I was leaving work to head home for lunch and was getting ready to turn right on red, when WHAM! There was no sound of sliding, braking, no warning at all. When I got out to check the damage and make sure everyone was OK in the other car, I told the driver she would need to call the police and asked for her insurance info. She didn't have proof of insurance with her. I asked if there was anyone she could call to get her insurance policy number, and told her the police would want to see it also. She assured me that she had coverage and that she would call me with the info later in the day. Several days later I still had no insurance info, only a police report #.  I remembered the police officer mentioned that he knew the girl and that she came from a nice family. I also remembered the condition of her car, the cracked windshield, the front end  which looked as though it'd been wrecked before, and the trunk lid  held closed with duct tape. Of course I started worrying that she didn't actually have insurance, or that the police report had been lost before being filed. Thank goodness her insurance agent finally called. I took my car to a body shop to learn more before her insurance agency assessed the damage. It only took 15 min. of my time to have it looked over, and I gleaned some valuable information. Did you know that your bumper is built to withstand a 30 mph impact, but once that impact occurs the exterior may look fine, but the Styrofoam padding under the cover could be crushed  or cracked? If that's the case, the bumper will no longer absorb impact and the next rear ending could do extreme damage to the body of your vehicle. I also learned that the black vinyl edging that's under the bumper, (you know the thing that always breaks if you drive over a parking barrier) is attached to the bumper and can't be painted or repaired. Since that part was scraped during the accident  I was entitled to a new bumper. That was welcome news.  I was afraid that the jolt would aggravate the herniated disc in my back, but ended up with a very stiff neck instead. So, I didn't escape totally unscathed, but at least I was able to go to work and my car will be fixed.