Got into an accident today...

[Cesaria]

If you got a case number there is a record of it some where, or I guess in this case a record of the nothingness of it.

You should be happy there wasn't an official report, I got hit in almost an identical situation except some dick ran a red light so I slammed my breaks and the damage was pretty decent to both our cars, yes the dick just drove off like he didn't do anything wrong. Worst part is I'm worried about the 8 month pregnant college kid that hit me more than my little sore neck, and the day my police report became available I had some skeezy personal injury lawyer calling me at my work trying to convince me to sue this poor girl for a bump on my head, I kindly told him to fuck off. You'll be fine let your insurance handle it.

Oh god I hate people trying to bug you to sue. Someone went into the back of me at lights about this time last year - swapped details, she was in a bit of a state as I think it's the first time she'd ever had an accident, and the car was driveable but dented (but with the state of my car - dents are no rarity as it was my parents' car before mine and they pranged a lot of things) so I headed home and rang the insurers - had to tell them about 20 times that, no I didn't want to be passed to their team of personal injury solicitors, I just wanted them to process the sodding crash claim and get my car repaired for me.

[jmc]

Just want to note, that just because there is a case number...... doesn't mean there is actually any documentation to go along with it (varies by department).

In boston, if someone calls 911 for a car blocking a street for example. The dispatcher creates a CC# or case number, that will keep a log of which officer(s) is assigned to the call and what time they arrived on scene. If no police report is generated, than thats all the case number will have... dispatch time, arrival time of officer and clear time of officer. All this information usually stays in house, and only under severe conditions have I actually seen this information go public (homicide, home invasions etc...)


You hit the person sadly, so your still at fault for the accident. Either way your insurance premiums are going to go up, so best course of actions is inform your insurance company that you believe fraud is coming into play here and let the company deal with it.


*edit*

Also see if you insurance company has any liability "waivers"....... some do, some don't but kinda along the lines of if you accept the insurance money, you cannot sue/hold the operator liable since damages were already paid.

[KoD]

if the officer didnt get an ambulance for the victims, then you shldnt get any injurie charges, the officer woulda noted accident was not seriouse enough for injuries,

Secondly No mater what reason the car infront of you breaks for even if its a scam if you hit him u are realiable for the damages

[Brill Weave]

Well they are basically attempting to fuck you via insurance. It sounds like these cats have done this before. It's probably how they got to be driving the Mercedes in the first place. Tow hook caps are not expensive and they are designed to pop out easily otherwise tow trucks wouldn't even bother touching them(I work for AAA the easier shit is to tow the better.) If there's no major damage and they didn't report any injuries the insurance company will probably need to contact the officer that responded and get his take on the situation. They are looking for money, plain and simple. I say you give them a two o clock no knock with a sock full of nickels for their trouble.

[Zigma]

First, don't worry. This is why you pay for insurance. Secondly, Insurance companies pay lawyers a lot of money to deal and sniff out the bullshit that comes out of peoples mouth in situation such as this.

My advice would be to let your insurance company handle it, cooperate with them, and let them know you are willing to testify if needed. There is no police report, you have a witness at the scene (the officer) who stated there was no major damage or injuries. You're fine, don't worry.

PS. Were they Asian?

[Plow]

not like I was riding their ass trying to have this shit happen, just pulled up a little too close behind them at the light. I was maybe a foot away

(And why did i know to dread your response when i saw you were the last poster lol)

dread my response all you like, I'm betting you won't be accelerating a fucking foot away from someone again anytime soon

[Aero]

One thing to note is that you should be trying to defend yourself just as vigorously as they're attacking you. Now while its too late now; make sure you take pictures yourself.(Id recommend getting a cheap little $20 camera and some batteries and just keep it in your glove box just in case. Hopefully you don't have to ever use it; but if shit ever hits the fan it can save you a big headache and a lot of money.

Be vigilant and make sure you know what is happening or if there are any discrepancies in any reports filed against you. If you truly are being taken advantage of, do your damnedest to get the record set straight with the authorities/insurance agencies.

If you don't do everything in your power to defend yourself; you deserve to get taken advantage of. You should be just as aggressive, if not more so, than the people attempting to sue you.

Side note to anyone who may encounter this or a similar situation later. Do everything by the book; even if it is so small and minuscule you don't feel it warrants it. People will do whatever they can to get money out of you. Call the cops, let your insurance know what happened, see a doctor if you're feeling pain. Sure it may be a pain in the ass for a short time; but it will pail in comparison to what may happen if you don't.

[Gethsemane]

Whenever you are in an accident you are supposed to follow fairly common rules really. Make sure everyone is okay. Exchange insurance information. Always, cannot stress this enough; ALWAYS have a disposable camera in your vehicle at all times. First aid kit is important just as this point is. It can save you a lot of hassle in the end.

Other than that, wait for the cops to get there. Don't exchange blame, admit to anything, don't give them anymore personal information in addition to the insurance information. People always blast off with their mouth blaming people, giving more information than they should.

Treat a car accident like you're getting arrested and read your rights. Sucks that they're being idiots and trying to claim neck and back injuries. But a physical examination by any doctor should shoot that down hopefully. Good luck man :/

And yeah read the other posts, exchanging information and then both driving off after wards; don't do it man. If you don't have a camera or a way of taking a picture with a phone for evidence, just wait for the cops to come. People think it's a hassle to wait 30 minutes for a cop but if they go home and beat the shit out of their car with a crowbar, your words against theirs as someone pointed out above as well.

