mtnbiker26, yeah I thought the same thing beings I WAS, indeed, in the car with it running. I even addressed that with the cop- he explained, and I quote, "Yeah I know it sucks but the ordinance states that even if your in the car with it running it's considered 'parking'"
YellowMP5, I dunno, the only way damage cost would be split would be thru the decision of a court. In this case the only person going to court is the kid for his reckless driving ticket. In my case I think it'll be a battle between our insurance companies. Though I don't know if that's a good thing or not!
andy_guerriero, yeah man the first damage hurts the worst. And unfortunately in my case the "first" was something huge...probably in the ball park of $1500. I don't know what's worse- doing the damage yourself, or having some other schlub do it!
chuyler1, Oh trust me I thought about all those points. There is just too much going in my favor when it comes to this "case". I'm not sure the exact age of the kid, but let me tell ya....if you saw him you wouldn't even think he was old enough to drive. And I glanced at his driver's licence- he has a pic looking to the side and not forward (meaning he was most definitly under 21). My gf caught a glimpse of the insurance card and it had the mothers name on it- but I have little doubt it wasn't the kids car. It was in Marlton, NJ and it's notoriously a rich area- I'm suprised he wasn't driving a bimmer!
About the aspect of it being a fire truck or, god forbid, a pedestrian- I've already thought of that. To tell you the truth...if it HAD been a pedestrian...god help him. He'd surely be in the hospital. Heck even if I was driving by he would have nailed me!
REMillers, I know what you mean man- totally. When things are handed to you, you have less appreciation for them and it shows in the care-free attitude young kids have when driving mommy/daddy bought sports cars. And kids in general, especially teen males are just idiots the way they drive. I should know, about 8 years ago I was the same way. I used to drive my old 85 Prelude like it was the Nascar Winston cup. Experienced driving only comes through age/maturity, and...well, experience. I've been so conservative and carefull with this car- now instead of me damaging it thru recklessness I have to avoid stupid kids damaging it thru THEIR recklessness!
JunkPunch, about the ticket- I totally agree as well...as I took the ticket graciously...as I was obviously in the wrong where my car was stopped. However my predicerment comes in the form of how the insurance companies are going to view it. I can almost bet his insurance company is going to try and say I am at fault too because of the location of my car. Though, I don't agree, and it's been the general concensus that it was totally on the kid beings I wasn't even moving at the time of the accident...and you should always have control of your vehicle at all times---- reversing quickly, in a showy style, without looking back is far from control of the vehicle. I guarantee if I wasn't there he was about to do the quick reverse into the peel out into 1st crap that stupid teenagers do with sports cars.
ALLMAN, yeah it's from KOTC (king of the cage) in the match where Brennan ko'd Mckee. Oh and yeah, I'm with you on the joint lock thing. Prior to Jiu Jitsu I studied Wing Chun/ Chin Na. In retrospect most of my training in that art was a waste of time, however some of the joint locks in Chin Na have become quite usefull in the submission wrestling aspect of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Honestly for every choke, armbar, or kimura lock I can count about 5-6 direct wrist lock submissions. The problem is alot of guys try to break your posture in the top guard position by grabbing your lapels and pulling you down close to them. Lucky for me most Chin Na applications are applied from the simple collar grab. lol Most are startled when they tap to a "wrist" lock of all things- and some are aggravated saying it's illegal, lol...that only larger joint locks are allowed (knees, elbows, shoulders). However regarding the legality of it, via Sport Jiu Jitsu rules only the only small joint locks ommited are finger and toe locks (excluding toe holds....which, despite their name, actually put pressure on the tendons and ligaments of the ankle)
LinuxRacr, Standing arts are definitly more efficient at self defense...especially in the event of multible attackers. Who want's to shoot or ankle pick a single guy when your fighting 4?! On the flip side (no pun intended) 1on1 hybrid arts like BJJ and Submission Wrestling are superior due to their versitility....aaand who's honestly gonna try and fight 4 opponents at once anyway. Unfortunatly it's not like the movies where the attackers systematically take turns at attacking. 4 vs 1, 99.99999% of the time spells doom.