My Sister had an unwelcome visitor

[Paul F Franklin]

436556

Doesn't look too bad from the photo, but since it's a split level, it took out part of the basement wall and the rim joist supporting the first level floor joists, and a water line to boot. Quite a bit of structural damage, not to mention the mess.

Fortunately, no one was hurt, including the driver.

According to a neighbor who happened to be sitting outside on her porch at the time, the driver went up over the curb to the right, swiped a tree, and then over-corrected, crossed over to the left, up over the other curb and across the yard into my sister's house, all without finding the brake, apparently. Police believe there were no drugs or alcohol involved, but that the middle-aged, female driver was texting at the time.

[Matt Day]

Took me a while to figure out the minivan crashed into the house! Talk about unexpected!

[Stan Calow]

A little framing and some siding and you could make a nice play room or greenhouse out of the new addition.

[Larry Edgerton]

And now you know why I gave up street bikes.........

[Curt Harms]

Good that no one was hurt. I hope the driver has adequate insurance and that text was absolutely time critical 'cause it's gonna be expensive.

[Doug Garson]

Good that no one was hurt. I hope the driver has adequate insurance and that text was absolutely time critical 'cause it's gonna be expensive.
Disagree, I hope her insurance company refuses the claim, that will teach her not to text while driving. Up here it is illegal to use any handheld device while driving. Not sure if insurance companies can refuse claim but they can increase your premiums and you can be fined.

[Mel Fulks]

" driver was texting at the time"

Im betting it was "later, Susan...gotta brace for impact , bye."

[Lee DeRaud]

Disagree, I hope her insurance company refuses the claim, that will teach her not to text while driving. Up here it is illegal to use any handheld device while driving. Not sure if insurance companies can refuse claim but they can increase your premiums and you can be fined.None of which would do OP's sister a bit of good.

[Matt Day]

" driver was texting at the time"

Im betting it was "later, Susan...gotta brace for impact , bye."


Lol!

On July 1 it became illegal to use a cell phone except hands free. Not going to stop many people unfortunately.

[Doug Garson]

None of which would do OP's sister a bit of good.
I'm not saying the driver shouldn't be required to pay for the damage she caused thru her gross negligence, just that her insurance shouldn't cover it. Car insurance should cover accidents, what happened, in my opinion was not an accident it was willful negligence. Not sure in this case whether the OP's home insurance would cover it, if so they should pay for the repairs and then go after the driver.
Interesting difference between Canada and the US, if this had been a drunken driver incident in Canada, the driver's insurance would not cover her while it would in the US. Since texting while driving is illegal in many parts of Canada (including BC where I live), I suspect she would not be covered in BC for this incident.

[Kev Williams]

"Willful negligence" doesn't matter, insurance companies take premiums to compensate victims' losses caused by the actions/inactions of their insured, regardless of the intent, negligence, stupidity or just plain bad luck. AFTER an insurance company pays, they have options they can use against the insured, higher premiums, cancellation, possible lawsuits- but it simply isn't ethical to punish the victims...

[Doug Garson]

"Willful negligence" doesn't matter, insurance companies take premiums to compensate victims' losses caused by the actions/inactions of their insured, regardless of the intent, negligence, stupidity or just plain bad luck. AFTER an insurance company pays, they have options they can use against the insured, higher premiums, cancellation, possible lawsuits- but it simply isn't ethical to punish the victims...

Yes, in Canada, the liability part of your insurance is still in effect however, if you are illegally operating a motor vehicle (such as impaired or distracted by texting) your insurance covering your losses is invalid, your liability for loss to other victims is in force. So in the OP's case the driver's insurance would cover the repairs to the house but the driver would be out of pocket for the car repairs.
https://www.rogersinsurance.ca/blog/auto/how-does-drunk-driving-affect-auto-insurance/#:~:text=Section%20C%20dictates%20that%20there,res pond%20to%20pay%20for%20it.

[Lee DeRaud]

Yes, in Canada, the liability part of your insurance is still in effect however, if you are illegally operating a motor vehicle (such as impaired or distracted by texting) your insurance covering your losses is invalid, your liability for loss to other victims is in force. So in the OP's case the driver's insurance would cover the repairs to the house but the driver would be out of pocket for the car repairs.That's pretty much how I'd expect it to work (here or there), but it doesn't seem to jibe with the way you described the situation in post #10.

(And someday I really need to figure out how to do multi-quotes.)

[Doug Garson]

Yes Lee, I did a little more research between post #10 and #13 but I still think the driver should be responsible for the damage they cause so I wouldn't object to the insurance company going after the driver after they have compensated the victims. I think liability coverage on both sides of the border is still in force while driving illegally (drunk or while texting) but in Canada your collision coverage is not and I think in the US it still is (maybe varies by state?).
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/dui-related-accidents-and-car-insurance.html

[Bert Kemp]

Glad no one was hurt. Here in AZ they just made it illegal to use any handheld device while driving, some exceptions, but texting is a NO NO, thing I don't get is they will not enforce it for 2 years, They say they need time to educate the drivers .like WTH The highway has over head signs , theres TV radio.Theres drivers ed. theres Bill boards, and theres AZDOT emails that they can send to every driver in the state. I can see no reason for a 2 year delay in enforcement. I think 90% of all drivers would be aware of this law with in 6 months.

[Curt Harms]

Glad no one was hurt. Here in AZ they just made it illegal to use any handheld device while driving, some exceptions, but texting is a NO NO, thing I don't get is they will not enforce it for 2 years, They say they need time to educate the drivers .like WTH The highway has over head signs , theres TV radio.Theres drivers ed. theres Bill boards, and theres AZDOT emails that they can send to every driver in the state. I can see no reason for a 2 year delay in enforcement. I think 90% of all drivers would be aware of this law with in 6 months.

I'm sure drivers will be aware of it. Whether they follow it is another matter. New Jersey has had that law for several years. I still see people talking on hand held phones.

[Bert Kemp]

I'm sure drivers will be aware of it. Whether they follow it is another matter. New Jersey has had that law for several years. I still see people talking on hand held phones.


Well what tic's me off is their waiting 2 years before they start to enforce it. No need to wait that long. I've been cut off so many times by idiot talking of texting on the phone.

[Jim Koepke]

Years ago there was a scam where people caused an accident by forcing a rear end accident.

It seems like idiots on cell phones or texting while driving would be natural prey for these scams.

My curiosity has me wondering how many of the laws on these are "distracted driving" as opposed to "using electronic devices" laws.

In my travels people have been seen causing inconvenience to other drivers by reading a bood while driving well below the speed limit on an Interstate Highway.

jtk