DMV Record

[and00r]

Hello,
long story short - got into an accident, 0% my fault, other parties insurance accepts 100% responsibility.
The problem is that I had no insurance at the time of the incident, and the officer making the report was kind enough not to fine me. Initially I thought the damage to my vehicle was less than $1000, it seemed very minor, just some minor / moderate body damage to the door and side, which means I believed that I did not have to report this incident to the CA DMV, being under $1000 in damages. However, the problem is that now the other parties insurance wants to pay me for total loss after reviewing the photos I sent to them, which puts the damage done to my vehicle well above $1000 in value.

So my concerns are, how will the payout being above $1000 effect me in regards to my lack of reporting this incident? Will I be penalized in any way? How will this effect my driving record? And what impact would this may have on any future insurance rates?
Thanks in advance.

 

[and00r]

Also, to clarify, the time in which I was required to report this incident to the DMV has long passed.

 

[adjusterjack]

how will the payout being above $1000 effect me in regards to my lack of reporting this incident?

The insurance company will report it.

Will I be penalized in any way?

You could get your license suspended for failing to report.

How will this effect my driving record?

A suspension will obviously go on your record and that's not a good thing.

And what impact would this may have on any future insurance rates?

A suspension on your record could double or triple your rates.

Initially I thought the damage to my vehicle was less than $1000, it seemed very minor, just some minor / moderate body damage to the door and side,

I have ZERO sympathy for anybody who drives without insurance but if you want to get out from under this I strongly suggest you take your car to a hole-in-the-wall body shop and get your car fixed for under $1000 (even if they just bang out the dents and use a spray can on the results), pay the bill, and send the bill to the insurance company for reimbursement.

 

[and00r]

I appreciate your advice, though I'm not sure if I asked for anyones sympathy. Haha.
Anyway, I do my own car work, I have complete mechanical knowledge of all systems, though I do not practice in a professional setting. I was thinking of just pricing some random parts online, such as a door, some paint, and a few bodywork items, and sending them my own invoice for these costs. Just the costs alone, without actually performing any of the work. Would this suffice?

Also, the person who hit me was from out of state, and so is his insurance company. Will they still report to CA? But also, how likely is the CA DMV to penalize me even though I'm at zero fault and could not possibly get my vehicle appraised professionally? Is the DMV penalty something which is guaranteed? Would I be able to contest any decision they make?
Thanks.

 

[mightymoose]

So my concerns are, how will the payout being above $1000 effect me in regards to my lack of reporting this incident? Will I be penalized in any way? How will this effect my driving record? And what impact would this may have on any future insurance rates?
Thanks in advance.

It is likely the insurance agency has already notified the DMV.
You are about to face stiff penalties from the state for not having minimum insurance coverage. If you fail to report the accident you may get additional fines.
This will all complicate driving privileges and insurance rates.
I suggest you contact an attorney who works accidents/dui and get some guidance for how to best navigate this mess.
You are unlikely to come out unscathed and very likely to come away with a lot less money.

 

[mightymoose]

Is the DMV penalty something which is guaranteed?

You betcha.They won't miss it. Odds are they are already waiting to hear from you.

Would I be able to contest any decision they make?

Yes, but there is no point unless you have evidence the vehicle was insured.

 

[welkin]

I appreciate your advice, though I'm not sure if I asked for anyones sympathy. Haha.
Anyway, I do my own car work, I have complete mechanical knowledge of all systems, though I do not practice in a professional setting. I was thinking of just pricing some random parts online, such as a door, some paint, and a few bodywork items, and sending them my own invoice for these costs. Just the costs alone, without actually performing any of the work. Would this suffice?

Also, the person who hit me was from out of state, and so is his insurance company. Will they still report to CA? But also, how likely is the CA DMV to penalize me even though I'm at zero fault and could not possibly get my vehicle appraised professionally? Is the DMV penalty something which is guaranteed? Would I be able to contest any decision they make?
Thanks.

