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Yesterday, I was hit by a driver who did not have a license or insurance. I was hit because she was involved in a road rage incident with another woman. Thank God no one was hurt, but it looks like my car was totaled and that means I will probably not be able to have another car as good. People need to think how selfish and stupid road rage is and how unfair to others.
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My condolences. Do you have collision insurance?
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Uninsured motorist coverage is a must, especially in Hawaii.
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Yes, I have great insurance. I would not dare to drive if I did not. The sad thing is that the car was a gift from my Mom right before she died. The police said something interesting to me. They said do not make this a criminal complaint as it would slow my insurance payment.
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quote:
Originally posted by cwaters
Yes, I have great insurance. I would not dare to drive if I did not. The sad thing is that the car was a gift from my Mom right before she died. The police said something interesting to me. They said do not make this a criminal complaint as it would slow my insurance payment.
I thought it was the police's job/responsibility to determine whether it should be criminal verses civil? What's next? You may have to tell the cop what kinda ticket to give?
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Lazy!
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.
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Yup lazy or the person that hit you was one of the cops relatives or good friends...
This certainly IS a criminal case. Matter of fact if someone totaled my car I'd feel bad if I didn't do the right steps and that person hit someone else for not going to jail over it.
Besides all this ... I thought it was against the law for a cop to give legal advise. Is he going to advise how to plead when you go to court next?
We can only hope it's not that bad out there yet.
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another nightmare cop story! (just read Yurtgirl's post) Unbelievable. What level of training do these officers have? To give advice like that to a victim? and in a road rage incident? Just unbelievable.
He who hoots with owls at night cannot soar with the eagles in the morning.
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quote:
Originally posted by cwaters
Yes, I have great insurance. I would not dare to drive if I did not. The sad thing is that the car was a gift from my Mom right before she died. The police said something interesting to me. They said do not make this a criminal complaint as it would slow my insurance payment.
I'm sorry to hear about your unfortunate incident, for your protection I hope a police report was made. I'm somewhat puzzled by what the police told you. Any suit filed by you against the guilty party would be a civil case. The police's findings and reporting may result in the state filing a criminal case against the offending driver. If you carry uninsured/under insured motorist coverage - your insurance company should pay all your damages. After settling you they will attempt to recoup the amount paid to you, and their expenses, from the other party's insurance carrier. If the offending party has no insurance, your carrier may go after their assets. If you can prove that the other party's actions caused you more damages that your insurance carrier compensated you for, or did not compensate you for - you can file a civil case. If you are seriously considering filing - tell your carrier. Some companies assist their insureds in the process. It galls me that someone else's lack of control resulted in you - unfairly - sustaining damages.
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cwaters, Hawaii is a fault state on insurance. The police lied to you. If no charges are filed and the police do an ineffective report (which sounds likely to happen from what you've reported) then YOU can end up being liable for this accident. This could mean your at risk for increased insurance rate, cancelled insurance, or even a law suit.
Was the uninsured, unlicensed, accident causing driver arrested at the scene? She should have been.
I would suggest for your own protection that you immediately write a letter to the Chief of Police and copy it to Internal Affairs. Explain the circumstances and what the officer(s) said to you and give their names if possible. If you don't know their names then state date, time, location of accident and describe the officers. Also state that you expect a written response from them within 10 days.