false hit-and-run possible in this case?

O

ocelot.games13

New Member
Jurisdiction
New York
I was driving, maybe 3/4 into the block, upcoming intersection traffic light turns green so I continue rolling maybe 20 mph. i already had 3-5 seconds of green light before I enter intersection. As I enter into intersection, I notice a car on the crossing street on my left going through its red light, I slam on breaks to avoid having the car hit me on my Riverside door, but we still end up colliding a bit. The woman who ran the red light is really upset and says she didn't see the red light when I exclaimed" Jesus Christ didn't you see your red light??". she wasn't arguing that it wasn't her fault even though she didn't apologize. We talked and she was so upset and distraught.

I only had a paint stuff/scratch on my bumper. Her back bumper next to back right wheel is dented and the edge of the bumper popped out even though she popped part of it back in with her hand. Her damage was much worse than mine. We ended up not calling the police or exchanging info because it would take forever, we both had somewhere to be, I felt bad for her, and i was kind of lazy to go through the whole process as my damage was really small, as her worse damage was already enough punishment for her. We ended on basically "you okay? We good? Okay" and basically parted our ways.

Looking back and talking to friends now I am getting worried as some said in worst case, she could try to scam me and say I left scene of an accident or, try to flip it to her insurance and say that I ran red light and not how it actually happened. I didn't see her taking down my license plate, I took a picture of her plate outside of my car as she was getting back into her car just in case, I had a feeling in my gut I should do that. Is it common for people to do this? I mean technically I think I drove off to work before she left, but we agreed and ended it amicably. My friend being a super pessimist and seeing the worst in every situation says, "what if she stayed at the seen and called cops and then said that I hit her wrongfully and I fled the scene?" I mean there would be no real proof of anything that happened if she did try to file a false hit and run claim or whatever. Should I be worried?
 
Always call the police especially if there's damage to anyone's car. How long ago did this happen?

One day I was at a stop light and felt like someone rear ended me. I got out and this guy had ladders on his truck and they fell off and hit the back of my car. When I looked initially I saw no damage so I just said "It looks good let's just leave it." Later that day after work and I got home - I noticed a couple dents and paint scraped where the ladders had hit. It wasn't serious but probably should have called the cops.
 
Why would you assume this person would not only lie, but try to track you down and sue you or your insurance based on that lie? Forget about it.
 
No police necessary if there are no injuries and you exchange info. Always get their info.

You can stay ahead of this by reporting it to your insurance company. Don't make a claim unless you want repairs, but notify them of the details of what happened. This way you are on record early as to what happened and they are prepared if contacted by the other party somehow.

So long as you are not making a claim there is no reason it would effect your insurance rates. You are simply protecting in the event the other party makes a claim.
 
ElleMD said:
Why would you assume this person would not only lie, but try to track you down and sue you or your insurance based on that lie? Forget about it.
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It happens. What about when the other party wakes up the next day with neck and back pain?

Collisions should always be reported.
 
Highwayman said:
It happens. What about when the other party wakes up the next day with neck and back pain?

Collisions should always be reported.
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Excellent advice, officer.

Your state, as do 49 others require at a minimum an official exchange of information by the parties involved.

Some states allow you to drive away, after exchanging information, if the damages are below a certain minimum.

It is foolish NOT to involve the police.

The other party might be UNLICENSED, operating a vehicle without insurance, wanted for committing 500 murders, etc...

People lie regularly, as the threads posted to this website reveal.

For the unbelievers, here is what NY state requires when you are involved in an accident:

Motorist accident reports
 
Thank you ,Judge.

I would also like to point out that a Police Accident Report (MV-104A) does NOT satisfy the DMV reporting requirements. A motorist accident report (MV-104) must be filed by each of the involved parties.
 
Highwayman said:
Thank you ,Judge.

I would also like to point out that a Police Accident Report (MV-104A) does NOT satisfy the DMV reporting requirements. A motorist accident report (MV-104) must be filed by each of the involved parties.
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I don't understand why people feign not to remember, as this is published in every DMV manual (hard and soft copy) in all of the states and territories that fly the stars and stripes.

It is taught in every drivers ed class that I know about, and is often on written drivers license tests.

Now beyond all that drivel, common sense says we should be observant, vigilant, and cautious as we drive.

Many automobile COLLISIONS (there are no accidents) could be avoided by attending to one thing while driving, and that is driving ONLY.

There are few (if any) useful shortcuts in life.
 
Highwayman said:
Thank you ,Judge.

I would also like to point out that a Police Accident Report (MV-104A) does NOT satisfy the DMV reporting requirements. A motorist accident report (MV-104) must be filed by each of the involved parties.
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More solid, factual advice that few drivers probably know about.

In my beloved Republic of Texas according to Texas law a Crash Report, Form CR-2, MUST be filed when an accident occurs that results in injury (no matter how slight) or death, or when damage to property or vehicles is more than $1,000, but only when law enforcement does not come to the accident scene to complete a report.

Additionally in Texas, police won't take an accident report on private property, ie... a Wal-mart or Krogers parking lot. The police will issue an incident report, which can be used for any additional needs.

It is dumb beyond belief NOT to report any incident where your car is hit by another vehicle, even a bicycle. I have even been asked if you need to report hitting a pedestrian, ever so gently, on private property.

What is happening to this nation and her citizenry?
 
We can only speculate as to the value of the damage in the original post above, but the description given suggests the value was very low and no reporting was necessary.
Exchange of info is all that was required. Both parties mutually walked away. No harm, no foul, nobody will care.
 
mightymoose said:
We can only speculate as to the value of the damage in the original post above, but the description given suggests the value was very low and no reporting was necessary.
Exchange of info is all that was required. Both parties mutually walked away. No harm, no foul, nobody will care.
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Maybe.
These days, a grand is the going rate to drive near a body shop.
I presume we've both seen great harm and many fouls in similar situations.
 
Evan_Jasmine said:
You can discuss the case with an attorney, he will definitely have a solution if this happens. Moreover, you should always call the cops, whether the damage is more or less.
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Sometimes the police won't respond to calls if there was no damage or injuries if there is a high volume of calls coming in. I've seen that where I live. Generally if the weather is bad outside they won't send anyone out unless there are injuries. I even saw it early this spring when the weather was fine - there was a high volume of collision calls though for some reason.
 

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