What happens after a car accident involving no other cars and no injuries?
If you hit a snow bank, for instance, and there is no damage but a tow truck has to pull you out – what happens? Do you call the police? Do the police come if no one was injured? Do you get a ticket? Would you get some sort of written proof about the accident? Would they pull out your car and let you go on your way?
December 15th, 2010 at 7:46 am
its your money to pay to fix your car unless you have full coverage, yes call a tow truck, hopefully a cop will stop by for assistance if you need it and set up flares if you don’t have any, as long as the only thing damaged is your car, no one will sue you
December 15th, 2010 at 8:10 am
dont need cops and if there is
no damage no reason to report anything
if there is damage just turn it into insurance
if there is damage say to someone yard like a mail box or another car yes get a report
stuck in a ditch dont need a cop for that
December 15th, 2010 at 8:46 am
The tow truck will pull you out and send you on your way. No reason to call the police, but if they did show up (a passer by may have called them) they would simply stay on scene until you were safely on the way. They would get your name and file a report for their own internal recording purposes, but you would not get a ticket.
December 15th, 2010 at 9:26 am
In this example, if there was no damage and no injuries, there is no need to involve the police.
In the case where there is damage to the vehicle, it depends entirely on where the accident occurred. In some states and provinces, damage over a particular dollar amount (no matter the reason) requires that you file an accident report with the police. This is true for most Canadian provinces at least. You may also be required to contact the police immediately, and they will decide if someone needs to be at the accident scene before the vehicle is removed.
In locations that require an accident report, they will give you a copy of the report and possibly a special temporary sticker to affix to the vehicle with the accident report number and an indication of where the damage is located. Those are then required by the repair shop so they can repair the damage. Without them, a reputable shop cannot and will not fix the damage.
Again, the rules around this vary in the different states and provinces. If there is damage, the prudent thing to do is call the local police (although don’t use 911, its not an emergency) and ask them what the next steps are.
December 15th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Then there is no question who the at-fault driver is.
December 15th, 2010 at 10:41 am
Just get your car towed to the workshop. You have nobody to claim against, but from your own pocket.
January 18th, 2011 at 4:34 pm
My daughter slid off the road, thought she hit a tree. No one else was involved. No other car or persons. She has no collision (1995 vehicle) so she did not call insurance. It is totaled. Now a highway patrolman is calling her (how did he find her) stating he wants to look at her vehicle. Why. He asked her if she hit a dumpster. She said she hit something but thought it was a tree. What does she have to tell this guy? Does she need to produce the vehicle?