Minor car accidents - How best to handle them?

[isasir]

I got rear-ended about an hour ago. Basically, the car hit me going, perhaps 8 MPH. The only (visible) damage appeared to be one or two scratches on the bumper. The guy refused to give me his insurance information, but I have his license and tel. #. In a situation like this, what is the best thing to do?

The police obviously would place this very low on their priority list, since no one was injured, nor was there any major damage.

It's not worth body shop estimates ($300+ to respray bumper), tho' touch-up paint should do a decent enough job.

Mainly it just pissed me off that he knew he'd get away with it since no one but me really would care. At the same time, damage to the car I guess is just a fact of life, but I happened to catch the guy in the act. (As opposed to someone keying my car while I'm away.)

 

[jinduy]

i got into a very very similar situation where i was in your position. we didn't call the cops and let our insurance handle the problem. however, since he didn't give you his insurance info, i woulda called the cops from there.

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: jinduy
i got into a very very similar situation where i was in your position. we didn't call the cops and let our insurance handle the problem. however, since he didn't give you his insurance info, i woulda called the cops from there.

I actually did call the cops cuz this chick in his car was basically daring me to, pissing me offen more. However, after giving 'em the details, the police actually played a recorded message that basically said "We're busy right now, so we may not get there any time soon". Waiting an hour for something that I acknowledge probably isn't a big deal (unless there's hidden damage, or my bumper falls off in the next hour or something) doesn't seem worth it.

I called the police back and "cancelled" the request after thinking about it for a bit. I did get his address this time around tho' before I left.

 

[notfred]

Shoulda kicked in his windshield and refused to give him your insurance info.

 

[Luden]

Originally posted by: notfred
Shoulda kicked in his windshield and refused to give him your insurance info.

, I like your thinking..

 

[Vonkhan]

reason why i always have a baseball bat in the rear seating area ...

 

[Lucky]

hey man that happened to me once too. low impact rear end...everything looked fine until i went home and my bumper fell off in the driveway. i woulda waited for the cops or took my camera monopod to their winshield.

 

[psteng19]

That's why I have my digicam with me everywhere I go.

If they refuse to give you your insurance info, and the cops aren't coming anytime soon, I would've gotten their plates, make and model and reported it to my insurance info right away.
It might even be considered a hit and run.

 

[rocadelpunk]

yah, def shoulda just waited for cops since he didn't give you info

fuck, i bumped a guy...I was driving a chevy prism he was driving chevy s-10 pickup, no visible damage what so ever on both cars and the chevy just has a pos fiberglass bumper that can crack very easily.

exchanged insurance info and ended up paying 450-500 dollars for repairs, had to pay out of pocket b/c i'm 18 and this was my first "accident" and my insurance woudla skyrocketed : \. The guy was nice enough though not to call the cops b/c then I would've gotten a ticket for moving violation.

the fact that you had scratches though, definitely should've gotten insurance...any repair, paint or whatever is gonna start at like 250 but most likely 500 dollar level.

 

[FoBoT]

report the whole thing to your insurance

if they want to go after him/his insurance, they have the resources to do it

don't involve the police, as you said, with no visible damage, they won't arrest him for hit and run (unless there is a homeless guy stuck in his windshield)

 

[Pepsi90919]

you realize you failed to remain at the scene of an accident and the police know about it.

anyway he would have gotten a charge and they would have done an accident report.

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
you realize you failed to remain at the scene of an accident and the police know about it.

anyway he would have gotten a charge and they would have done an accident report.

Heh, I was a putz and basically called back and was like "Uh, is it ok if I leave?", and they more or less said yes. It's the NYPD, even at 4:30 AM I'm sure they have better stuff to do.

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
report the whole thing to your insurance

if they want to go after him/his insurance, they have the resources to do it

don't involve the police, as you said, with no visible damage, they won't arrest him for hit and run (unless there is a homeless guy stuck in his windshield)

Why should I report it to the insurance tho'? AFAIK, even tho' I was rear-ended, my insurance would still likely go up, since I was involved in an accident (or is that a myth?). I guess if I were to get my whole bumper re-painted, I'd want to involve insurance, but even then, that's less than my deductible.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: RishiS

Originally posted by: FoBoT
report the whole thing to your insurance

if they want to go after him/his insurance, they have the resources to do it

don't involve the police, as you said, with no visible damage, they won't arrest him for hit and run (unless there is a homeless guy stuck in his windshield)

Why should I report it to the insurance tho'? AFAIK, even tho' I was rear-ended, my insurance would still likely go up, since I was involved in an accident (or is that a myth?). I guess if I were to get my whole bumper re-painted, I'd want to involve insurance, but even then, that's less than my deductible.

Most insurance companies won't jack your rates if you have one accident in which you were not at fault over the span of a few years.

 

[Murpheeee]

From another perspective

My wife hit a pick-up truck in the rear at about 8mph
It had a light dent in paint, the front bumper on our Jeep had a light scratch.
They exchanged insurance info, there was nothing on our Jeep noticeable enough to repair

Just found out he got $750 to repair his from my insurance co. :|

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: Murpheeee
From another perspective

My wife hit a pick-up truck in the rear at about 8mph
It had a light dent in paint, the front bumper on our Jeep had a light scratch.
They exchanged insurance info, there was nothing on our Jeep noticeable enough to repair

Just found out he got $750 to repair his from my insurance co. :|

Yeah, I suppose if we did exchange insurance info, I may have been obligated to call my insurance company to make sure he doesn't claim something false. (Tho' I guess there's no way to deny that he rear-ended me, and not something else)

Jzero - My insurance company excused me about 2 years ago for a single-car accident (skidded on ice, ended up on divider) I was involved in. I dunno if they'd excuse this one as well.

 

[B00ne]

When he refused to give you his insurance information I would have called the police immediately.

When someone rearended me on the Autobahn, I went to respective car dealer, they called an assessor, from there on the assessor handled everything. The damage was minor, nothing really visible or worth repairing. The car was assessed to be an economical total loss", meaning the repairs would be more expensive than the cars worth. So I got the difference between the cars worth prior to the damage and the remaining worth, off course the insurance (of the offender) also had to cover the expenses of the assessor.