Do You Always Call the Police for an Accident?

[goldberry]

DD had a minor accident this morning, she rear ended someone.  In Colorado, you are supposed to call the police for an accident report if there is ANY property damage... which would mean pretty much every time.  Kind of a bummer, because you know you will be adding a ticket to an accident.  Someone I know got a ticket during a snowstorm when they slid into someone else.  I was kind of shocked, because it really seemed like a "no-fault" thing, but found out that here people do get tickets even for sliding into someone.

 

This surprises me though.  I remember early in my driving career rear ending someone, and no police were called.  Texas apparently has a $1000 damage threshold for calling police, but I don't even remember that from when I was young. It seems some states have lesser amounts, $500 for example.  But how would you necessarily know anyway how much the damage would be?  

 

Is that the norm now in most places that you just call the police even for a minor accident?  

 

 

[QueenCat]

Our insurance company expects a police report. Or at minimum that we called and were told that they could not come out. I was rear ended. Bumper replacement was just over $1000. Bumpers normally need to be replaced as once they've been hit, they no longer can absorb another hit properly.

[wapiti]

We are in CO and someone rear-ended me a few years ago.  There was some damage, but most of the damage was to her car, which was smaller than my already-banged-up Suburban.  I didn't really care - bigger fish to fry in my life at that moment - and I wasn't going to call but she called the police.  They gave her a ticket and said they had no choice.

 

Decades ago in CA, I had a minor accident and just worked it out with the people, without involving insurance.  I wrote them a check on the spot and then another one later up to the amount of their bill.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Insurance wants a police report.  It is a sound financial decision to meet the insurance requirements for reporting, in my opinion. 

[MysteryJen]

I am in CO too. Most people will call if there is damage, expecially to both cars. Otherwise, we have always worked out things just fine. One lady drove into my parked van in a parking lot and she just paid the body shop directly. It was fine. Other times, if there is no damage to either car, just a fender tap (we had an inexperienced stick shift driver roll back into our car once) we just said, looks fine and went on our way. Kind of figure it is car karma, because a ticket and the resulting insurance hike is brutal.

[JustEm]

I have had accidents where both drivers just decided the minimal damage isn't worth a claim so we didn't exchange any info and just went on our ways. But I was also rear ended once where there was absolutely no damage toy car but extensive damage to the other drivers. He was fine with not calling the cops and instead just exchanging insurance info. He said he wouldn't even file a claim because he could do the body work himself. I would have loved to trust him and just exchanged info but I had to keep my finances safe so I called the cops. He got a ticket, I got a.poloce report and thought that was that. The next day his insurance company called me asking what happened and asking if I had any damage because he was at fault and they would cover my damage. So much for him not calling his insurance company. Had I not called the cops it would of been he said she said with insurance companies and I didn't need that annoyance. His damage was only on 1 front of his car so without the cop seeing the positions of the cars after the accident it could have been argued to be my fault.

 

Because of that, I will always call police if insurance info is exchanged.

[MysteryJen]

I agree about calling the police if you give out your insurance info. In our situations, we did not give out any info, (the fender tap, didn't even exhange names) and the lady in the parking lot, got my husbands phone number (and I got her license plate #). Also, you should take pictures right away no matter what.

[goldberry]

Just found out a guy stopped his car for turkeys crossing the road. (45 mph road). The guy DD hit stopped his car for the turkey guy, DD came around a sharp turn and hit him. Thankfully he was nice to her, she was pretty shook up.

 

Oh well, such is life in Colorado... 

Edited September 12, 2016 by goldberry

[mamakelly]

In CA the police won't come out unless someone is hurt. Most of the time people don't even bother to call them.

[kahlanne]

NM...too personal. Take it from experience....call every time just as a precaution.

Edited September 12, 2016 by kahlanne

[purpleowl]

We've been burned by "oh the damage is so minor, no need to call" and then finding out that the damage was more extensive than we thought. So I err on the side of calling.

