friesm2000

iTrader: (4)

some people just like being asses , i have this on women call the cops when all it was, was a couple of scratches on her bumper (no dents ethier) ( scratches were from the my front plate bolts)(even then the bumper was already scratched, but there were a couple of new ones though)

MrFluffy

^^ thats what happen to me except the scratches he put were really bad Ive had the cops called on me before but the cop was a nice guy and gave me a $25 ticket so I got off easy I thought untill I got the bill from the other guy 4Gs for a little bump in the bumper.

I dont think calling the cops is the best Idea if the other guy says hes going to pay for it put going and talking to a cop like I did might be a good Idea because like I siad I made a report that siad what happened and the cop siad he wouldnt file it untill tuesday if I came in and if I didnt he would throw it out, But you have to trust the guy that says he will pay for it because he could run or what ever and the you pretty much got to do some illegal shit which is not fun and then you dont even know if its going to get fixed

but im pretty trusting when it comes to accidents because my Insurance was pretty high when I was younger and I dont want anyone to have to pay for high insurance if they are willing to resolve it privatly but the again I am canadian

BT5150

In WI, the law says that if an accident has over $500 in property damage (which nowadays is anything more than a 2 inch scratch) or ANY type of injury, you have to call the police or they can give you a ticket for leaving the scene of an accident. I would always call the police in anything other than the slightest of accidents, no matter what the other driver claims he will do to fix the situation, unless maybe if he was able to somehow hand me cold hard cash to more than compensate for any damages before leaving the scene, which is pretty unlikely! Plus, even if the other driver did have the cash on hand (which would make me wonder why he was driving around with like $5000 in the glove box anyway!) how would you even know how much you needed to be fully compensated? Once you have left the scene, you are pretty much at the other driver's mercy as far as being able to get paid. It will come down to your word against their's as far as who was at fault, etc. Plus, a lawyer friend and I talked about this exact question a while back when it happened to another friend and my lawyer friend said that often the courts will frown upon people who make "sleazy" deals and then expect the court to enforce them when one of the parties won't pay up. The court/judge expects people to follow the rules, like calling the cops to come to the scene when its needed, not making a side deal and leaving the scene. When they don't do things on the up and up and then expect the court to enforce their "dirty deal", they'll often just say "too bad for you, you should have done this the right way to begin with".

BT5150

Also, think about everyone you have ever met in your life. Usually the people who you can truly trust to keep their word to you and to pay up on a debt are the same ones who always want to follow the rules and do things by the book. The ones who are more likely to burn someone they owe money to are the ones who are more likely to bend or break the rules and ignore the law. So, here you are involved in an accident that is big enough that the law says you are supposed to call the cops and some guy that hit you says that you should ignore the rules and that he'll promise to take care of you later. Does this sound more or less like someone who you can trust? To me, he sounds more like someone who would also have no problem burning someone they owe money to. The rules of life and honesty don't mean much to him, but now you are going to trust him to make good on a debt to you, probably a fairly large debt, not just pocket change. The guy who you could trust to make good on his debt would also be the one who says to call the police, because that's what the rule is and he plays by the rules.

SG81

iTrader: (1)

MrFluffy

You make a very interesting point , but he did pay so but I payed as well when I hit a guy and I did not want him to call the cops.

See the thing is that its called an accident for a reason and just because society says you have to calll the cops does not always mean I think it the right thing to do

This is how I feel about it. Someone hits you, Its an accident, he says that he will pay for it. Why bring undue stress onto this guy by calling the cops, and them giving him a ticket. do on to others as they would have done on to you Its called and accident for a reason (its an accident) I personally felt sorry for this guy a week before christmas he hits someone

Im very glad I did what I did and did not cause any more stress to this guy than I did or he did

beside which I had his adress and his name I could of found him very easy

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Insurance companies always decide whos at fault, so its not really an accident now is it?

BT5150

On the one hand, I understand your idea of not calling the cops so the other guy doesn't get in trouble for something minor, that's pretty cool of you to want to look out for someone else, but at the same time, you are leaving yourself open to getting totally screwed over if that person turns out to be a dishonest piece of s***!

But, just because you have his name and address, how is that going to solve your problem of getting paid if when you knock on his door he just laughs at you and slams the door? What are you going to do then, kick the door down and kick his ass? Then he calls the cops on YOU and not only do you not get paid, he sues you for $50,000 for his injuries and you get thrown in jail for a while for assault and battery, breaking and entering, etc! Or what if the guy that hit you turns out to be some real bad ass dude, then what do you do when he laughs at you and slams the door in your face? Or, if someone came to my house and threatened me, even if they showed up with 5 of their buddies, I'd be happy to give them an up close look at the barrel of one of the several firearms that I keep handy around the house, probably one of the big ones, like my S&W .44 mag or my .50 cal Desert Eagle! (cause of course, I live in the good 'ol USA where we still can own firearms for defense!) I know, I'm being a little sarcastic here, but seriously, how does just having someone's name and address do you any good if they end up being a clown and they don't live up to their word? What then, are you REALLY going to escalate the situation by threatening violence? Easier said than done!

As far as the whole thing goes about an accident being an accident, I'm sure if you looked through the records of any police dept, you would see that they go to tons of accident scenes where they don't write anyone a citation for something. I would be willing to bet that more often than not, they show up, make sure everything is OK and that everyone has everyone's info, write their accident report and leave without writing anyone a ticket. Heck, I was just in an accident last week that was totally my fault, but they didn't write me a ticket. Sure, some cops are pricks and will write a ticket if they can, but a lot of them aren't and won't write one unless someone's really in the wrong. Even if you do get the prick cop who writes you a ticket for something that may have been slightly your fault, but wasn't anything bad enough to deserve a ticket, then go to court for it and you might get it dismissed.

I just think its always better to protect yourself and play by the rules on this one, you just leave yourself totally open to getting totally screwed if the other guy turns out to be a POS. Plus, if they really are at fault in a big way, maybe they deserve a ticket, that way they'll stop driving like an idiot and they won't get in any more accidents!

MrFluffy

I know some very pursawsive people I dont get involved in these matters

Good news I got my car back and it looks great front bumper is repainted and the side looks brand new no minor scrathes like before some im pretty happy

russianDude

Calling cops after accident might help, they will just document what they see. But usually if its a minor damage, and you both move your cars to the side, by the time cop comes in, he would not see how cars where positions during the accident, so he will just document the damage and take each party's statements, then its up to insurance companies to deal with it.

I think the best thing is to take pictures with your cell phone immediately after the impact, just get out of the car before other driver pulls back, and start taking pictures.

BT5150

Good to hear you got your ride back, I'm still waiting to hear what heck they want to do about my smashed-up CL.

I'd still think twice about involving your "persuasive friends" to collect on a relatively small debt from someone. If the person you're trying to collect from gets scared and calls the cops on you, now you're on the hook for a major felony and likely facing some time. I've been in the bar/restaurant biz for many years and I've met some slippery-looking characters myself (as well as a LOT of cops) but I wouldn't even consider involving them in something unless we were really talking about something damn serious and I had absolutely no other options left. Plus, now you will be on the hook with them as far as owing them something, right? I doubt they'd do this just out of the kindness of their heart or the xmas spirit or something like that. Wouldn't they want a substantial cut of whatever they get out of the guy right off the top?

Beyond all of that, what if they just flat out don't have the $$$ to pay up? A lot of people just don't have $2000 or whatever laying around to pay someone with. If you have an accident report showing them at fault, you can easily go to court and get a judgement on them and have their wages garnished. In most states (and I'm sure provinces, too) a judgement will follow a person for at least 10 years, here in WI its 20 years.