Too bad, last Saturday when we were in the beach resort, our housekeeper called up for an emergency. The neighbor's car that usually turns around their car in front of our gate accidentally crashed into our gate, ruining it in the process. Worse, the parked car was also affected with scratches. Now, the car owner was apologetic and promised to pay all the damages. The driver was her younger brother who is kinda rude in his driving style. The steel gate was destroyed so it needed to be repaired. And since the car suffered scratches at the back and also the tail lights are scratched, we are now getting an estimate from Ford to present it to them to replace the tail lights. That is not being meticulous but just to penalize them for their reckless act.
I can see that you would expect the neighbors to pay for the damages done to your gate. I don't understand your attitude of "wanting to penalize them", however. I think that it just must be a difference in customs , from what we have here. Unless a person really dislikes their neighbor, they usually only ask for replacement of what is necessary, and not extra recompense as a punishment. Sometimes, we do not even do that. I was once hit by an elderly man who ran a red light and crashed into the side of my pickup. The poor fellow was literally shaking in the road as he apologized to me and tried to give me his insurance info. I was afraid that he would have a heart attack right then, and also knew that he would probably lose his driver's license if the accident hit his driving record. My truck was just an old beat-up Datsun pickup anyway, so I just told him not to worry about it, and we both got our vehicles out of the middle of the road and left. End of story.
@Yvonne Smith, the driver of the SUV is a 21-year old bum who has no license. Take note, he was maneuvering the SUV to face the other direction so he did that in front of our gate. Unfortunately, he drives so fast like a rude animal so when his foot missed the brake, that's what happened. That young man, in spite of his being a bum is a big boast as if he owns the vehicle. So I told him in his face that his driving really pissed me. That's because I had seen twice how he was maneuvering the suv in front of our gate. I should have called his attention but you know, bums like that are not worth my time. As with penalizing, what happens if we say, well, it's all right, neighbor, no worry. What do you think that bum would feel? Now, if we make them pay dearly for the damage, that bum might not be lent the suv again. That's the reason for that - penalizing them with the expenses to teach them a lesson.
I guess that the logical conclusion here would be to only make him pay for the damages and nothing else. You could also report this incident to the police.
So, was the accident reported to the police? I'm not sure how things work over there, but here I guess unless one had documentation, such as an eyewitness account, or photo/video proof, the person might not be charged. Is there a reason he doesn't have a license? I have been hit several times by inattentive or impaired (or illegal) drivers, so I can see how this man, if left to continue this practice, could injure or kill someone in the future. It's good that you had a steel gate. We have children and teenagers here in my neighborhood with a sense of entitlement, that drive their parents' golf carts throughout the neighborhood. They speed, don't wear seat belts, pull out in front of people, and have the potential to not only harm someone, but to endanger the golf cart driving privileges of everyone in the community, which angers many here. It seems there is always someone willing to push the limits.
Well, the elder sister who owns the vehicle driven by that younger brother who is a bum, she's a courteous person, if that's any consolation. She would come to our house everyday to check on us since that fateful day of Saturday (but we came home on Sunday from the beach resort). The gate was restored last Tuesday, fully welded back including the paint. Good work, I'd say. But what's left are the scratches on the car and the tail light with scratches as well. We had the car estimated by Ford and the cost is 20,000 pesos, that's around $450. And since our car has an insurance, we just charged them half and we will let the insurance handle the repair and replacement of the tail light. The vehicle owner promised to pay today, Sunday. The driver of the vehicle has no driver's license. And since we are neighbors since 2001, there is no need to file a police report as long as they had admitted to their fault. It's just sad that our car had been affected when it was right inside our garage, a proof that the impact of collision is so great.
I understand both what you've said and also what @Yvonne Smith has said. I think in Yvonne's situation was entirely different, though, and I would have done the same as she did, under those circumstances. In your @Corie Henson situation, the person probably doesn't have a license for a reason, which could be that he is usually impaired, or has otherwise lost his driving privileges. As I said, I don't know the laws over there. I am totally against impaired driving, for whatever reason. I'm disabled from several different car accidents, none of which were my fault. We have the worst drivers here. I have a neighbor here who has been driving without a license (claims she just didn't bother, but I know she used to be a heavy drinker, so I think I know why) for decades, zipping around on the back roads and throughout the neighborhood. She seems to be clearing up the issue, and appears to be a good driver, so I don't have a problem with that, but there are many here in the area who I'm sure drive impaired, and I for one don't need them smashing into me. Your neighbor('s brother) should pay the full repair costs for your vehicle, in my opinion. Most insurance companies here charge a deductible, which is the out of pocket costs a vehicle owner must pay, prior to the insurance company picking up the bill, and your neighbor('s brother) should also pay that, if such a cost was incurred.
Last Monday, the unlicensed driver came by and gave me 5,000 pesos as initial payment for the damages. He promised to give the remaining balance of 5,000 on the 15th of the month, trying to project an image that he's got a job but he's actually a bum and it's all his siter that is doing that for him. But anyway, that money will at least appease us. It's not good to be angry at people but sometimes I cannot help it. But this incident kept us thinking, you know, my husband is a deep thinker. We usually go on a vacation trip in the nearby provinces using our car. But that time, we rented a van so we and my sister's family would be riding in one vehicle only. We never do that, just that once. But if we didn't rent a van and just used our car (and my sister's car too), that accident wouldn't involve our car. It's a sad coincidence.
Corie, Glad no-one was hurt! I can understand your reasoning behind being upset over the situation. Of course, the young man should learn the consequences, if he has had an attitude with reckless driving. I suppose, on a good note, this happened after your holiday vacation and not before! I do hope you and your family had a wonderful time! I hope you share some of your adventure on another thread. Your sense of humor always has me laughing!
Hopefully he will learn to take responsibility for his actions, but the money probably is coming from his sister. It seems many young people don't see the need to grow up and act like adults. I believe a lot of that is due to mollycoddling and being taught that the world revolves around them when they are young. @Corie Henson If your vehicle hadn't been there, something else may have happened. Hopefully hitting the gate and damaging it and your vehicle has woken him up, and will prevent him from harming a person in the future.
Just an update, the neighbor whose car crashed on our gate had fully paid her obligation to us. Now we can have the car repaired although the damage is not that big. But the problem is they are again maneuvering their car in front of our gate. Tsk, tsk, some people just wouldn't learn their lesson. Our garage is good for 2 cars and the gap between the gate and the last car is just 2 feet. Last week when we went to Vietnam, I parked my car in the office (I have my own parking space there) so that if something happens to the gate, the car in the garage is far from it.
@Joe Riley, that looks like a good steel gate to block those crashing cars, hahahaaa. Look at the design of the heart that is actually a face, huh. Our gate is steel with round bars (I'm sure if that's how it is called) for the frame and a steel plate for the center similar to a wall of a house. That steel plate was destroyed when the car crashed on our gate. My husband jokingly said, how about installing pointed steel bars in the direction of the road so cars would be discouraged to maneuver in front of our gate.