (last Friday) and since then I have only been contacted by Enterprise claims service. Thats it. Is there any reason for this silence from the other driver? I am really confused.

garykung

How full was the traffic (after the turn position)?

Because that drive might think he/she was at fault. By avoiding contact, the driver avoided dealing with the rental's damage.

Hence, the silence.

c5ruzr

I get wanting to know what will happen, but you can't rush it. Just stay level headed and keep pursuing the credit card coverage and working with the involved parties. If you want to further protect your interests you could get a lawyer involved, but you'll most likely pay for that out of pocket.

cestmoi123

The lights for oncoming traffic visible in that photo aren't actually traffic lights, they're caution lights to highlight that a traffic light is ahead. There's that line on the pavement, and a keep clear marking, which indicates where oncoming cars should stop if there isn't room on the other side of the entry to the gas station for them. In other words, if they would end up stopped and blocking the entrance to the gas station, they shouldn't proceed. If there was room for the Chevy to fit on the other side of that entrance, there was no obligation to stop at that line. Looks like the two cars hit corner to corner (left front to right front), so it's not that the OP's car was well across the oncoming traffic when he was hit.

I'm not nearly as optimistic about his ability to escape liability for this accident as garykung is. California law is pretty clear that it's the responsibility of the left-turner to yield to oncoming traffic and only turn if oncoming traffic doesn't present a hazard. The exception (in section (b)) is designed to deal with the situation where you start your turn when there's no hazard, but you're for some reason prevented from completing your turn, and a hazard later develops. In other words, if he had started to make the turn, but suddenly somebody in the gas station pulled up to that entrance/exit and blocked it so he was stuck in the intersection.

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/f...ctionNum=21801

cestmoi123

Also, it sounds like the OP was driving without the legally-required liability insurance in California, so could face a fine from the state or, in theory, license suspension if the OP has a CA driver's license.

All (as far as I know) states require a minimum level of liability insurance (which covers someone you injure or whose car you damage) to drive a car. In almost all states, the coverage that the rental car company carries applies to the renter as well, and that meets the legal obligation to have liability insurance. In California, however, the rental car company's liability insurance does NOT satisfy the renter's legal obligation to have liability insurance in order to drive. So, unless you have your own liability insurance (i.e. from your personal car insurance), or buy it from the rental car company, you're not legally allowed to drive.

This is typically a moot point, since most Americans have their own car insurance (which satisfies the legal requirement), and if an international visitor books a rental car reservation on their home company's site (i.e. hertz.co.uk), insurance is typically included in the rate, and, absent these two, renters can buy liability insurance from the rental car company for a surcharge.

It doesn't sound like any of these apply to the OP, however. I'd be interested to know what the "exemption" form the OP signed was...

https://www.autoslash.com/blog-and-t...surance-gotcha

Often1

OP -
1. This may take months to resolve. Time is on your side. The more time passes, the more it is possible that somebody screws something up or that something drops through the cracks.
2. If your CC has coverage, there will be some insurance company which provides the benefit. That company may well handle the entire mess for you and deal with Enterprise as well as the other driver. But, you will not know until you have spoken with the claims people at the insurance company.
3. Not having liability insurance is a big potential problem, but only if someone else was injured. It is something to file away for the future. But, if as you say there were no injuries, you face a potential problem with California authorities, but not an uncovered lawsuit for massive personal injuries.

tom911

You may need to file an SR1 with California DMV depending on amount of damages.
https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/eformsinfo/sr/sr1helpfullinks