Glad I had police come to minor accident

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
How does a police report help unless the other driver told the truth to office? They simply write down the statements of drivers and move on. In a parking lot bang up deal they don't determine fault.

They usually will assess what they see at the scene. Most collision reports will assign primary and/or secondary fault. Collisions can leave skid marks and the position of the damage can say a lot.

I had a bike/car crash once where someone didn't stop coming out of a parking lot, which also had a stop sign. I was going straight on my bike without a stop sign. We were all pleasant at the scene, but talking to to officer, she flat out lied and said that I was going down the wrong side of the street. I tried telling him that wasn't the case, but he said I already had my turn and I could clarify when he was done interviewing her. After he was done with us, I noticed him talking to employees at a local business. That wasn't noted in the collision report, but it assigned fault to the driver. I'm guessing that he didn't take their names down so he couldn't put that in the report. However, I'm pretty sure they were telling him that I wasn't riding my bike against traffic.

 

[JHZR2]

Interesting how many folks find that police will not come. I thought that was one of the purposes of law enforcement - to provide records of incidents as a neutral third party. Maybe Im wrong.

Still, that's also one of the greatest reasons to have a smartphone... Since you always have a camera to document with.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Interesting how many folks find that police will not come. I thought that was one of the purposes of law enforcement - to provide records of incidents as a neutral third party. Maybe Im wrong.

In this province, it's history for about the last 15 years, unless vehicles are immobile, people are injured, or there is a criminal offence involved. The reasoning is that law enforcement is not there to do investigations on behalf of insurance companies. The same goes with a fatality in a single vehicle incident with single occupancy - the police will investigate because of the fatality, but a collision analyst will not attend because there's really no point.

 

[y_p_w]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Interesting how many folks find that police will not come. I thought that was one of the purposes of law enforcement - to provide records of incidents as a neutral third party. Maybe Im wrong.

In this province, it's history for about the last 15 years, unless vehicles are immobile, people are injured, or there is a criminal offence involved. The reasoning is that law enforcement is not there to do investigations on behalf of insurance companies. The same goes with a fatality in a single vehicle incident with single occupancy - the police will investigate because of the fatality, but a collision analyst will not attend because there's really no point.

In California it's supposedly a requirement if there is physical injury to either party. There is a requirement that it be reported to the DMV if there is more than $750 damage. I think there used to be a requirement for an actual police report if there was at least $500 damage, but that sort of fell by the wayside when they figured out that most police departments weren't showing up.

Quote:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/brochures/fast_facts/ffdl16.htm

Reporting A Collision to DMV

When you have a collision, report it to the DMV using the SR 1 form. You or your insurance agent, broker, or legal representative must complete the SR 1 report and send it to the DMV within 10 days if someone is injured (no matter how minor the injury) or killed or property damage is over $750. The SR 1 report is required in addition to any other report made to the police, CHP, or your insurance company.

 

[Garak]

Yep, we used to have amounts of damage as well, then the amount was raised, then eliminated altogether. When the requirement was still in place, most busy police departments were having people come in and report at the front desk anyhow. They had little interest in attending a minor fender bender, assuming it didn't snarl up traffic or hurt someone.

In the day, the police would (and probably still do, when required) submit a form to the Highway Traffic Board, tailored to their statistical needs. Generally, that information can be obtained from SGI (our DMV and insurer), which falls under the Board's authority anyhow. It was silly, anyhow, to get statements twice from each involved party - one obtained by the police and the other obtained by SGI.

 

[gregoron]

You should still have the foam inside your bumpers checked if it was damaged. If so, replace it and have his insurance pay for it. It will not do you any good if it's already crushed.

 

[Apollo14]

Originally Posted By: Kruse
Several years ago, a co-worker was driving to work and an oncoming car came into his lane and caused a head-on collision. Nobody was hurt. The other driver was a 17 year-old girl who said that it was all her fault and that her family was very rich and would pay for everything if my co-worker didn't call the cops. Despite her pleading, he had the cops come out and write up an accident report which said that the 17 year-old girl was 100% at fault. My co-worker took plenty of pictures of the accident.
About a month later, he was sued by the 17 year-old's mom.....who just happened to be a lawyer. (I guess that's why the family was rich)
Thanks to the police report and the photos that he took, the lawyer lost her case. If and when I'm involved in an accident, I'll never trust the other person again.


In the case of such overwhelming evidence, the mom does not sound like such a smart lawyer for taking the case to trail. Or perhaps she was in denial. She should have been fined for wasting the court's time IMO.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Interesting how many folks find that police will not come. I thought that was one of the purposes of law enforcement - to provide records of incidents as a neutral third party. Maybe Im wrong.

The reasoning is that law enforcement is not there to do investigations on behalf of insurance companies.


They sure as heck are! Those investigation results ultimately benefit citizens.

I was parked in a home depot parking lot with my MIL's car when a freak wind blew a 4x8 sheet of scrap plywood, full of nails, out of one dude's truck bed and onto the car, scratching the paint. This was a jurisdictional nightmare as the police wouldn't respond and would barely take a report over the phone. IE, they started taking the report, found I wasn't a citizen of their town, then pretty much petered out.

The guy wasn't cited for insecure load, even though he wasn't loading or unloading there, and I was told it was an act of god, too bad, so sad. MIL's comp coverage paid.

My taxes pay for services that benefit my insurance rates. Example: Fire station within a couple minutes helps my homeowners'. If we can get cops to more accurately

bad drivers we all win.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
In a parking lot bang up deal they don't determine fault.


This varies a lot by where you live. I have been in two accidents in the past four years. Neither were my fault and the police report assigned fault in both. One was in a parking lot where a car backed into mine which was parked. The lady stayed at the scene, admitted doing it, and we called the police and they took the report. The other was when a woman pulled out in front of me on a 50 mph road, got in the left-hand lane (I was in the RH lane) and then stopped and turned right in front of me. She needed a RR passenger door and a rear quarter panel and I needed a new front bumper cover and LF fender. The police report cited her for a few different things (RoW violation, unsafe lane change, etc).

I understand that Florida is a no-fault state, so a police report in a property damage only event is generally not written up or not provided. I'm sure there are other situations depending on state or other local laws.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
They sure as heck are! Those investigation results ultimately benefit citizens.

Damage from collisions is a civil matter. If damages were decided by traffic citation, I'd agree with you completely. I certainly understand the value when the police are able to corroborate that someone was doing something foolish or negligent.

However, remember how the average driver gets "screwed" in a case of vehicle damage - something "minor" in a parking lot where the perpetrator is thoughtless and low enough to not leave a note or take responsibility. The big stuff generally gets dealt with, and the guy blowing the light and t-boning someone during rush hour will be doing so with plenty of witnesses, not to mention police involvement.

As I stated, the theory is that police are not here to do investigations on behalf of insurance companies. They certainly are here to enforce traffic regulations, but not to attend to civil matters. Traffic tickets are quasi-criminal whereas collision damage is entirely civil. The only time that insurance really gets a big benefit from police involvement in this jurisdiction is with impaired driving. A driver in violation of the alcohol statutes has no insurance on his vehicle in a collision.