I don't think you are in any trouble. There was a local (or CHIPs) officer on the seen that took a police report. That satisfies the CA report law considering that nobody was injured or killed.

20008.

(a) The driver of a vehicle, other than a common carrier vehicle, involved in any accident resulting in injuries to or death of any person shall within 24 hours after the accident make or cause to be made a written report of the accident to the Department of the California Highway Patrol or, if the accident occurred within a city, to either the Department of the California Highway Patrol or the police department of the city in which the accident occurred. If the agency which receives the report is not responsible for investigating the accident, it shall immediately forward the report to the law enforcement agency which is responsible for investigating the accident.

On or before the fifth day of each month, every police department which received a report during the previous calendar month of an accident which it is responsible for investigating shall forward the report or a copy thereof to the main office of the Department of the California Highway Patrol at Sacramento.

(b) The owner or driver of a common carrier vehicle involved in any such accident shall make a like report to the Department of California Highway Patrol on or before the 10th day of the month following the accident.

Take the insurance money for the totaled car and don't worry about reporting it. It's already been reported.

 

[Zigner]

I don't think you are in any trouble. There was a local (or CHIPs) officer on the seen that took a police report. That satisfies the CA report law considering that nobody was injured or killed.

20008.

...

This is NOT the section that requires a report to the California DMV. CVC 16000 (Law section.) is the code section that the OP is referring to. The OP is REQUIRED to ...well, here's the law itself:


16000.

(a) The driver of a motor vehicle who is in any manner involved in an accident originating from the operation of the motor vehicle on a street or highway, or is involved in a reportable off-highway accident, as defined in Section 16000.1, that has resulted in damage to the property of any one person in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), or in bodily injury, or in the death of any person shall report the accident, within 10 days after the accident, either personally or through an insurance agent, broker, or legal representative, on a form approved by the department, to the office of the department at Sacramento, subject to this chapter. The driver shall identify on the form, by name and current residence address, if available, any person involved in the accident complaining of bodily injury.

(b) A report is not required under subdivision (a) if the motor vehicle involved in the accident was owned or leased by, or under the direction of, the United States, this state, another state, or a local agency.

(c) If none of the parties involved in an accident has reported the accident to the department under this section within one year following the date of the accident, the department is not required to file a report on the accident and the driver's license suspension requirements of Section 16004 or 16070 do not apply.

(d) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.


The OP is obviously required by this section to report the accident (the form is SR-1 - Traffic Accident Report SR 1). The report taken by the police/CHP does not satisfy this requirement and the insurance companies aren't required to file this report, although some may offer to do so on their client's behalf as a service.

The OP's license SHALL (and should) be suspended, per CVC 16004 (Law section)

 

[Zigner]

Take the insurance money for the totaled car and don't worry about reporting it. It's already been reported.

To be clear, this is NOT necessarily true (and you have no way of knowing if it is). The OP is required, by law, to file his/her own report.

 

[zddoodah]

how will the payout being above $1000 effect me in regards to my lack of reporting this incident?

You will be obligated to report. Assuming the other party or his/her insurer reports it and you don't, the DMV will send you a notice that gives you an opportunity to file a report. Once you notify the DMV that you don't have insurance, your license will likely be suspended, so I suggest you get insurance before this happens.

Will I be penalized in any way?

You will not be penalized if you obtain insurance and report the accident.

How will this effect my driving record?

It won't.

And what impact would this may have on any future insurance rates?

Probably none, but the fact that you've been driving without insurance will.

Also, the person who hit me was from out of state, and so is his insurance company. Will they still report to CA?

Probably, but maybe not.

But also, how likely is the CA DMV to penalize me even though I'm at zero fault and could not possibly get my vehicle appraised professionally?

I'll say it again since some of the other responses suggest otherwise. You won't get penalized for not having reported this already.

Would I be able to contest any decision they make?

Who are "they"?

There was a local (or CHIPs) officer on the seen that took a police report. That satisfies the CA report law considering that nobody was injured or killed.

That couldn't be more wrong. Did you even read the law that you quoted?

