I've been rear-ended about 4 times, with no damage.
I drive for work, so I don't know how many miles I've racked-up since I started driving -- 1/2-million?
I had the usual teenager bumps and knocks, ended up in a ditch or two back then.
When I took Ambulance and Fire Apparatus driver training, their stats indicated that most accidents occur while backing up. So, we generally had a "backer" guide us into the garage or whatever. 10's of thousands of those miles without an incident. Just got stuck in the snow, but that doesn't count. No damage done.
Of the 100's of rental cars driven, I came out from a restaurant once and found one had been backed into. Company insurance covered it. Otherwise knock on wood.
On Teggy: Freak stuff like ice flying off of a tractor-trailer and denting the roof and destroying the windshield, slid into an F-150 at 1 mph on ice (no damage on either side and I knew the guy), and someone at taco bell backed into the car and took off. Chased after them and they denied the whole thing. Very minor scuff to the bumper. The worse damage was at a mall parking lot: very windy day. It must have propelled another door into the rear quarter and dented it in about 3-4 inches x 12 inches in length. Very upset, but popped most of it out. Last but not least, hail damage x2 (new paint!)
In the essence of full disclosure, I'll admit to knocking the driver's mirror off of 4 cars I've owned
. They were break-aways, so EZ fixes.
That's my story -- stickin' to it.
BDC -- that's an interesting device. Do you know if it's legal? It seems it would do the trick well.
RH77