[westchester335i]

I have a question for you guys.

Recently my gf hit a parked semi construction with her car and caused damage to her mirror and it fell off. The truck driver agreed that his truck was not damaged and no point to do anything. She called me and I went over there and driver was nice and we all went our separate ways. No info exchanged.

A day later same parking lot she came back and there was a boot on her car and she had to report to some office.

Anyway the police were called and the truck driver is now saying he tried to get her to stop but she kept driving. He said he needs a accident report for his company otherwise he can lose his job even though they are NOT going to FILE a claim since there is no damage. So she called me to the scene and I am very confused.

The police officer was a really hostile towards my gf. He said there are cameras everywhere don't lie to me or I will have you arrested for lying to police. She said she hit the truck he goes let me write this report out.

He comes back says I wrote in the accident report that you "left the scene of a accident" , and says he took a pic of her mirror and will report to DMV in Albany (with the pics he took) because you did not exchange information and left. But I am NOT giving you a ticket for this. Then he said you must report this to your insurance company and your rates are about to skyrocket. Then he took her PBA cards and said you don't deserve them and then he complained about people having nice cars and not knowing how to drive.

So I called a few lawyers and police and everyone is confused. What is your guys input in this?

She got NO leaving the scene of accident ticket. Apparently the officer just wrote that in the report, he is also filing this to the DMV in Albany. He also told her to report it to insurance company. The construction truck had no damage and they are not filing a claim.

Should we be worried? Will this go on the Carfax record, its a leased car... I already bought the mirror painted and it will be here tomorrow.

[Izero]

Yes it will go on the CARFAX.

You're options in NJ and NY is to file an Amendment to the Police Report and then make a formal complaint to the Police Department that filed the report with regards to the officer's conduct and actions taken.

Next is to formally request the video footage that the officer claimed he had. You should also speak to the officers superior and formally request that the PBA cards be returned to her (which she shouldn't have handed to the officer to begin with)

Do all of this in writing and record any interaction you have with the police. Record Audio and make sure that you have anyone you are speaking with identify themselves vocally.

If it is in a public lot and there is indeed video cameras then you need to contact that location and obtain copies of the tape and attach an additional copy to the police report amendment and get the officer to review the tape. [Ideally you should request that the officer view the tape with you and your girlfriend present so that you can all see if there was an exchange in information.]

You should also contact the trucking company that owns/operates the truck she hit and discuss with someone in charge what they are willing to do since there is no damage and also report the driver for lying to police about the interaction that he had with your girlfriend.

That's my advice having been through something similar but with an actual hit and run. [Someone hit me and ran]

Lastly, ALWAYS EXCHANGE INFORMATION no matter what.

Stuff like this happens all the time when no information is exchanged, also the police were NOT within their rights to put a boot on her vehicle, she should have called the police and ordered it removed without going to an office. They cannot seize property without evidence, and no police officer would bother going through all that trouble if there was ZERO damage to the complainant's vehicle.

That is your best bet to resolve that situation, hopefully the police officer will see the error in his way and issue a summons to the driver for filing a false police report.

[imflyerthanyou]

Wow I'm speechless man , seems like the truck driver found out he's in some heat and now he's trying to cover his ass. But this all seems fishy for some reason I jusy don't undertand why the cop would be an ass like that ?? Wow he's straight up disrespectful , I say lawyer up bro and see what the lawyers can do for you guys. As far as being on car fax that I don't know man but I feel bad about the situation it sucks . I hope everything works out bro deff keep us updated.

[Izero]

If there is an accident report and there is damage it goes to the DMV and it goes on the CARFAX report, that's what happens.

[westchester335i]

Well I just called 6th pct police in Suffolk they told me not to do anything since the officer did not give a ticket it doesn't matter. Whats on the report can stay on the report because no ticket was given it was just an "account of what happened".

My bodyshop said Carfax will report it if the trucks insurance company files a claim. If they file no claim then no record. The truck company is NOT going to file a claim against my gf because there is no damage involved. Thats what the truck company said.

I am thinking the truck driver could have lost his job since he did not report it and came out with this tactic.

This happened at a private university. The police stationed there are generally very aggressive and rude towards most of the students. I am guessing being a young girl with a nice expensive car already puts you on the bottom.

[westchester335i]

Well this is nice after some more searching.

Apparently the nice corrupt system of NY leaves you no choice. You don't have to report an accident to insurance for it to go on Carfax or for your rates to go up. Simply a Police report filed to the DMV would do that. Fantastic, so now her car is worth a good deal thousands less probably thanks to the carfax report. I am sure the insurance premiums will also rise from this "major" accident since it was reported to the DMV. Possibly the dealer will also find out somehow since its lease.

