| mgthe3 |
Yep, yesterday at the same place on the freeway as last time, I came to a quick stop, not panic mind you, and the guy behind me in a Titan slammed into me.
This time the hitch didn't stop it.
He got my bumper cover and probably they will replace the armiture.
He gave me his business card (mississippi) and his state farm card and took off before the cops got there. The hitch did mess up his truck pretty badly.....
we shall see....
:rolleyes: |
|
|
| njjoe |
mg-
Sorry to hear your beloved MO was nailed... again! That's a shame, but at least no one was hurt.
I am very surprised by the other driver's rush to leave before the police arrived. That sounds a bit suspicious. Did he give a reason why he was in such a hurry? Did his credentials check out?
-njjoe |
|
|
| Eric L. |
| Do the police even show up if no one is injured? Ok maybe that is my California mindset - when I lived in SF the cops would not show up unless an ambulance was also called. As long as you have their insurance information, thats all you need - let the insurance companies argue it out. In a rear ender, it is obvious who is at fault (always the one in the back since they will always argue that drivers need to keep a safe following distance). |
|
|
| Corin |
I know here in Washington a cop will show up if you call them (and wait for a while). BUT, if they do show up, the offender will get a ticket. So perhaps he was just trying to avoid having a ticket on top of the accident claim?
If you have his license plate number, his driver license number, and his insurance, that's plenty. If there are no injuries, and no major damage to the vehicles, and everyone is civil, my opinion is that a cop doesn't have to be on the scene.
DO make sure you file a police report, though. That comes in handy if anything turns south. A cop doesn't need to show up for that to happen, just call it in (some cities will allow you to do it online now). Also make sure that you call YOUR insurance company and let them know, and give them the police report number. It won't count against you, it will just have them on alert in case the other driver is an A-hole and tries to claim it was your fault. |
|
|
| njjoe |
Here in New Jersey we have a growing number of drivers with fraudulent credentials because either they can not afford the expensive insurance rates or they are undocumented (illegal) aliens with fake documentation. They will hand over the fake documentation and quickly leave the scene of the accident and you are left with worthless paper and your insurance company foots the repair bill.
In mgthe3's case I would insist that the out-of-state driver remain until the police arrive to verify that everything is legit. It may take an extra 20 minutes out of your day but it could also prevent many hours of headaches in the future.
-njjoe |
|
|
| Corin |
quote:
Originally posted by njjoe
Here in New Jersey we have a growing number of drivers with fraudulent credentials because either they can not afford the expensive insurance rates or they are undocumented (illegal) aliens with fake documentation. They will hand over the fake documentation and quickly leave the scene of the accident and you are left with worthless paper and your insurance company foots the repair bill.
Dude! That frickin' sucks! Some people (more of them each year) are such bloody assholes!
My co-worker told me of an accident he had a couple years ago. His fault, he bumped into someone. Minor incident. The other guy jumped out, seriously pissed, yelling about "you'd better have valid insurance! If you don't I'm going to beat the crap out of you" etc, etc, etc. Just went off. My co-worker called the cops just because this guy was so out of control. When the cops arrived, guess what? THAT guy didn't have insurance!
People wonder why insurance is so expensive these days. Have you looked at how much you're paying for under-insured motorists? It's outrageous! I'M having to pay lots extra to cover the costs of those idiots!
:soapbox:
(sorry, off my soap box now) |
|
|
| Eric L. |
| That is a good point about getting a police report to avoid fraud. However, in my experience, San Francisco police will refuse to show up unless there is an injury. So you pretty much have to get the other driver's info on your own, and hope for the best. |
|
|
| mgthe3 |
The insurance was no good.
That is why he hauled a$$. In Georgia, if you get nailed with no insurance, you get to go to the pokey and get no license for a year and a heavy fine to boot.
I STRONGLY insisted that he stay. He was freaking out. "I'm not bull****ing you man". "I have to go see my mother". He was about 45 at least.
I watched the cop's puter when he punched in everything I had on the guy. It came back with an address and a lot of other data I couldn't read from my distance to the screen. The cop said, "oh yeah, we have'em". He did write a report right there on the spot and I have a case number.
I spoke with the insurance company less than an hour after the accident. Today the claims guy called with the bad news that the guy was uninsured. I hate to say it folks, but that is very typical here.
The last 4 folks who hit me were:
A. Black
B. Had no insurance.
C. Had their licenses revoked already for the same kind of stuff.
No racism intended, just the facts.
