Worth getting fixed? (insurance, vehicle, lane, right turn)
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My elderly mother just damaged the rear axle of her 2000 Chevy Metro with some body damage to the left side from the passenger door to the rear bumper. The left rear wheel is bent inwards and in contact with the car so it's not driveable. It looks like she overstayed at the supermarket, tried to drive herself home in the dark rather than call one of us at work to get her, and drove off a small side street causing the damage.
She's had three accidents in twelve years, one of which was a total loss. It's been 7 1/2 years since the last accident. Is there any risk to her being insurable with her company (State Farm) at her age (79) and the number of accidents? Since the value of her car is minimal ($ 3000), I have my doubts about even calling the insurance company and the body shop yet.
She never stopped at the location of the incident. She thought she ran over a rock.
The car looks like it was scraped by the car to the left.
I think that there are two possibilities. She was pulling into the exit lane from the right lane and a passing car hit her. The other possibility is that she made the right turn and was hit by a car that was making a left turn onto the same road.
She's mostly confined to driving in her immediate neighborhood in the daytime. She only logs about 1500 miles a year.
I think you should just sell the car. The Chevy Metro is not a very safe car. I think your mother should get into a newer car that is safer. I say this because as drivers get older, they are not as alert as they once were and I think that they should be in safer cars because they are more likely to get into an accident. In other words, I think your mother should buy another vehicle. To get this vehicle fixed will most likely cost more than the car is worth, which means that the insurance company would most likely call it " totaled."
Could be the car was hit by some one else while parked! I would get the est then decide the rest, but dont blame mom until you are sure she caused the damage!!
I'm thinking along the same lines as some others here. The last thing that you should be worried about is the car. I know it's hard to take away one of the last freedoms that an elderly person has but there comes a time when they need to get off the road. Please don't justify to yourself that she only drives around the neighborhood, less than 1500 miles per year. We all know the stat about most accidents occuring only a short distance from one's home. States have different criteria for retesting drivers. Often times a personal physician can ask for a person to be retested or you can tell your D.M.V. about your concerns. Good luck to you and your mom.
I don't have any illusions that she'll have to give up that privilege entirely at some time. She used to do entirely all of her own driving for herself seven years ago. We take her on shopping trips on a weekly basis now, take her to nighttime dinner outings several times a month, and take her to the doctor's appointments. She used to be able to handle doctor's appointments on her own, but I've gradually had to take over all discussions between her and her doctors. It takes an incredible amount of grilling by me to get the full facts out of her as she sometimes relays incorrect or irrelevant information.
I don't have any illusions that she'll have to give up that privilege entirely at some time. She used to do entirely all of her own driving for herself seven years ago. We take her on shopping trips on a weekly basis now, take her to nighttime dinner outings several times a month, and take her to the doctor's appointments. She used to be able to handle doctor's appointments on her own, but I've gradually had to take over all discussions between her and her doctors. It takes an incredible amount of grilling by me to get the full facts out of her as she sometimes relays incorrect or irrelevant information.
I understand what your saying. We went through the same thing thing with my uncle who had Alzheimer's. What I don't want you to post is that we should have done it sooner. My point is if your taking her to all these appointments, then I guess you realize that she shouldn't be driving at all. Once again good luck to you.
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