[Jaybar]

dread my response all you like, I'm betting you won't be accelerating a fucking foot away from someone again anytime soon

You realize in automatic automobiles that the car will accelerate to a slow/steady rate of ~3-5 mph when you take your foot off the brakes (on even slope). Oh wait, I'm pretty sure Seanr stepped on the gas as soon as he saw the vehicle in front of him begin to move. You also realize he could have been looking for cross traffic in anticipation for his turn and momentarily took eye contact off of the vehicle ahead of him. Oh wait, you don't know the full scope of the situation. Nice conclusion/moral, though!!

[Swarley]

Seconding most other people in saying that you really don't need to worry. Anyone with a brain will look at this as a possible case and laugh out loud. I was in a car accident that left me with 3 broken ribs and a punctured lung, and in all of my recovery time, I never had neck or back pain. Unless the passengers were children or elderly, the possibility of actual neck/back pain is non-existent. People just like to whine. No doctor will stick up for them.

[Seanr]

You realize in automatic automobiles that the car will accelerate to a slow/steady rate of ~3-5 mph when you take your foot off the brakes (on even slope). Oh wait, I'm pretty sure Seanr stepped on the gas as soon as he saw the vehicle in front of him begin to move. You also realize he could have been looking for cross traffic in anticipation for his turn and momentarily took eye contact off of the vehicle ahead of him. Oh wait, you don't know the full scope of the situation. Nice conclusion/moral, though!!

pretty much what happened. I even said that in the OP. but all in all, it's just a dumb situation, I have a phone now with a camera. I just need to call the insurance dude, had been playing phone tag with him, we keep missing each other's calls.

[Zigma]

Are they Asian?

[Seanr]

Are they Asian?

When I say fresh off the boat, I mean Africans... lol
And it was a shitty 2000ish body style ML320, those ain't expensive nowadays...

I answered on the first page. >_>
And the insurance guy is talkin about $1800 worth of parts and labor. Sayin each part is like $500 and then they have to replace the crossmember bar behind it and this and that. WTF, this shit costs like less than $100... I had to spraypaint and replace my mother's tow cover on her S430 cuz it got lost somehow. Repair shops and insurance companies are a rip off.

[Plow]

You realize in automatic automobiles that the car will accelerate to a slow/steady rate of ~3-5 mph when you take your foot off the brakes (on even slope). Oh wait, I'm pretty sure Seanr stepped on the gas as soon as he saw the vehicle in front of him begin to move. You also realize he could have been looking for cross traffic in anticipation for his turn and momentarily took eye contact off of the vehicle ahead of him. Oh wait, you don't know the full scope of the situation. Nice conclusion/moral, though!!

There's no excuse for being a foot away from the car in front of you.

Ever.

Period.


Don't drive like an asshole and you won't have to deal with assholes that take advantage of your fuckups. It's really quite simple.

[Jaybar]

There's no excuse for being a foot away from the car in front of you.

Ever.

Period.


Don't drive like an asshole and you won't have to deal with assholes that take advantage of your fuckups. It's really quite simple.

lol. Please. Do you exaggerate all scenarios in order to make someone out to be an asshole with your holier than thou attitude towards it?

3mi/hr is a little over 1 m/s. So if he was five or more feet away, he would only have to take eye contact off the vehicle in front of him for a little over a second to encounter this situation. People don't realize how far their car can go in idle in so little time.

[Moss]

lol. Please. Do you exaggerate all scenarios in order to make someone out to be an asshole with your holier than thou attitude towards it?

3mi/hr is a little over 1 m/s. So if he was five or more feet away, he would only have to take eye contact off the vehicle in front of him for a little over a second to encounter this situation. People don't realize how far their car can go in idle in so little time.

Don't look away from the car in front of you while moving forward?

[archibaldcrane]

There's no excuse for being a foot away from the car in front of you.

Ever.

Period.


Don't drive like an asshole and you won't have to deal with assholes that take advantage of your fuckups. It's really quite simple.

You act like he was trying to ride their ass - they call it an "accident" for a reason.

You're being a huge dickhead.

[Jaybar]

Don't look away from the car in front of you while moving forward?

I mentioned a possible reason for this action earlier, and I guarantee you do it while you drive as well. When seeing the car ahead of you begin to pull out, you'll take that time to observe cross traffic in anticipation for your turn. Efficiency conditioning.

[Moss]

I mentioned a possible reason for this action earlier, and I guarantee you do it while you drive as well. When seeing the car ahead of you begin to pull out, you'll take that time to observe cross traffic in anticipation for your turn. Efficiency conditioning.

Yes, I do that, but I don't completely ignore the car that was right in front of me. OP got screwed, if a car stops for absolutely no reason you usually aren't going to notice in time and stop. However, if you are in line to turn out of somewhere there really isn't a reason to check, while also moving forward and paying no attention to the car in front of you.

Basically, being a good driver is about avoiding the retards around you.

[Plow]

You act like he was trying to ride their ass - they call it an "accident" for a reason.

You're being a huge dickhead.

I'm aware I'm being a dick.


People riding a foot away from someone's ass are being even bigger dickheads, and deserve the shit they earn by doing so.