When can you not be cited for causing an accident?

82bassman · 10-04-2012, 09:47 AM

I just got the accident report from the accident that my wife was in last week and I am so mad right now that I cannot see straight. My wife was rear ended by another driver, she in our Mini Van the other driver in a Suburban. She has been off work for a week with injuries and will not return to work till next monday at the earliest.

My question to you all is: When would you, as a police officer, not cite the other driver for assured clear distance? In addition to that the other driver was not cited for failure to carry insurance on the Suburban she was driving.

We have three appointments scheduled with attorneys to discuss Law Suit options so I am not seeking responses as to what to do next, unless you have used a local attorney you would highly recommend, please no Tiger. I am just curious if any others have had similar problems with Law enforcement. I am also not looking forward to suing my Insurance company as they are already giving me the run around.

Net · 10-04-2012, 10:03 AM

Depends on where it happened. Was it on private property? e.g. mall parking lot, service road, etc.

imalt · 10-04-2012, 10:11 AM

I have had the problem on private property a couple of times but if it was on a public road they should of been cited. Especially if they didn't have insurance either.

Iowa Dave · 10-04-2012, 10:23 AM

Do you have an uninsured motorist rider on your policy? If so then you should have no issues. Yes talk with a good lawyer and let them handle it. If your insurance company is not being helpful as you say then they deserve what they get. Not all insurance companies are on the up and up. If this insurance co takes advantage of you in the end at some point it would be good for you to let us all know the identity of that company.

Good luck in this and most of all a speedy recovery to your wife!

UFM82 · 10-04-2012, 10:48 AM

If the accident occurred on private property the police cannot cite. Just like you don't need a license to fish in a private pond; wildlife laws don't apply. You can sue the person who hit your wife and you can sue the insurance company if they are not fulfilling their obligation to you. But the police have nothing for you.

sherman51 · 10-04-2012, 10:56 AM

i was rear ended in florida and the lady cop said she had to give the guy a ticket for not paying attension to what he was doing. i was making a left hand turn into a bait shop and he totaled my boat. he said he was putting his cig ashes in the ash tray and looked up to late.

if you have uninsured motorest it should cover you for everything and then the insuarence company will sue the other driver. you shouldnt have to do anything.

but they should have been cited for not having insurance. here in indiana if you have a wreck you have to send a form to the state showing you had ins. or they will suspend your drivers license. my son hit a post in wall marts parking lot with my truck, and didnt call the police. so i made him go to the ins company and report the wreck. they fixed my truck, but because he doesnt have ins with them they didnt file the paper with the state that he had ins at the time of the wreck, even tho the truck was insured, they suspended his license.

so if ohio laws are anything like indiana they may still suspend his drivers license. lets hope so anyway. nobody should be driving without ins on whatever they are driving.
sherman

Salmonid · 10-04-2012, 10:56 AM

My 1 accident in 25 years of driving happened when going through a blind intersection at 40-45 MPH, light was green. at last second a Firetruck ( lights on) pulled up to cross intersection and lady in front of me locks up the car and I managed to barely hit her. I was surely at fault but the fact she locked up her car in the middle of a green light intesection allowed me to not get cited but was deemed "at fault" because I rearended her,. This was in Dayton about 10 years ago.
Cop was cool and the lady I hit went into the "Oh my god Im gonna die" ruitine when all I did was crack her rear bumper. Cop ended up having to retrain her in the back of his car from the "over acting" he( cop) later called my insurance guy and warned him about all her over complaining which was cool.

Salmonid

Fishfinaddict · 10-04-2012, 11:04 AM

I rear ended a lady who cut over in traffic one time. As the lady entered my lane traffic ahead of her stopped and I hit her in the rear quarter panel. I told the officer the lady jumped over with no signal and I had not time to stop. I would have had ample stopping time had her car not been there. The police officer cited the other driver for switching lanes with no signal and failure to yield to oncoming traffic. I was not at fault and for once the police officer was on my side

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Mr. A · 10-04-2012, 11:36 AM

All I will say is fight the ticket to the bitter end. If you pay it the insurance companies see that as accepting fault. I'm an investigator so please don't think this is an odd question but.... can you go to the place it happened and see if any local businesses had cameras that would have taped it?

If so jump on it. Most places loop their security footage. Some every couple days, most are every 30 days. Large companies and banks usually keep it for quite a while.

Point is, if you can get it on tape you have your proof. Just make sure that you want the tape because it will tell the truth and you won't be able to argue otherwise....

If you want help on what to look for or how to request the tape PM me and I'd be happy to help.

