States and cities around the country are changing the terminology to describe car accidents or car crashes as described in this New York Times article. Whatever you call them, policies and laws are changing to acknowledge that most crashes don’t happen by accident.
Crashes generally happen because someone wasn’t doing something that they should have (focusing on driving their vehicle). Maybe someone was texting while driving or driving recklessly, but in most cases the collision could have been avoided. A smaller number of crashes would be classified as an accident because it was due to the weather or a vehicle malfunction.
Many times my clients say that the person that caused the accident was “nice” and “didn’t mean to do it.” But, they also know it simply isn’t fair that they have to pay for the other person’s mistake.
This is true. Most car crashes result in significant damage to your car and then to your pocketbook. In addition, you lose the use of your car for a certain period of time. Don’t forget, there is also the hassle of having to deal with the aftermath of a crash in general.
Diminished Value is the result of a “nice” person taking money from you in the form of your car’s lost value. A car crash that isn’t your fault can result in a loss of thousands of dollars in value to your vehicle. And there isn’t anything “nice” about that.