 

Then again, DH agrees with me in theory, but when he was rear-ended recently he opted not to call because the damage looked minor and the other driver was on her way to the airport; waiting for the police would have made her miss her flight. It turned out fine - the damage really was minor and her insurance covered both the repair and the rental car. But I guess you don't know until you're actually in the situation whether you'll call or not for something that appears minor.

[gardenmom5]

no - I haven't always. if both vehicles are drivable and you can pull to the side,. you can just exchanged info.  police will just give someone a ticket.

 

 

[goldberry]

 I didn't expect for him to keep his license and give him a hit and run charge. He told us good luck trying to explain to the judge. He also looked at me and said I was very lucky that he didn't have to search for my son. Needless to say it is a mess. 

 

That is awful!  I am so sorry!  What a jerk...

[goldberry]

no - I haven't always. if both vehicles are drivable and you can pull to the side,. you can just exchanged info.  police will just give someone a ticket.

 

I would just advise checking the laws in your state.  In our state, you can actually be fined for not reporting it.  And apparently it will cause problems with the insurance company here.

[goldberry]

In CA the police won't come out unless someone is hurt. Most of the time people don't even bother to call them.

 

I have been told here that you are supposed to document that you called but they didn't come. 

[QueenCat]

I have been told here that you are supposed to document that you called but they didn't come. 

 

This is what our insurance tells people to do. Always call. You don't know if the other person's story will change or if they'll decide later that they're hurt or what. Even if the police can't come, get the confirmation that you called.

[antsam]

In Florida, I've called and the police never come out. Called the insurance company and they say if no one is hurt, just exchange information and don't even need to call police.

 

Jodie

[Bluegoat]

Here they say to call if damage comes to over about $500.  If there are other issues, like a dangerous roadway or a person hurt of freaking out, that might also be a reason to call.

 

But I have never been in an accident where it was necessary.

 

ETA: we've never had an issue with insurance needing a police report.

Edited September 12, 2016 by Bluegoat

[QueenCat]

In Florida, I've called and the police never come out. Called the insurance company and they say if no one is hurt, just exchange information and don't even need to call police.

 

Jodie

 

I guess that may vary with insurance companies and state law. In the five states I've lived in, you call the police. I've had three insurance companies in the past 30 years. All expected you to at least call the police. They know that the police can't come out to every fender bender, they just want it documented. The one I've had for the past 18-20 years is very strict about that.

[FaithManor]

Insurance wants a police report. It is a sound financial decision to meet the insurance requirements for reporting, in my opinion.

Same here. No report. No coverage.

[SproutMamaK]

We call if the damage is serious. If not, we exchange info and offer to pay/let them pay out of pocket to avoid insurance hikes. (This from an insurance broker, lol.)

[KatieJ]

We will in the future. DH was hit by a "merging too late so I'll take your spot" driver. DH mirror was damaged but it already was before that day. The accident happened at the entry point to freeway, in morning rush hour. DH opted not to call as clearly the only damage was to his mirror and he felt no one would believe him. He glue the mirror and took my car out of town the next day. Several hours later cops were at my door to talk to him about the hit and run accident. The other guy had damage and reported my DH as hitting him. We ended up In court defending it. It got real serious real fast, and DH ended up talking to a lawyer. He got 750.00 from our checkbook.  . Yes , we will call.

Edited September 12, 2016 by KatieinMich

[Rachel]

Where I live you can file a police report without calling the police. However, we did that once and the situation turned very frustrating. We will call the police if there is more than minor damage from now on.

 

We were parked on the road next to a park. My husband had opened the rear passenger door and was about to take our then two year old out of the car. An elderly couple hit our open door nearly ripping it off, had they come by a few seconds later they would have hit my husband and son. My husband had to chase them down, they didn't realize they had hit our car. They were in a hurry to go to a party and asked if we could exchange information and file the report ourselves, we agreed.

 

A few weeks later we were sued for damages to their car. The couple claimed our son (newly turned two and strapped into his car seat) had opened the door in front of them. It took several weeks but eventually the case was thrown out and they paid for the damages to our car. Fortunately we had taken lots of pictures and the adjuster said it was one of the more ridiculous stories he had heard. The damage caused to our car did not coincide with the story they gave.