A

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82bassman · 10-04-2012, 11:59 AM

I guess I should have mentioned that she was stopped for a red light on a public roadway. According to the Police they did not cite her because she claimed brake failure. A firefighter checked the pedal and told the officer on scene that it went to the floor so it was not her fault. I would guess that everyone can imagine the difference in the ride height of a Suburban to a Mini Van. If her brakes failed then why did her front bumper slam my vans rear bumper. This type of impact is an indication of the front end nose diving with sudden hard braking at the last second due to inattentive driving or being distracted by her cell phone or one of the three children, under age 5, in the truck. I hit the brakes hard when I tried to stop from hitting a dog and it blew out the brake line on my 73 Buick. It was only when I went to move my car and use my brakes that I noticed the pedal went all the way to the floor. The insurance is a total mess. I have uninsured but they are telling me it only covers medical expenses. Mr A I will PM you.

imalt · 10-04-2012, 12:25 PM

Brake failure or not she didn't have insurance so I don't understand why she wasn't cited. That is a good idea with the surveillance cameras hopefully it all works out in the end. This is what sucks about insurance you never find out how crappy your policy is until you need it.

robertj298 · 10-04-2012, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. A

All I will say is fight the ticket to the bitter end. If you pay it the insurance companies see that as accepting fault. I'm an investigator so please don't think this is an odd question but.... can you go to the place it happened and see if any local businesses had cameras that would have taped it?

If so jump on it. Most places loop their security footage. Some every couple days, most are every 30 days. Large companies and banks usually keep it for quite a while.

Point is, if you can get it on tape you have your proof. Just make sure that you want the tape because it will tell the truth and you won't be able to argue otherwise....

If you want help on what to look for or how to request the tape PM me and I'd be happy to help.

A

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I don't believe he said his wife got a ticket

82bassman · 10-04-2012, 03:36 PM

Things just keep getting better. Talked to the Police and found out that they do not cite anyone for not having insurance. So why do they ask us for proof when they pull us over? They can't cite us so why carry proof? Better yet why even have it. This woman and her mom, that owns the uninsured truck, get off scott free. No citations, no fines, no court costs no accountability, no justice for those of us that pay for insurance. Talked to two Attorneys and they basically told me good luck you're on your own. Because I have to sue my own insurance company they want no part of it. They do not believe there is any money to be had from the defendants either since they would most likely have insurance if they could afford it. "Can't get blood from a turnip". I can sue them myself but even winning a judgement does not mean that I will recover anything from them.

imalt · 10-04-2012, 03:43 PM

So it's not against the law to not have insurance or they only give tickets to those that can afford to pay them. You are getting screwed so your only choice is to sue your own insurance company and then ofcourse find a new insurance company when they drop you. You should sue the police for failure to perform their job. This is why I will never support a police levy the police are a joke. All they want to do is give out speeding tickets not prevent crime.

Angler ss · 10-04-2012, 04:05 PM

I think insurance law is from the state if a city gives a ticket to the women for no insurance the money from the ticket would go to the state so local cops don't like to do the work for the state.

Scum_Frog · 10-04-2012, 04:39 PM

My jaw kept on dropping further and further while reading these posts and stories.....Horrid! LoL! BassMan...where abouts did the accident occur?? City wise that is? Also I would definitely call sheriff's office or state hwy patrol and ask what the policy is for driving.....proof of insurance....etc etc...you may even need to call the state to get the exact law....once that comes into play and the truth is revealed....insurance gets the hammer and so does the police. I would take no letting up on this one. Hope your feel has a full and speedy recovery!

82bassman · 10-04-2012, 04:46 PM

My blood pressure is about to go through the roof. The Sgt. that I talked to was a total _______. The impression he gave me was how dare I question his authority and decision to not cite the other driver. He said that she was not criminally at fault and it was now time for my insurance company to get off their butts and sue her civilly. It did not matter to him that her damage was on her bumper and my damage was also on the bumper, or that there is 8-12 inches difference in ride height. He said there was no proof that she applied her brakes at the last second. He said she stated that she attempted to brake several times prior to hitting my wife. Why would she lie? I bet he still believes in Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny as well. According to my wife the biggest problem was that the other driver was a "21 year old hot chick". I just found out from my wife that everyone went to the other car and only when the paramedics arrived did anyone come check on her.

I need to find out where I can get the video of the intersection so that I can see what really happened. I would think that with all the technology that we have with the cameras and red light ticket system, they would be able access the film on their laptops at the scene of the accident. I am now writing letters to my Congressman and Senator about this incident. Surely there is someway to change the law to hold uninsured motorist more responsible for their actions. The way it is currently the woman driving will not even lose her license since the uninsured vehicle was not hers. Her mom, owner of the truck will not have anything happen to her since she was not driving and was not at fault.

James F · 10-04-2012, 04:50 PM

This is common occurrence with any insurance,even Workers Comp.I am getting the same type of run around from both my employer and the state. got the same reply from attorney Good Luck!! Hope things go well for you.I don't have the money for a lawyer and they know this.

Gills63 · 10-04-2012, 05:07 PM

People don't get cited for not having insurance. Its an administrative thing. The officer checks the no insurance box or fills in no insurance provided in the crash report. This is forwarded to the court and the BMV for administrative licnese suspension.

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Burks · 10-04-2012, 05:59 PM

The whole brake failure thing sounds fishy. If the pads were very low, then the pedal can travel a large distance to finally make contact with the rotor. There is a huge difference between failure of the brake system and failure to maintain your car (read: driving an unsafe vehicle).

At least you know who hit your property. I've had a car totaled and another with $5k+ worth of damage.......neither covered by my insurance because I couldn't "prove" who/what hit my parked car.