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What Info to Share after Accident
Old 06-05-2013, 09:11 AM   #1
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What Info to Share after Accident

What to share after a car crash « Bankrate, Inc.

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It's a curious ritual we naturally fall into when one motor vehicle makes inappropriate contact with another: Both drivers jump out, exchange driver's licenses and auto insurance cards, hastily scribble down names, addresses, maybe phone numbers, and wait for the cops to arrive.

But the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or NAIC, says the only information you should share with the other driver post-crash is your name, the make, model and year of your vehicle and the phone number of your auto insurance company.

"Sharing additional personal information, such as driver's license numbers and home addresses, puts consumers, their property and their safety at risk," according to NAIC. "In fact, sharing personal phone numbers is not necessary."
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Old 06-05-2013, 11:12 AM   #2
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If I had a cop come, I would agree...

But cops do not come to all accidents.... and since I do not know if the insurance is real or not, I am going to get some personal contact info on the person... true, they might lie about their phone number, but getting a driver's license and the license plate of the car is a good start...


Decided to look it up... here I Texas...

Sec. 550.023. DUTY TO GIVE INFORMATION AND RENDER AID. The operator of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the injury or death of a person or damage to a vehicle that is driven or attended by a person shall:
(1) give the operator's name and address, the registration number of the vehicle the operator was driving, and the name of the operator's motor vehicle liability insurer to any person injured or the operator or occupant of or person attending a vehicle involved in the collision;
(2) if requested and available, show the operator's driver's license to a person described by Subdivision (1); and
(3) provide any person injured in the accident reasonable assistance, including transporting or making arrangements for transporting the person to a physician or hospital for medical treatment if it is apparent that treatment is necessary, or if the injured person requests the transportation.
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Old 06-05-2013, 03:41 PM   #3
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My daughter was just in a minor fender-bender recently. The dirtbag that hit her pulled over, and gave my daughter bogus insurance info. When my daughter asked for a drivers license, el dirtbag quickly drove off. My daughter didn't catch the license plate unfortunately. So she is out of luck.

You need to ask to see the drivers license with photo ID. It doesn't matter if the driver gives you bogus insurance info, bogus address or phone, because you can file a "failure to give information" complaint with the police (as Texas Proud said), which is essentially a "hit and run", and hopefully the police will help you pursue the matter.

If you get the license plate number of a hit-and-run, you may still be screwed, because (as I found out years ago), the police won't necessarily help you track down the perp. And the owner of the vehicle is not responsible- you need to ID the driver, and pursue a complaint against him/her.

I've been in a couple of accidents over the years, and there are a lot of weasel drivers out there.

/I'm not an attorney- this is my best understanding of the law...
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Old 06-05-2013, 04:10 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by tfudtuckerpucker View Post
My daughter was just in a minor fender-bender recently. The dirtbag that hit her pulled over, and gave my daughter bogus insurance info. When my daughter asked for a drivers license, el dirtbag quickly drove off. My daughter didn't catch the license plate unfortunately. So she is out of luck.

You need to ask to see the drivers license with photo ID. It doesn't matter if the driver gives you bogus insurance info, bogus address or phone, because you can file a "failure to give information" complaint with the police (as Texas Proud said), which is essentially a "hit and run", and hopefully the police will help you pursue the matter.

If you get the license plate number of a hit-and-run, you may still be screwed, because (as I found out years ago), the police won't necessarily help you track down the perp. And the owner of the vehicle is not responsible- you need to ID the driver, and pursue a complaint against him/her.

I've been in a couple of accidents over the years, and there are a lot of weasel drivers out there.

/I'm not an attorney- this is my best understanding of the law...

