What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
Yesterday I was involved in an accident on a five lane highway in Houston, Texas. I was in the second lane from the right, and a truck in the right lane quickly changed lanes without signaling, striking my front right tire area with his back left tire. I was pushed all the way in to the left lane, partly on the shoulder, in heavy traffic. I consider it a minor miracle, and feel extremely blessed this didn't end up much worse.
I regained control of my vehicle and noticed that the truck was not stopping. I got behind him, called 911, and told them his license plate number and explained what happened. I was flashing my lights trying to get him to pull over, and a vehicle behind us that witnessed the event was doing the same. The shoulder was more than wide enough for us to safely pull over. The truck passed an exit for a side street, excited to another highway, then passed another side street exit before getting off the highway and stopping in a parking lot. This was about 5 miles from the original incident.
The first thing the guy said when I got out of my car was I saw him trying to get over, and why didn't I make space? As far as I'm concerned that's admitting fault. The third vehicle that helped me get him to pull over said he had to get to work, good luck, and left. I wish I had gotten a statement from him, but I was still on the phone with 911 and he was gone before I could say anything else.
When the officer arrived and I started giving my statement the other driver then claimed that he didn't even know that he hit me until I was behind him flashing my lights. As far as I'm aware the officer never took a full statement from the other driver. He ran our information, and said he ran the wrong plate number for the truck while commenting that he hasn't had his coffee yet. He got in his cruiser and was on the phone for a few minutes before getting out with his decision.
He said he called the district attorney's office, told them what each of us said, and that they decided not to file charges at this time. I asked why it didn't matter that the other driver fled the scene for 5 miles, and how he could nearly cause a major accident and not receive a citation? The officer replied that since he was not a witness himself all he could do was write his opinion in the report, which is that the other driver came in to my lane and hit me. It is the stance of the HPD to let insurance companies decide who pays for what. I pointed out that without an official decision from him about who is at fault I have no leverage if the insurance company denies my claim. He repeated the DA and HPD lines, and that was that. He gave us each a slip of paper with the incident report number and started to walk away.
I said you're telling me to just call the insurance company, so I need all of his information. Is that in the incident report? He said yes, it's all in there, and he left. I assumed from this answer that I could easily access this information, but that is of course not the case. The fastest way to get a report is to go downtown and get it in person. I took the day off of work and did just that.
The officer I spoke with there said the report usually takes 10 days to be processed. I explained the situation and asked how I could get the information I needed now so I could file the insurance claim. He seemed shocked and said the original officer should have had both of us fill out an information exchange form so we could have all that on hand. He also said that a citation should be given any time there is an accident, regardless of how minor it is. He called the station that handled the report and told them to message the officer to call me with the information I needed. He did so about an hour later and I made the claim right away.
The insurance company seems like they are going to be cooperative, and I'm optimistic that I'll be able to get my car fixed without any further issues. I'm worried, though, that it will be too late to do anything if I'm denied down the line. My question, finally, is should I file a complaint against the officer and have this incident reviewed now just in case, or could I do that a few months from now in the event that the insurance company gives me trouble? I don't want to waste time and energy going that if it isn't necessary, but I also don't want to regret that decision later.
Sorry for the long post, I'm just very frustrated that the cop seemed more interested in going to get his breakfast than in doing his job. It's even more frustrating that something that should have been fairly simple could potentially cause more headaches for me in the future.
TLDR; Another vehicle hit me yesterday and the officer on scene seemed to just not want to do the paperwork, so he didn't decide who was at fault or issue a citation. Should I file a complaint now in case the insurance decides to deny my claim, or could I just as easily do it later?
Yesterday I was involved in an accident on a five lane highway in Houston, Texas. I was in the second lane from the right, and a truck in the right lane quickly changed lanes without signaling, striking my front right tire area with his back left tire. I was pushed all the way in to the left lane, partly on the shoulder, in heavy traffic. I consider it a minor miracle, and feel extremely blessed this didn't end up much worse.
I regained control of my vehicle and noticed that the truck was not stopping. I got behind him, called 911, and told them his license plate number and explained what happened. I was flashing my lights trying to get him to pull over, and a vehicle behind us that witnessed the event was doing the same. The shoulder was more than wide enough for us to safely pull over. The truck passed an exit for a side street, excited to another highway, then passed another side street exit before getting off the highway and stopping in a parking lot. This was about 5 miles from the original incident.
The first thing the guy said when I got out of my car was I saw him trying to get over, and why didn't I make space? As far as I'm concerned that's admitting fault. The third vehicle that helped me get him to pull over said he had to get to work, good luck, and left. I wish I had gotten a statement from him, but I was still on the phone with 911 and he was gone before I could say anything else.
When the officer arrived and I started giving my statement the other driver then claimed that he didn't even know that he hit me until I was behind him flashing my lights. As far as I'm aware the officer never took a full statement from the other driver. He ran our information, and said he ran the wrong plate number for the truck while commenting that he hasn't had his coffee yet. He got in his cruiser and was on the phone for a few minutes before getting out with his decision.
He said he called the district attorney's office, told them what each of us said, and that they decided not to file charges at this time. I asked why it didn't matter that the other driver fled the scene for 5 miles, and how he could nearly cause a major accident and not receive a citation? The officer replied that since he was not a witness himself all he could do was write his opinion in the report, which is that the other driver came in to my lane and hit me. It is the stance of the HPD to let insurance companies decide who pays for what. I pointed out that without an official decision from him about who is at fault I have no leverage if the insurance company denies my claim. He repeated the DA and HPD lines, and that was that. He gave us each a slip of paper with the incident report number and started to walk away.
I said you're telling me to just call the insurance company, so I need all of his information. Is that in the incident report? He said yes, it's all in there, and he left. I assumed from this answer that I could easily access this information, but that is of course not the case. The fastest way to get a report is to go downtown and get it in person. I took the day off of work and did just that.
The officer I spoke with there said the report usually takes 10 days to be processed. I explained the situation and asked how I could get the information I needed now so I could file the insurance claim. He seemed shocked and said the original officer should have had both of us fill out an information exchange form so we could have all that on hand. He also said that a citation should be given any time there is an accident, regardless of how minor it is. He called the station that handled the report and told them to message the officer to call me with the information I needed. He did so about an hour later and I made the claim right away.
The insurance company seems like they are going to be cooperative, and I'm optimistic that I'll be able to get my car fixed without any further issues. I'm worried, though, that it will be too late to do anything if I'm denied down the line. My question, finally, is should I file a complaint against the officer and have this incident reviewed now just in case, or could I do that a few months from now in the event that the insurance company gives me trouble? I don't want to waste time and energy going that if it isn't necessary, but I also don't want to regret that decision later.
Sorry for the long post, I'm just very frustrated that the cop seemed more interested in going to get his breakfast than in doing his job. It's even more frustrating that something that should have been fairly simple could potentially cause more headaches for me in the future.
TLDR; Another vehicle hit me yesterday and the officer on scene seemed to just not want to do the paperwork, so he didn't decide who was at fault or issue a citation. Should I file a complaint now in case the insurance decides to deny my claim, or could I just as easily do it later?
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