My most recent accident

[Deserted]

(This makes 4 wrecks in 4 years. #3 was my fault (back into a parked car, sigh), the rest weren't.)

Back at the end of January, I was in a 3-car wreck. (Spoiler: I'm okay.) It was pretty minor for me and the guy in front of me... the woman behind me, well... she was uninjured.

There was a monster truck thing happening at the stadium near my house. When it was time to end, I figured, okay, we have a couple cab stands a short walk from the stadium, I'll head to one of those.

Traffic was pretty bad, of course, but I stuck it out. As I approached the line leading to a red light, I was (of course) braking, when suddenly I felt a not-so-gentle THUMP to my van. Nothing really major, but it was enough to push me into the car in front of me. (Remember, I was still moving when I was hit.)

I called the police (absolutely essential to keeping my job), then got out to inspect the damage. Car in front of me? Minor scratches to his rear bumper, ditto my front bumper... we didn't even swap paint. Car behind me... well, it's drivable, but people will know not to drive in front of this woman.

Unfortunately, she munched my wheelchair ramp pretty bad: the ramp was physically bent (and this ramp is rated to hold up to something like 1000 lbs), the opening mechanism was damaged to the point that I could just barely open it, and other minor things. Sigh.

Oh, but it gets better. When I approached the woman who was the root of the problem, she said, not "Are you okay?" or anything remotely similar, oh no... she said, "What do you need from me? I need to leave."

Well, gee, ma'am, that doesn't sound AT ALL suspicious, no indeed. So I told her, "What I need is for you to wait here until the police arrive." She argued a bit, and I finally told her, "If you leave, I'm reporting you for leaving the scene of an accident." I found out later that I was in the wrong on that last point, but whatever, it worked, she stayed.

Some time later, the police are wrapping up (no citations issued directly related to the accident), and I found out from the officer dealing with me:
1) the woman didn't own the car
2) she didn't have a driver's license
3) she was in fact an illegal immigrant
...but...
4) the car was insured
5) she was (theoretically) covered by said insurance
6) they weren't going to arrest her for her illegal status, or even write any tickets

I wrapped my night up by going to the ER to get checked out, because I was feeling all-over muscle soreness, a very unusual thing for me. The doctor told me it was from being continually stressed and tense, and isn't uncommon in car accidents. He prescribed me a muscle relaxer and sent me on my way. Too bad driving on those relaxers is DUI territory; I had to choose comfort or income. Yay for ibuprofen, I guess. (I was sore for a couple days afterward, and that was it.)

[eltf177]

Some time later, the police are wrapping up (no citations issued directly related to the accident), and I found out from the officer dealing with me:
1) the woman didn't own the car
2) she didn't have a driver's license
3) she was in fact an illegal immigrant
...but...
4) the car was insured
5) she was (theoretically) covered by said insurance
6) they weren't going to arrest her for her illegal status, or even write any tickets

I'm not sure about #5, you would think #'s 1-3 would give them a reason not to pay. I know we have several insurance people here including Timmy Hate, I'd love to hear their views on this. But you know for sure this insurance is going to be cancelled immediately...

#6 is one of a long list of reasons why I have zero respect for cops anymore. At the very least a ticket was in order, if not an arrest. But let's not do anything that would create more paperwork and prevent them from getting to Dunkin when the new batch comes out of the oven...

[LillFilly]

I have no clue why they didn't arrest/cite her for driving without a license; too much paperwork?

[dalesys]

... too much paperwork?

Saving her for next month's quota. We've hit our goal this month, and if we go over, they'll raise it!

[RealUnimportant]

If the driver's unlicensed, that normally renders the insurance void. The car's owner should also expect a ticket for allowing an unlicensed/uninsured driver use the vehicle, I'd have thought?

[eltf177]

If the driver's unlicensed, that normally renders the insurance void. The car's owner should also expect a ticket for allowing an unlicensed/uninsured driver use the vehicle, I'd have thought?

This is exactly what I'm thinking too, so why wasn't a ticket issued?

