Underinsured. You wouldn't think it, but even the big name insurance companies bury things in the fine print. Stated value is one that is starting to become more apparent. When they ask on the phone how much you paid for your truck and you give them a ballpark number... then it only comes up again in the fine print when the unthinkable happens.

 

I hadn't noticed the reply from back in March... might have been all the meds that made me miss it.

So here's something to start you thinking...

Bumper height? I'd hate to be in a 3500 if that were the case since its even shorter... heaven forbid a little car.
What even Dodge seemed to never take into consideration was the standard ICC bar on the back of the trailer. Nice imprints it left on the steel bumper that supposedly didn't take a hit... It was the first thing to take a whack.




All of which brought me closer to the dash, and the dash closer to me

 

WOW !! Just amazing, and you walked (hobbled) away from it. Hard to believe that your insurance company did not take good care of you, but then, they are in it for themselves, eh?

I used to travel the turnpike in PA a lot, black ice IS a tremendous problem there, and many of the curves are pretty blind.

GLAD to hear you made it out of that OK and are still kicking, I would have had a salute or tow myself on the anniversary.

I agree with you on the air bag not being up to par, but they do function on decel, and when something happens quickly, like most accidents do, they do not go off. Thinking an air bag adds to your safety is a flase sense of comfort, even the side air bags do not always deploy as one would think.




CD

 

A good friend of mine had the air bag deploy on him and he looked like he did a few rounds with a heavy weight boxer plus he broke his collar bone and broke his nose too. I could not believe how bad his face looked from the air bag hitting him .I think the truck did a good job and didn't bust your nose ether. glad your OK .

 

Darn sorry to hear that. For some reason, it doesn't surprise me that I should need a lawyer and a cpa to review every friggin document. I don't think highly of insurance agents or politicians, either one will do anything to get money out of your pocket, hmmm just like a lot lizard

 

Every day your alive after such an accident such as yours is a blessing and sometimes a curse. Only time will tell if it will heal the memories and the scars. I am glad you made it out alive.

From your photos it looks like you truck's crumple zone did its job and that helped the cab remain mostly in tack. The steering wheel collapse was actually a good thing. Otherwise it would have been the end of you as it would have become a spear.

I am curious if your truck was equipped with an airbag or did not have one installed. I could not tell from the pictures if the steering wheel had the airbag markings such as (SRS) Supplemental Restraint System. I would assume it should have been a standard issue, but since our trucks are built out of country, I have to wonder.

I hope that your able to work out a reasonable compensation for your trouble from your or the other drivers insurance. I had teenager total my fathers car, but was not at fault. Our insurance company had us start with the other drivers insurance to claim compensation so we could avoid having to pay for the deductible. After a month of phone calls between insurance companies and filling out police and state traffic reports we gave up and had our insurance company total the car minus the deductible.

Shawn

 

That was a very nicely configured truck by appearance. The sleeper looked well done. Am sorry about the accident, and impressed by the damage sustained to the truck versus injuries reported by the driver.

 

Glad you are okay to post about this. Sort of OT, I was just wondering about the GCW rating you where legal for. I thought that dodge states 26k GCWR and the new 2012s will be 30K with max payload package. How do you get away registering at 40.5K, not that you where anywhere near that in the crash. Do you think DOT would have thought differently about the outcome if your combo was over the 26K mark, or pushing 40K? Id imagine your truck weighed about 10K empty.

 

Air bag sensors are not just located in the bumper, The ACM has deceleration sensors also. If you have custody of the truck call the State Police and ask if you can have them remove and read the Air bag control module, (or crash box). It contains lots of info. If the State Police can not help you, lawyer up, have the crash box sequestered, and start suing, (not the police). IMHO both airbags should have deployed. The force of the deceleration was enough for your body to hyper extend to the point you face impacted the steering wheel, NOT GOOD. I believe 100% you were wearing you seat belt. You may recover some damages, loss of use, and medical expenses as well as having the vehicle manufacturer fix the problem of non deployment thus helping someone else avoid what you went through.

 

That set of pics brings back some bad memories for me. Glad to see you made it out alive. I hit a cow doing about 60 and while the damage to mine wasn't as bad as yours, it was still disheartening to see my relatively new truck tore up. Hit it so hard the hood came up and broke the windshield, the bumper shoved the fenders back to doors making it difficult to get out...had to shove them open with our legs, and of course the radiator, intercooler, and associated parts were shoved back into the engine. After all of that, my wife said "why the h**l did the airbags not go off?" Then when everything set in, I asked myself the same question. The body shop that sent the $17k bill to the insurance company couldn't even answer that question. Something sounds a little fishy to me. Two trucks with similar damage and no air bag deplyment ?