This series
of definitions is not meant to be comprehensive but rather an aid to help
fiction writers make their character’ dialog sound “authentic.” Some are
occupational slang. Recording studio musicians for example hate “clams” (sour
notes). Others are basic terms. To a sailor a hold is where cargo is stowed
aboard a ship. To a gambler a hold is the bet percentage held back by a casino.
The last
entry in this series touched on America ’s
ongoing love of automobiles with a few colorful words used by hot rod
enthusiasts. After all hot rods are as American as hamburgers. But there are
those who use the automobile for darker purposes from a bank robber’s “get away
car” to this entry on automobile insurance scams. So watch out for runners who
use crash dummies for the swoop and squat.
Michael McKeever
AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE SCAMS:
crash dummies: con artists who are drivers or passengers in
staged accidents.
drive-down: purposely hitting a car as it pulls out of
a parking space. Then suing driver
for “obstructing the right-of-way.”
runners: con artists who stage “accidents”
using “crash dummies” so that their names
don’t appear in resulting insurance claims.
steal and switch: removal of expensive car option (built-in
CD player, etc.) by owner
who sells it, then files
insurance claim that it was “stolen.”
swoop and squat: pulling ahead of a car, then breaking
causing a rear-end collision. The
victim is then sued for “causing” the accident.
No comments:
Post a Comment