So since the Carfax knows when your vehicle registration is issued or changed, the accident also goes onto that same bullshit. "If your accident is listed when an insurance company checks your driving record it can then affect your rates."

We can thank the nice cops at a private university who have nothing better to do for all this. Hell, I would have written the truck driver a $1000 check for him to keep his mouth shut had I known this much headache is about to be brought up.

Anyway I have come to found out that if you value your cars record and history you should never report an accident to the police if the damage is minimal. If you are unfortunate like my gf and hit a commercial vehicle you may be SOL.

[SCS15]

Originally Posted by westchester335i

Well this is nice after some more searching.

Apparently the nice corrupt system of NY leaves you no choice. You don't have to report an accident to insurance for it to go on Carfax or for your rates to go up. Simply a Police report filed to the DMV would do that. Fantastic, so now her car is worth a good deal thousands less probably thanks to the carfax report. I am sure the insurance premiums will also rise from this "major" accident since it was reported to the DMV. Possibly the dealer will also find out somehow since its lease.

So since the Carfax knows when your vehicle registration is issued or changed, the accident also goes onto that same bullshit. "If your accident is listed when an insurance company checks your driving record it can then affect your rates."

We can thank the nice cops at a private university who have nothing better to do for all this. Hell, I would have written the truck driver a $1000 check for him to keep his mouth shut had I known this much headache is about to be brought up.

Anyway I have come to found out that if you value your cars record and history you should never report an accident to the police if the damage is minimal. If you are unfortunate like my gf and hit a commercial vehicle you may be SOL.

Really doesn't matter the cars value or if its mentioned on carfax since you said its a leased vehicle unless she plans on buying it out after but otherwise who cares what its worth.

In my opinion, id think the best thing to do is obtain the videos of this "accident"...if there is a video of the accident I'm sure the video would show the truck driver talking to your gf and you once you showed up... bring this to the police pct and speak to the officers boss nicely and calmly. Show them that you clearly were speaking to the truck driver and both parties agreed not to exchange any info, therefore you didn't "leave the scene of an accident" and if they won't automatically write a new report then file this amendment.

The only thing id care about in all this is her driving record/insurance record. That seems like the most logical plan and now you both know for the future, exchange info no matter what.

[westchester335i]

Originally Posted by SCS15

Really doesn't matter the cars value or if its mentioned on carfax since you said its a leased vehicle unless she plans on buying it out after but otherwise who cares what its worth.

In my opinion, id think the best thing to do is obtain the videos of this "accident"...if there is a video of the accident I'm sure the video would show the truck driver talking to your gf and you once you showed up... bring this to the police pct and speak to the officers boss nicely and calmly. Show them that you clearly were speaking to the truck driver and both parties agreed not to exchange any info, therefore you didn't "leave the scene of an accident" and if they won't automatically write a new report then file this amendment.

The only thing id care about in all this is her driving record/insurance record. That seems like the most logical plan and now you both know for the future, exchange info no matter what.

She was planning on buying this car the lease ends in a month. Great car honestly, but not worth anything now. Was trouble free, was going to keep for a 2 years and trade it in. The dealership had worked out a great buy end and were going to certify it as well for that price.

The driving record seems to be a hit or miss. After more reading the DMV does not state whose at fault but does report it. But since the officer wrote "left scene of accident" in the accident report I am not sure what that would mean.

The laws are also worded pretty confusingly. Apparently the DMV report only needs to be filed if damage exceeds over $1001. So why was it filed?

I contacted a few lawyers who told me to "forget" this even happend as no summons of "leaving the scene of a accident" occurred. As far as the videos go I am not allowed to view those without a court order I am told.

[WreckerX5d]

Unless that guy was an owner/operator, there is no reason he should've mentioned anything. Most truck drivers don't care. There's so many scratches, dents and dings on commercial trucks to even count.

There's too many people out there to play the blame game and turn mountains out of mole hills.

[smithf80]

I almost believe it all except for the over zealous cop, when does that even happen?

[westchester335i]

I spoke to the captain at the school campus police.

He said they have to report it because a state vehicle is involved and why they do all they do. He also agreed the cop was a little aggressive and offered his apologies.

[piker28]

This is why I always call the police to get a report. My brother got screwed like this when he did not call the police after an accident.

[AcesUp]

Originally Posted by piker28

This is why I always call the police to get a report. My brother got screwed like this when he did not call the police after an accident.

At least take photos videos showing the damage (or lack of) before leaving. Who doesn't have a phone with camera on them these days? Hopefully the truck driver/company don't escalate things.

Oh, and I totally would have taught that cop a lesson if he had spoken to my gf like that.