Gonna be kinda long but here it goes...
So, I got into a minor accident while in a left turn lane. The car in front of me and I were both stopped at a left turn lane when suddenly he decides to reverse slowly into me. I honked and the dude kept drifting toward me until we collided. I had no room to manuever since I was essentially boxed in from behind. The dude comes out and starts taking pictures and indicating it was my fault. I basically told the guy to move so we look at the cars in a safer area. We pulled into a parking lot and I pulled up beside him. When I got out the dude was gone and nowhere by his car. I took pics of his plate and car and waited 10 minutes for him but he didn't come back. It was a minor scratch but the guy's behavior was kinda shady.
I called the police and they told me I had two options: I could report the incident but I would most likely be at fault since it was a rear end collision. (No I did not have a dash cam) They did not send an officer to investigate since there were no injuries and it was a scratch. The guy would get hit with a ticket for hit and run. But my insurance/DMV would be notified and my premiums would go up.
Or
I could not report the incident, the police call had a log of the conversation and information provided of the other vehicle. The officer I spoke to said I would be legally covered but since the dude had my plates he could essentially still come after me civilly. The police advised me to call insurance to file a no-claim (there isn't an option with my insurance for that).
What should I do?
1) Report to the insurance theres a possibility of a guy who's going to make a claim and raise my rates? (it was a minor scratch on the bumper but the dude's behavior was suspicious)
2) File a counter report just in case, an officer would investigate and find me at fault and the DMV/insurance would be notified, which would raise my rates as well.
3) Do nothing and hope the guy doesn't do anything.
(Yes I know a dash cam would've prevented all this.) 🙁
So, I got into a minor accident while in a left turn lane. The car in front of me and I were both stopped at a left turn lane when suddenly he decides to reverse slowly into me. I honked and the dude kept drifting toward me until we collided. I had no room to manuever since I was essentially boxed in from behind. The dude comes out and starts taking pictures and indicating it was my fault. I basically told the guy to move so we look at the cars in a safer area. We pulled into a parking lot and I pulled up beside him. When I got out the dude was gone and nowhere by his car. I took pics of his plate and car and waited 10 minutes for him but he didn't come back. It was a minor scratch but the guy's behavior was kinda shady.
I called the police and they told me I had two options: I could report the incident but I would most likely be at fault since it was a rear end collision. (No I did not have a dash cam) They did not send an officer to investigate since there were no injuries and it was a scratch. The guy would get hit with a ticket for hit and run. But my insurance/DMV would be notified and my premiums would go up.
Or
I could not report the incident, the police call had a log of the conversation and information provided of the other vehicle. The officer I spoke to said I would be legally covered but since the dude had my plates he could essentially still come after me civilly. The police advised me to call insurance to file a no-claim (there isn't an option with my insurance for that).
What should I do?
1) Report to the insurance theres a possibility of a guy who's going to make a claim and raise my rates? (it was a minor scratch on the bumper but the dude's behavior was suspicious)
2) File a counter report just in case, an officer would investigate and find me at fault and the DMV/insurance would be notified, which would raise my rates as well.
3) Do nothing and hope the guy doesn't do anything.
(Yes I know a dash cam would've prevented all this.) 🙁
