Freeway accident, no injuries, Uninsured, not sure what to do, please help!

[Merged]

What is the name of your state? California.


I was recently on the freeway, moving from the 55 to the 91. I was in the second lane from the right most. I could either stay on the 55 or exit for the 91 from this lane. I looked in my mirror and over my shoulder to see if I could merge into the exit only lane. I did NOT merge, or even turn on my blinker. When I looked back up a car from the exit only lane was halfway in my lane, I do not recall seeing a blinker before I checked to see if I could merge, or before he merged into the side of my car.

I believe he is at fault, as my front headlight while cracked is not smashed in, but my front passanger side fender is bent and damaged. The back, drivers side of his car was damaged.


I gave him my insurance information only to find out later that I was uninsured at the time. (My mother was paying for my insurance at the time, and had let the policy lapse.)

His insurance company just contacted me today, asking if I had contacted mercury, I said I would call them back tomorrow, as I was at work.



1. What should I do now?

2. If my license is suspended, is there a chance I can get a restriced one for work and school?

3. I do have insurance now, but I did not inform them of this accident because we had talked about settling outside insurance companys. Should I inform my new insurance company of the accident? Or my previous one? Or both?

4. How can I protect myself, and what should I prepare for?

5. Anything else I should know/do?


Any advice would help, thanks.

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by Merged

1. What should I do now?

Be ready to pay out a lot of money or go to court. Since you don't have an insurance company to advocate for you, they will likely determine you to be at fault regardless of the facts. You might have to resort to court to assert your position.

2. If my license is suspended, is there a chance I can get a restriced one for work and school?

Why would it be suspended?

Even if it does somehow get suspended, it is possible that you could get a restricted license. It would by no means be automatic.

3. I do have insurance now, but I did not inform them of this accident because we had talked about settling outside insurance companys. Should I inform my new insurance company of the accident? Or my previous one? Or both?

Entirely up to you. However, depending the cost of the damage, you are required by law to report the collision to the DMV.

4. How can I protect myself, and what should I prepare for?

Prepare to pay a lot of money for the other party's damages.

5. Anything else I should know/do?

Keep your payments up to date.


- Carl

[Zigner]

The suspension would automatically happen when the accident is reported to the DMV and you can't prove you had insurance at the time...and, yes, you should be able to get a restricted license for work/school only

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by Zigner

The suspension would automatically happen when the accident is reported to the DMV and you can't prove you had insurance at the time...and, yes, you should be able to get a restricted license for work/school only

Actually, it doesn't automatically happen. When it is required is when a COURT sends the abstract of conviction for 16028 to the DMV. Since the police were not involved here, a suspension for not having insurance at the time of the collision is not likely.

- Carl

[stephenk]

Forgetting about the insurance issue for the moment, let's talk about the accident.

Was the other car stopped partially in your lane when the accident happened?

[Merged]

We hit and bounced if that makes sense. My car doesnt have major damage, maybe 500 dollars at most depending on if its merely body damage. He was driving a newer saturn, so his back panel exploded into pieces of plastic. After we hit he moved back into the exit only lane and I moved over to the shoulder. So durring and after the accident we were both moving.


Anything else you need to know? Or does that cover it?

[stephenk]

Based on your post it looks like you aren't at fault for the accident. The other car was attempting a lane change when it wasn't safe to do so.

Reporting an accident to the DMV is only required if damage to property is over $1000 or there is an injury. Do you know if the other person is injured?

[CdwJava]

I have a Saturn ... 8 years ago, the replacement of a back fender was $650. I would not be at all surprised that this would exceed $1,000. Most collisions with even a small dent seems to be greater than $600+.

I also agree that it sounds as if the OP is not at fault (assuming I interpret the post correctly). However, the other insurance company is under no obligation to assign fault based upon what the police would conclude ... even had they responded to write a report.



- Carl

[Merged]

Well CHP was called, and they did file a report. Said it would be ready within 10-15 days. Though as stated, I thought I had insurance, and gave him my card. Does that complicate things more-so?

No, that was the first thing I asked. He was fine, just shaken up, same as me. We didn't hit hard enough to do more then jostle my car, not sure how it felt to him.

[CdwJava]

A favorable result in the CHP report will certainly help if it goes to court. When you get the CHP report, go to page 2 and look in the upper left portion of the page where it says, "PCF" ... this will indicate the party most at fault, and the Vehicle Code section violated.

- Carl

[Merged]

Ok, I'll make sure to make note of that.

Thanks all of you for you help.

Anything else you need to know, or I should know to look out for?