Actually, I think in Texas the owner of the car IS responsible.... which is why when you buy insurance it covers everybody who drives the car.... that is why I said get the license plate number....
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Old 06-05-2013, 04:35 PM   #5
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Actually, I think in Texas the owner of the car IS responsible.... which is why when you buy insurance it covers everybody who drives the car.... that is why I said get the license plate number....
Yeah, that happened to me many years ago in another state (not Texas). I ended up filing a claim in small claims court, by tracking down the owner of the vehicle. The judge told me he thought that the owner wasn't liable (in that state). He may have been mistaken- I think he was just a law student playing a pro-bono judge. Anyway, I was screwed in that case.
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Old 06-05-2013, 06:18 PM   #6
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Some states require both drivers to share their names, addresses, and driver's license numbers (as well as insurance company name, phone number and policy number). You're also responsible for getting the year/make/model/license plate of the other car.

My insurance company provides a handy little leaflet that lays out all the things you should do in case of an accident. I would think most of them would have such a quick reference they can give you.
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Old 06-05-2013, 06:55 PM   #7
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Ohio state law requires operators to provide name, address, phone number and insurance information. Failure to do so constitutes an M1 Leaving the Scene charge.
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Old 06-05-2013, 07:19 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by braumeister View Post
Some states require both drivers to share their names, addresses, and driver's license numbers (as well as insurance company name, phone number and policy number). You're also responsible for getting the year/make/model/license plate of the other car.

My insurance company provides a handy little leaflet that lays out all the things you should do in case of an accident. I would think most of them would have such a quick reference they can give you.
Mine gave me one of those, too. I need to put that in my car, as it does no good in my filing cabinet. I backed into a car and did some very minor damage to a car a couple years ago parked in a lot. Called the police thinking I needed to and then found out whose car it was inside the store. I actually knew of the person whose car I hit. Policeman asked if we knew each other, I said yes. He said, well you really don't need me on this one, then; so he left. I thought you needed a police report, I guess sometimes you don't. I called my insurance company and they took care of fixing her car.
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Old 06-05-2013, 11:38 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by tfudtuckerpucker View Post
If you get the license plate number of a hit-and-run, you may still be screwed, because (as I found out years ago), the police won't necessarily help you track down the perp. And the owner of the vehicle is not responsible- you need to ID the driver, and pursue a complaint against him/her.
True. DW got nailed by a H&R in a parking lot, ran after the driver screaming, got the plate# and a witness. Whole incident was on store's security video. Cops came and traced the driver -- an 85 yo lady who claimed she didn't know anything about it (hitting DW or people screaming at her to stop) and the cops told us they weren't going to cite her or do anything else.
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Old 06-06-2013, 05:44 AM   #10
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Cops came and traced the driver -- an 85 yo lady who claimed she didn't know anything about it (hitting DW or people screaming at her to stop) and the cops told us they weren't going to cite her or do anything else.
It must vary wildly by area. Had I handled something like that I would not only have charged her but also sent in a driver reexamination request to DMV based on the fact that she was so oblivious as to be unaware that she'd hit anything.

After knocking on a few doors and telling whoever answered that a husband, wife, son or daughter wasn't coming home, ever, I kind of lost all sympathy for traffic violators.

That, and the knowledge that traffic violations cause more death, more injuries, more property damage, more lost income from time off from work, etc. than all other classes of crime combined.

So if I had to write an accident collision report, somebody was getting charged for it.
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Old 06-06-2013, 08:47 AM   #11
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Originally Posted by Tyro View Post

True. DW got nailed by a H&R in a parking lot, ran after the driver screaming, got the plate# and a witness. Whole incident was on store's security video. Cops came and traced the driver -- an 85 yo lady who claimed she didn't know anything about it (hitting DW or people screaming at her to stop) and the cops told us they weren't going to cite her or do anything else.
I wouldn't be surprised if she was totally unaware. Many people that age quit frankly are not good drivers, along with deficient hearing and sight. I have lived in very small towns my whole life, and very old people can usually make it ok puttering around a small town in a car. Most can stay independent that way, but I imagine very few get out on the open highway anymore. My father tries to limit his wife's driving now as she doesn't see as well. Although her wits are totally about her and hearing, the sight isn't as good, and she has started occasionally banging it their mail box and curb.
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