[Laurie4b]

I think our state has a low guesstimate of damages. I would call if there was anything that was damaged and the person whose car was damaged wanted it fixed. Sometimes someone driving a beat up old pick up truck with a ton of dents in the back wouldn't really care about another small dent, for instance. 

[OneStepAtATime]

It seems silly for a minor fender bender but in the moment you may not realize how extensive the damage really is, and neither may the other driver.  Also, someone may have injuries that are not immediately apparent.  And you may be dealing with someone unscrupulous who later CLAIMS hit and run/damage/injuries afterwards.  Exchange info, take photos if you can, call the police, call your insurance company.  If the cops come, fine.  If they don't, just note it in the report.

[QueenCat]

Having been through many fender benders, and a couple insurance companies, no, I don't always call....but if the other party calls, that's fine by me and I DO make sure to get the police report information. 

 

When we first moved here, I went to pay a bill in town and was still unfamiliar with the area-which streets are one way, which direction I needed to go, etc.  I ended up sideswiping a lady, just barely.  She didn't just call the police, she called 911.  I thought that was a bit over the top, neither of us was going very fast at all.  It's not a situation I would have deemed an emergency at all.  Anyway, it took like 15 minutes to get an officer out, at which point she was grumbling about being late for a meeting and how if she knew it was going to take so long she wouldn't have called.  When the officer went to get her info, they took a look at the side of her car...neither of them could identify where there was even any damage.  Which I took a picture of.  The officer checked our licenses and insurance info, and gave us each the info to get a copy of the police report.  And....that was the end of it, I don't think she ever filed a claim.  I never received a call from our insurance company.

 

Often, people don't know the number to for non-emergency police help. The last place we lived, if you did call the non-emergency number, they'd tell you to call 911 as they only handle administrative things at the non-emergency number. Where we live now, the non-emergency number will take your info and check to see if an officer is available to come out.

[goldberry]

This page, if you scroll down, has a chart with all the states and what the requirement for reporting is (if anyone is curious)

 

https://wallethub.com/edu/after-car-accident/12090/

 

 

[goldberry]

It let me copy.

 

Accident Report Is Required When Property Damage Exceeds …

 

Alabama $250   Montana $1,000    Alaska $2,000   Nebraska $1,000 Arizona $300   Nevada any property damage     Arkansas $1,000    New Hampshire $1,000     California $750   New Jersey $500     Colorado any property damage      New Mexico $500   Connecticut $1,000   New York $1,000     Delaware $500     North Carolina $1,000     District of Columbia $250   North Dakota $1,000      Florida $500   Ohio any property damage     Georgia $500   Oklahoma $500     Hawaii $3,000   Oregon $1,500      Idaho $1,500   Pennsylvania a vehicle is not drivable      Illinois $1,500   Rhode Island $1,000       Indiana $750   South Carolina $1,000      Iowa $1,500   South Dakota $1,000       Kansas $1,500   Tennessee $400 Kentucky $500   Texas $1,000      Louisiana $100   Utah $1,000      Maine $1,000   Vermont $3,000      Maryland a vehicle is not drivable   Virginia $1,500       Massachusetts $1,000   Washington $700        Michigan $1,000   West Virginia $1,000       Minnesota $1,000   Wisconsin $1,000        Mississippi $500   Wyoming $1,000       Missouri $500 

 

 

 

Bad formatting though! 

Edited September 12, 2016 by goldberry

[The Girls' Mom]

Because of insurance, we do call every time.  It doesn't take much damage to reach $400.

[JFSinIL]

Didn't call the one time I backed out of my driveway and hit the side door of the across the street neighbor who was pulling into their driveway - between a large shrub and a blind spot I simply had not seen him. Since both cars still driveable and other dude seemed nervous "please do not call police" and my comment "well, not like we don't know where each other lives" we both went on our merry ways and later that day I walked over to share info. Turns out the dude in the car I hit was delivering it to my neighbor who had just bought it (used). Dude had sold his car since he was due to show up to start a jail sentience in a day or two!!!! Even though it was clearly not his fault, he really did not want police involved. My insurance covered fixing their body work and my fender, I paid my deductible, and that was that.