[TheSHAD0W]

I'm not sure how it operates in the state this occurred, but where I am if a citation is issued the person who is given the citation is considered at fault. If the car's owner had loaned the vehicle to a licensed driver, he might not be considered at fault; but the fact that it was loaned to an unlicensed driver may mean his insurance will have to cover you.

Now, if he claims the vehicle was borrowed without his knowledge or was stolen, that might be an entirely different story.

[CorneliaMarieRocks]

Hey, can we not paint ALL cops with the same brush?? I have friends that are cops as well as friends whose family members are cops & they work a thankless job for what amounts to peanuts

Yes there are folks who should not be wearing the uniform, those kinds, bash away

but please don't bash all law enforcement for the actions of a few bad apples

[EricKei]

Enough with the picking on cops, guys; you all know better. Please stick to the topic at hand, i.e., the driver who rear-ended OP.

[MadMike]

If the driver's unlicensed, that normally renders the insurance void.

That depends on the provider, at least in my state. Someone I know had his license suspended awhile back, but he was still able to get insurance. It wasn't exactly cheap though, and yes, some providers will cancel you if you lose your license.

[Crai]

My best friend had bought a New Toyota Tacoma with a lift on it. It was his dream truck (I know no accounting for taste lol) One day he had it parked in his front yard. 100% off the road and on private property. At 2 am some drunk women decided she wanted Crystals (White Castle for those up north) Well she ended up driving through two yards hitting my buddy’s Truck snapping the brake line and throwing the truck into the house next door. When the cop showed up he gave my buddy a ticket for improperly parking and then asked the drunk women out on a date.


Lots of Lawyers become involved for Truck and House destruction. Sadly since the cop did not give her a DUI test she got out of the criminal charges.


In relationship to cops they are people I have known many good ones. This one was just thinking with the wrong head lol.


As for the OP, I am surprised she is covered by the insurance. I do not know of any insurance carrier that will cover an unlicensed driver being voluntarily given the auto. Hope you don’t get burned by this.

[Deserted]

Regarding the officer not issuing a citation, well, police generally have some leeway as to whether or not to ticket somebody. In this case, he decided not to, and I didn't feel it was my place to question that.

As for getting bit in the ass, won't happen. If the other insurance policy didn't cover it, Big Green Cab Co is insured for $100,000 per incident and is self-insured for $900,000 on top of that (for a total of $1,000,000 per incident). Police decided it wasn't my fault, I'm good to go. (If it was my fault, I'd just have to cover a $1500 deductible... and whatever was over that $1,000,000.)

[Crai]

Nice to hear your covered.

[Minflick]

When my car was parked in my assigned parking spot (in California, 1990 or 1991), a young man came around the right angle corner of the parking lot, MUCH too fast (posted at 15, think he must have been doing 45 or so) and took out the center pole of our 4 space carport, and put my car into both the side wall and the front wall.

He was an illegal alien driving a borrowed car. The owner of the car had assigned risk insurance on it that expired about 9 days after the accident. The car was covered for the accident. If all 4 spaces of the carport had been occupied, we would have have gotten prorated amounts, and been deeply in the hole to get things repaired. Luckily, the 2 center spaces were empty. We maxed out the coverage completely, what with my rental for a month while my car was in the shop, the 2 walls of the carport and the 8x8 central post that had to be replaced entirely. Oddly, although INS was doing busts on all kinds of businesses at that time for having people not legal to work in the US/CA, they didn't care one bit about the kid hitting my car. "Sorry about that, too bad. Nope, don't want his contact info".

[wolfie]

Don't know whether it's available in other people's jurisdictions, but in Ontario it's mandatory to carry uninsured/underinsured motorist protection. According to the breakdown of the premium on my policy, it's around $15/year. What it means is that if you're in a collision where the other guy is at fault but (illegally) doesn't have insurance, or your damage (including injury) is more than the limit on their policy (and your policy has a higher limit), the damage to you, your passengers, and your property exceeding the limit on the other guy's policy (limit=zero if he's uninsured) will be paid for out of your policy (not counting against you as a claim) up to the limit of your policy.