On the other hand, a lady I rearended because I looked left after she shot out of a dedicated turn lane (will NEVER do again), while I was accellerating, stopped dead in the middle of the road. I broke a headlight on the corner of her steel bumper on a ford exploder with my Venture van. It did minor buff out damage to her bumper. She sued me for injury. She was white and was a school teacher. When I asked her why she called an ambulance she said, "Because the last time this happened, I didn't get any money because I didn't call an ambulance". No kidding.
I even had pics of her on her cell phone holding it with her head against her sholder as she moved her small child from the front seat to the back seat so she wouldn't get nailed for that.
The insurance settled for $18k.
So, I say they pass a law that says if they try to leave, I get to pop them in the head with my 45. :) :11:
Our insurance would certainly go down, now wouldn't it?
It will cost me about $400 in the end after rental car and deductable.
Oh well.
:1pat: |
|
|
| njjoe |
mgthe3-
I hate to say it, but that was just too predictable. If he had nothing to hide then he had no reason to flee (after you "STRONGLY" insisted that he stay).
If it were me, I would become a pain in his @ss and sue him in civil court to recover my monies. I would also contact his state's Motor Vehicle Agency and report him for having no insurance. Did his registration show any co-owners such as a bank or credit union? If so then you can contact them and report his lack of insurance. That can get him in trouble with the lenders. They do not like to hold paper on uninsured vehicles.
I would do whatever I could to screw him for not having any insurance. But that is just me (and you guys know how much of a pr!ck I can be ;) ).
Good luck with the repairs.
-njjoe |
|
|
| mgthe3 |
Thanks Joe.
In Georgia all a person has to do legally after an accident is TELL you their name and insurance company. I have asked the folks I mentioned above to show me their license and insurance, they refused -- except for the last guy. He showed me his expired insurance card, which wasn't even in his name. He could have merely said, my name is George Washington and I use Allstate for my insurance.
In that case I wouldn't have a thing.
In the case of a female smashing a brand new maxima to bits against the rear end of a station wagon I was driving, that is exactly what she did. "I don't have time for this". "My name is blah blah and I use blah blah insurance". Then she sped off, antifreeze gushing everywhere and parts being dragged by wires on the street. I called the cops with her tag info and the lady cop said, "From your description of the driver, she has no insurance, it is not her car, and I bet she has no license". "If you proceed with trying to have her arrested, she will say that you threatened her and we will have to arrest you for terroristic threats".
Yes, I love my country....
wait till the prez is elected....you ain't seen nothing yet. |
|
|
| TheGymKid |
Last summer when a chick (like 50 yr old, didn't speak much english) hit me during a merge onto a highway... then took off... I called the state troopers from my cell while following her doing 80 on the highway. I followed her for 30 min's from town to town before she pulled into work (early morning). The cops came finally, and created a report. She didn't get a ticket, or in trouble for a hit and run.
Then my insurance company said, that she never reported it to her insurance... so that took 3 months for them to contact her... which at that point she said (and her insurance co) that it wasn't her fault they are not paying.
My insurance company then had to send it to arbutration (sp) and they said what ever the final decision is on this what it will be. They layed out $800 for the fix I layed out $500 that i might lose (deductable).
7 months later, i got a $500 check in the mail... so I guess I won. I can't believe it took almost a year.
SOOOO... I see it as, if I get in a accident and it's not my fault... it's still a fight to get it fixed.... time, money, time. |
|
|
| Kris |
quote:
Originally posted by mgthe3
............................I called the cops with her tag info and the lady cop said, "From your description of the driver, she has no insurance, it is not her car, and I bet she has no license". "If you proceed with trying to have her arrested, she will say that you threatened her and we will have to arrest you for terroristic threats"..........
Please tell me you are kidding...please! Did she really say it?
I think we are back to basics - common sense and responsibility....then again these words have been erased from vocabulary long time ago...
Feel sorry for you man... |
|
|
| njjoe |
quote:
Originally posted by mgthe3
Then she sped off, antifreeze gushing everywhere and parts being dragged by wires on the street.
:2:
I would love to have seen that. Some people are just genuine idiots.
quote:
I called the cops with her tag info and the lady cop said, "From your description of the driver, she has no insurance, it is not her car, and I bet she has no license". "If you proceed with trying to have her arrested, she will say that you threatened her and we will have to arrest you for terroristic threats".
