Pain in the Rear

For the third time in the last year or so, I have been rear-ended by a woman. That is, my car (truck) has been hit from behind by a woman not paying attention. The latest was a 19 year old woman who hit me while I was going 35 mph in a 35mph zone (very heavily patrolled by the cops). I had my cruise control set so as not to attract the attention of the donut eaters, when WAM! A sleeping Ian bolted awake (it was 4AM) and asked "What was that?". I pulled over and the latest crasher pulls to my side, rolls down her window and asks "did I hit your bike?". There wer 2 bikes on the hitch rack and indeed she hit one of the bikes. She also smashed my Rhode Gear bike rack. At first she tried to leave: I insisted she stay. Then she wasn't sure if she hit me: the cop showed her the big dent in her bumper, and I had plastic shards fron her car sitting on my bumper! She agreed to settle for 250 cash and we wouldn't involve her insurance company. She was supposed to pay up by Friday. If she doesnt have a check in tomorrow's mail, her insurance company will be called: then she will get to pay with a higher insurance premium. I guess she too inexperienced to realize I'm doing her a favor by allowing her to pay directly. Incidentally, Yakima has taken over Rhode Gear so if I have to deal with her insurance company, I will take my smashed Rhode Gear rack to the bike shop and replace it with a Yakima equivalent, which goes for 300-350! I would have replaced my rack with a generic one but if she's not helping me, I won't help her (or her insurance). Stay tuned.