So tonight I was driving back from a chick-fil-a and as I was driving through an intersection there was a pick up truck that ran a red light and caused me to swerve left in order to avoid a potentially worse wreck. The swerve action caused me to essentially jump the median which caused damage to my car but not his. The pick up truck proceeded to speed back up and flee the scene. Not really sure what you guys can tell me but I'm unfamiliar with how this scenario plays out legally and through my insurance (I have full coverage). I filed a police report and it was denoted as a hit-and-run case since his running the red light caused the accident and then caught a ride home from the officer. Any one have any advice for this scenario?
I can't say I have much advice regarding hit and runs or how to go forward in your case other than to say glad you weren't hurt and to let your insurance handle it. But, I was in an accident 5 years ago where the other driver ran a red light. Unfortunately, no fault could be established so we each had to pay for new cars through our insurance. What I did take away from that accident is that I always drive with a dash camera now. I would highly recommend it to anybody. This is a version of what I have: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Capacitor-G...342?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e8ca3749e. The G1W dash cam is highly rated for it's cost effective HD camera. This battery-less version supposedly does well in hot temperatures and is recommended for Texas. Pop in a 32GB MicroSD card, hook it up to a car outlet and you'll have continuous rolling video footage every time your car is started. Economically, it makes sense, too. $52 for the dash camera, $20 for the microSD card. If I had it during my car accident, I could have proof the other driver was at fault and his insurance would've paid for my car rather than out of my own pocket, saving myself over $7000. If only I had bought that $72 dash cam first. Hope your insurance takes care of you and they find the guy. If you had a dash cam, you might have been able to provide police with better detail of the make, model, and possibly license plate. Again, can't stress enough how sensible owning a dash cam is.
That's excellent advice. I'll look into buying one once I get this resolved. I'm just hoping the insurance company is sympathetic. I've never needed my insurance company to step in for something that was my fault. Furthermore, I felt as if my actions demonstrated reactionary skills that prevented a worse scenario. I just don't want to regret not letting the guy just T bone my car
Can't stress just how good this advice is. My car was totaled right after Hurricane Ike when some idiot contractor from Florida blew right through a 4 way stop and t-boned me while I was turning. Then the guy jumps out saying "I had a green light!". When he realized that there were no lights in operation, he tells the cops that he came to a stop but I didn't. My word against his, and thus I ended up having to pay for my new vehicle. His was some company rental car so he ended up coming out of it scott free. Still pisses me off. I would have given anything for some video evidence....
I drive with a dash cam too. Ghost accidents are hard to prove, bc you only get one side and the other party is gone. Fortunately for you, you have a police report backing your story. Do you have UM/UIM? If you do, then if things go smoothly, you just have to pay the mandatory $250 deductible and your coverage will take care of the rest and it won't negatively affect your rates. If you declined UM/UIM coverage, then your car will be paid from your collision coverage minus your deductible. There's a small chance your insurance's claim adjuster will try to file this as collision instead of UM/UIM, but I don't think so. I'd fight it and try to get security video (though that's unlikely) of the red light runner. You basically have your story and the police report, which should be enough. But I'm just an insurance guy on the internet, so don't get mad if I'm wrong. If you just have GL and nothing else, then you're SOL unless you miraculously find the other party and get him to admit to running the red light and causing your accident...and he has insurance. Best of luck to you. Get at dash cam. Whoops, just reread your post. Yeah, you'll be fine with the probable UM/UIM claim. Gonna cost you $250. Good thing you're not hurt.
Don't know if you want to go to the trouble but if there are any stores in that intersection, you can ask if they have any cameras that might have captured the incident .
I was definitely crossing my fingers for any member of an insurance company to reply for advice too. Thanks Kim and everyone for the advice. The dash cam definitely sounds like a good investment but, however, doesn't help with my current situation.
I was involved in a hit-n-run where my passenger doors were ripped by a large truck exiting a driveway in front of me as I was waiting to u-turn on a road... but I was just sitting there... doing nothing... and they fled the scene... and I couldn't even get their plates, only a description. Just tell the truth. If it was your fault, then it was your fault, but in this case it wasn't, so if you tell the truth, you'll be all right. They will not charge you anything nor bring up your premium. If there are any witnesses, let them tell the truth. If the insurance wants to still make you pay, then do seek a way to not pay, as you weren't at fault.
I asked the cop if there were any cameras on the intersection and he assured me there were no cameras in the city of Lubbock
About 6 or 7 years ago, I had something similar happen to me. A car pulled into my lane on the freeway and I swerved to avoid getting hit but hit the car next to me. The car kept driving. The officer said I should have just let him hit me. My insurance covered my damages and the report stated that there was another car that caused me to swerve but my insurance still flagged me for it. So...I guess it was not that similar but still frustrating. My cost went up.
Still got love for you, breh. Glad you could find some good advice in this thread, hope this works out well.
Dad was a state trooper for 27 years. I actually had this happen to me. He told me that I would have been better off if the guy clipped me. Since he didn't actually hit me it was my fault for causing damage to my own car. Life sucks. The Dash Cam idea is an interesting idea, but I still think it would hold no merit as once again, you can't prove anything other than the guy ran the red light as it was still the drivers fault for swerving on the median. Not saying this law isn't flawed. Sucks.
Technically, this is NOT a hit and run, FYI. It could also be that if you stayed in the same lane or did not avoid him and controlled your automobile, your vehicle would not have suffered any damage. I'd like to see the diagram of how this happened. Could you draw one? EDIT: well said, tmacfor35, I barely reloaded and saw what you wrote.