Not only does your link not work, and not only is VC 20008 not the statute that requires a motorist to make a report to the DMV, VC 20008 only applies to accidents "resulting in injuries to or death of any person." VC 20008 requires that the driver or owner of any vehicle involved in such an accident make a report to the CHP or the local police, who are then obligated to transmit a copy of such report to the main CHP office in Sacramento.

Even if the OP's accident had resulted in injuries or death (and nothing the OP wrote indicates either of those things occurred), this is a completely separate reporting requirement that most certainly does not substitute for the obligation to file an SR-1 with the DMV.

 

[Zigner]

You will be obligated to report. Assuming the other party or his/her insurer reports it and you don't, the DMV will send you a notice that gives you an opportunity to file a report. Once you notify the DMV that you don't have insurance, your license will likely be suspended, so I suggest you get insurance before this happens.

...

You will not be penalized if you obtain insurance and report the accident.

Just a couple of points of clarification:

The law states SHALL be suspended.

As to not being penalized...obtaining insurance after the fact has no bearing on the mandatory suspension. The OP was not insured at the time of the accident, so the OP WILL be suspended for the required period of time (1 year), and the OP will be required to file an SR-22 for another period of time after reinstatement (I believe it's two years, but I'm not sure on that).

The OP may qualify for a provisional license during the 1-year suspension allowing him to drive to/from work, school, etc.

 

[welkin]

Stick to the facts. The officer that took the accident report did not write OP up for no insurance.

 

[Zigner]

Stick to the facts. The officer that took the accident report did not write OP up for no insurance.

What the police did (or didn't) "write up" is totally irrelevant when it comes to the required DMV reporting. They are separate matters. The OP (and the other driver) are required by law to report this on form SR-1. The OP will need to be able to show that he had insurance at the time of the accident. The OP cannot do that.

 

[zddoodah]

Stick to the facts.

Good advice. You should have thought of that before your prior post.

The officer that took the accident report did not write OP up for no insurance.

Here are the facts as provided by the OP (the only person here with personal knowledge of the facts): a police "officer [made a] report [and] was kind enough not to fine" the OP.

Since police officers do not have the ability to levy fines, the only reasonable interpretation of the last part of this statement is that the cop did not ticket the OP for driving without insurance. While that's all well and wonderful, it has absolutely nothing to do with the VC 16000 requirement to report the accident to the DMV. That requirement and the administrative consequences that may or may not flow from a report that reveals that the OP was uninsured are completely unrelated to the lack of a ticket for driving without insurance.

 

[mightymoose]

Stick to the facts. The officer that took the accident report did not write OP up for no insurance.

He should have.
This will catch up to the driver anyway. Regardless of the officers inaction there are other reporting requirements. When proof of insurance is not provided the drivers license WILL be suspended and future insurance rates WILL be higher.

Best case scenario here is that the insurance company has not yet reported the incident (unlikely) and the claim is withdrawn before they do.

 

[and00r]

when an officer tickets you, realistically, that almost always leads to a fine. i dont see any logic in dedicating almost an entire paragraph interpreting this statement

 

[Zigner]

when an officer tickets you, realistically, that almost always leads to a fine. i dont see any logic in dedicating almost an entire paragraph interpreting this statement

No, it actually doesn't. There are a pretty large percentage of tickets that are dismissed without a fine.

 

[and00r]

No, it actually doesn't. There are a pretty large percentage of tickets that are dismissed without a fine.

and what exact percentage do you estimate for this?

 

[Zigner]

and what exact percentage do you estimate for this?

I estimate that it is a higher percentage than your implied percentage of "almost never".

 

[zddoodah]

when an officer tickets you, realistically, that almost always leads to a fine. i dont see any logic in dedicating almost an entire paragraph interpreting this statement

It was one stinking sentence....

And the entire point was to point out that "welkin's" comment that you didn't get a ticket for not having insurance was utterly irrelevant to the actual issue being discussed in the thread (as is the percentage of tickets and do or don't result in fines).