Edited September 12, 2016 by JFSinIL

[alisoncooks]

I had a fender bender last fall. I called the police and they told me that an officer didn't need to come out/make a report unless the damage is over $1000.   But...I was like, how do I know how much this all will cost to fix?  Car repairs are outrageous.  So the police officer came, took a look at it, advised us how to proceed.  It was helpful, even though no report was filed.

 

I don't know if all police officers/areas are as helpful, when it's a non-emergency/non-necessary call.  But I vote err on the said of calling.

 

No ticket was given, even though the other lady was at fault (pulled out of a drive-thru line as I was driving by and damaged by back tire/rim).  She chose to bypass insurance and pay for my damage out of pocket.

Edited September 12, 2016 by alisoncooks

[The Girls' Mom]

I will say....we own old, falling apart cars.  We aren't likely to repair much damage unless it's absolutely necessary.  In the accident I mentioned above, although the other lady's car had no visible damage, the drivers side headlight on my car was ripped off.  It was hanging on by the wires.  I shoved it in enough to be able to drive away, and when DH got home from work, he taped it back on lol.  I would never tell the other driver not to repair their vehicle or anything like that, but a minor fender bender with only minor damage?  It's probably not even worth the hassle to fix it, for me. 

 

True.  

 

However, my dd's car got hit in a parking lot (not her fault).  She drives a 2002-ish Impala with 170K miles on it. We only carry liability for that car.  

 

The accident also ripped out her headlight, scraped paint off the fender, and shoved part of the fender into the door so that it creaked when you opened it.  Dh was able to zip-tie the light, but we still got insurance info and got an estimate for repairs.  I just knew they would total it because it would cost so much to fix.  It WAS expensive.  $2500 worth of damage.  But, the car blue booked at just enough value that the other driver's insurance made the repairs.  Which, they wouldn't have done if there hadn't been a police report.  (although her car kind of looks one-eyed now because it has one old hazy headlight and one new clear and shiny one!)

[gardenmom5]

I would just advise checking the laws in your state.  In our state, you can actually be fined for not reporting it.  And apparently it will cause problems with the insurance company here.

It's been at least 20 years since the accident I didn't call- but it wasn't an issue then. (nor was it the time previously) I did have damage to my car, there wasn't an issue with the other person's (at fault) insurance.

 

my last accident 1 1/2 years ago (I was minding my own business at a stop light) - was blocking a major intersection, police and fire responded to clean up the mess before anyone could even drive through.   I was the only car (of three) that was drivable and I had to wait for one to be hauled off on a flat bed first. - my advice, if you are feeling major adrenalin/ even minor shock/shakes, get medically checked out.  I had a leg injury but didn't realize it.  it's still an issue.(if someone is coming at you head on, NEVER PUT YOUR FOOT ON THE BRAKE!!!!! so what if you get pushed into the car in back of you!  just relax and let your car take the impact.)

[gardenmom5]

I had a fender bender last fall. I called the police and they told me that an officer didn't need to come out/make a report unless the damage is over $1000.   But...I was like, how do I know how much this all will cost to fix?  Car repairs are outrageous.  So the police officer came, took a look at it, advised us how to proceed.  It was helpful, even though no report was filed.

 

 

 

my son scrapped a concrete pillar with my car - not long after we dropped comprehensive on it. :glare:  (I wished I'd been driving it when I had someone crash into me head-on) he was scared to tell us, but didn't think it would be that much. it was multiple panels, so it was $$$$ :crying: .  so, I have dents in my car ... .

[Donna]

I was rear ended by a cab driver in NYC. I called the police. The cab driver gave me his info but left before the police arrived. It was freezing, snowy, and very icy. I was leaving the city after being at the Irish Consulate with dd so dressed in heels and a skirt. The policemen didn't even get out of the car. They made me walk to them and talked to me through the window. They acted like I was stupid I had called because I "had the cab driver's information" and were not helpful at all (would not write up a report).

