First Accident: Hit and Run

Originally Posted by Tractionless

What to do in the event of an accident is something parents and schools should teach. Another failure in our crappy educational system.

NEVER assume ANY stranger is a good human, people you (think) you know will probably surprise you one day as well. A stranger will simply block your phone number when you call to settle the crash and your insurance REQUIRES a police report to make a claim.

ALWAYS involve the police, it's the only way to hold the other party legally accountable.

I work in roadway construction and see people just exchanging crash info. weekly. Once I had a discussion with the victim of a rear end crash where the guilty party only wanted to exchange info. and she was being very cordial. When the victim said they wanted a police report the guilty party about faced and went venomous. Mostly likely she's uninsured, has a ton of points on her license already, doesn't want upped rates due to being her fault, etc. Any person on the up and up will want a police report.

Also realize Florida has the highest amount of uninsured motorists in the country, most likely the case in your hit and run. Don't do ANY stranger a favor by thinking you're being nice only exchanging info. The world is full of opportunists and will screw you all day every day if they can. The sooner you learn that the better.

Originally Posted by vtec to vvel

Not sure about other states, but in FL, law enforcement will generally not respond to any fender benders on private property (such as a shopping center/mall/etc.). And if they do, it will not be a priority, and would just be a driver info. exchange they perform, and no tickets would be issued regardless of fault (though FL is no-fault state).

Originally Posted by vtec to vvel

Not sure about other states, but in FL, law enforcement will generally not respond to any fender benders on private property (such as a shopping center/mall/etc.). And if they do, it will not be a priority, and would just be a driver info. exchange they perform, and no tickets would be issued regardless of fault (though FL is no-fault state).

Originally Posted by vtec to vvel

Not sure about other states, but in FL, law enforcement will generally not respond to any fender benders on private property (such as a shopping center/mall/etc.). And if they do, it will not be a priority, and would just be a driver info. exchange they perform, and no tickets would be issued regardless of fault (though FL is no-fault state).