As far as that police-woman's response goes... that is just plain laziness. :3:
-njjoe |
|
|
| Corin |
Geez, I thought I had a pretty dismally low view of the general public, but perhaps I need to lower it even more.
More and more decent camera phones I'm sure help, but I always make sure to have a disposable camera in the glove compartment of each of our vehicles, just in case. Any involvement in an accident, I intend to pop that out and take as many pictures as I can, both vehicles and the other driver's face(s). Something tells me that having actual film rather than a digital camera-phone picture might help out someday.
"They must have photoshopped that picture of me, I didn't have anything to do with that accident."
"Oh, really? Do you want to see the NEGATIVES?"
God, I really hate people. |
|
|
| TheGymKid |
quote:
Originally posted by Corin
"They must have photoshopped that picture of me, I didn't have anything to do with that accident."
"Oh, really? Do you want to see the NEGATIVES?"
God, I really hate people.
What, you don't know how to photoshop a negative these days? Jeez... even my Dentist can do it....
"GymKid, the film shows you need to have a root canal done" "WHAT??..... you photoshopped that film, I'm out of here." |
|
|
| Eric L. |
| Ok I've never had "fraud" insurance happen to me, but I do know my insurance company offers something called "underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage" which I may come into play in exactly the situation described above. But then maybe I am wrong, and this type of coverage requires the offending party to actually have a form of valid insurance. It might be difficult to prove fault, but in a rear ender, I've always seen insurance companies side with the vehicle in front that got hit, the thinking that the vehicle behind should adopt a safe following distance. Then of course there are states like Michigan where the fault is split 50/50. |
|
|
| Corin |
quote:
Originally posted by Eric L.
Ok I've never had "fraud" insurance happen to me, but I do know my insurance company offers something called "underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage" which I may come into play in exactly the situation described above.
Yes, that's what I was talking about earlier on this thread. It's mandatory (at least here in Washington) that you carry this coverage exactly for this reason. BUT, if someone hits me and doesn't have insurance, it's considered a claim against my insurance to have them fix it under this uninsured policy.
So not only do I have to pay to have this on my policy, which is NOT cheap (in my opinion I'm paying for those idiots) but if I make a claim against it I can then have my rates go UP even more due to having that claim on my record. |
|
|
| mgthe3 |
The cop said he wouldn't have cited the driver unless he tried to make up a story or there was injury.
Yes, my uninsured motorist part of my insurance is taking care of this. It will be up to the insurance company and the cops to take care of the bozo with no insurance.
He had out of state plates. I didn't look to see if they were valid, but I bet they were not.
I too keep a camera in all of my cars, have used them 3 times.
This time though I fooled myself when I got hold of his insurance card. I was a bit miffed at the time because after he hit me and I motioned him to go to the side of the freeway -- and we headed over there, I pulled onto the emergency lane. He went around me and started hauling ass. I think he was surprised to see me right beside him at 90 mph yelling at him to PULL OVER. He got off on the next exit and pulled into a driveway in such a way that I could not have boxed him in. Had he pulled in another 15 feet, I would have boxed him in. But, I betcha he would have rammed me out of the way to escape. Then I wouldn't be able to drive it.
I am visiting premier collision tomorrow and having them order an OEM bumper cover so I won't have to pay for a rental while they wait on the cover and parts maybe.
Both my wife and my boys are telling me to cool it with the dude as they are afraid of a drive by if he finds me, which unfortunately would be fairly easy.
It ain't happenin, they'll never find him; that's why these guys do this. |
|
|
| njjoe |
WOW!! :eek: I did not realize the driver tried to run on you. That makes him an even greater @sshole.
In New Jersey that is considered leaving the scene of an accident.
If the accident results in only vehicle or property damage, the penalties are:
Prison up to 1 month (3 months for Second Offense)
$200-$400 fine (up to $600 for a Second Offense)
6 month license suspension (1 year suspension for Second Offense)
Too bad his car was not disabled or that he did not pass a police car as he was fleeing. I would have loved to have heard his story.
-njjoe |
|
|
| hfelknor |
We live in a different world.
The US has lost all of it's class.
We are a very course, very caustic country.
And we haven't stabilized.
It continues to get worse.
And people scream for the "right" to continue to be that way.
You are lucky he didn't shoot you.
Homer |
|
|
| mgthe3 |
Yes, I guess I am.
Most of the folks I know would never have chased him down.
I probably will never do it again, at least not actually follow them to a stop. I would give chase to to get their tag number while on 911. |
|
|
|