 

It turned out to be a good thing I had called though because the cab company tried to give me a hard time about paying for the damage so my husband called the police department, spoke with a supervisor and then the officer who had responded, dh called him on being unprofessional (dh is a retired officer) and by the end of the conversation, we had a police report and the cab company's insurance company finally paid for the damages.

 

I was rear ended about a year before this accident near home in NJ and we called the police. They were very helpful and wrote the report (though they did not give the girl who hit me a ticket- the person in front of me had slammed brakes to miss a goose so I had to slam mine to keep from hitting him and she slammed her brakes too late to keep from hitting me) saying she was at fault. Everything was very simple and covered by her insurance company.

[lllll]

nm

Edited November 5, 2016 by cathey

[MistyMountain]

I thought you did not have to for minor accidents or fender benders as long as you exchange information for insurance purposes and the other party agrees. I did not realize it was different in every state.

[3 ladybugs]

I was about 12 when I got hit by a hit and run driver when on my way to school on my bike. At the time, I didn't know any better and didn't use the pay phone about 10 yards away to call the police (then again neither did any of the bystanders). I learned that day that you should ALWAYS call the police in an accident. Even if I lived in a state that didn't require it, I would be doing it. It actually upsets me that some states don't require this in this ambulance chaser world we live in. My insurance also requires a report, though they do take statements from us when we report an accident.

[slackermom]

I have never called the police about an accident, but I have filed accident reports with the police. You can keep blank reports in your car, and fill them out as needed. You drop a copy off at the police station to get a police report number, for insurance purposes.

I would call if there was a dangerous situation, or if there was any hostility from another party, or if they refused to provide info.

[LucyStoner]

Never called because they won't come. Never had an issue getting insurance to pay. The police here pretty much tell you not to call them if your car is drivable and no one is injured. Once we had to file a report but the police certainly would not have responded to that accident.

 

I would call if the other driver was impaired or underage/violating the graduated license reqs here. Or if I felt unsafe due to the behavior of the other driver.

Edited September 12, 2016 by LucyStoner

[Loowit]

We called when someone ran a stop sign and hit DH and I.  Our car didn't look horribly damaged, but their was a lot we couldn't see  She had hit our car pretty hard and DH was concerned about injuries.  I am pretty sure the other driver got a ticket.  The only other time I have been in a wreck was when someone backed into me in a parking lot.  I got a lot of pictures and we exchanged information.  We didn't call the police, but I did call DH to come and help. He is a commissioned police officer so he knew what we needed to do.

 

My sister got backed into by a our neighbor once   The neighbor begged us not to call the police, but we told him we were going to call.  Then he begged us to tell the police it was a different car of his than the one he had been driving that hit us. He was driving an unlicensed vehicle.  The funniest part, we were having a family party so when he was asking us to lie he was asking in front of four off duty law enforcement officers.  None of us said anything about him asking us to lie. We just let the deputy who responded deal with it.  We didn't lie for him and he got ticketed.

[SKL]

I've heard that insurance won't pay without a police report, which I think is stupid, but whatever.  So yeah, if I need the other guy's insurance to pay, I call.  But if it's just a wee fender bender, I let it go.

[SparklyUnicorn]

From what I understand this depends on the state one lives in.  And in some instances there can't not be fault even if ultimately it wasn't someone's fault. 

[ktgrok]

I've always called, but my most recent accident was a bit strange. An officer saw us, stopped, saw everyone was okay, and then left. No report, no ticket. Meanwhile the OTHER time I was rear ended, the guy said I pulled out in front of him too quickly, and as I had a concussion and couldn't remember what happened they wrote ME a ticket! Later, i remembered, plus the dude also lied about having insurance, and left the state. Ugh. 

[Ausmumof3]

Here you aren't required to call police but you have to lodge a report with police within 24 hours. There is a $threshold but I can't remember it.

[FriedClams]

I would nearly every time. I'd be concerned the other guy, even if it was his fault, would come back and claim damages on me. I know it's a cover yourself thing, but I'd get a report.