I was driving down a busy four-lane Boston thoroughfare yesterday when the car next to me swerved into my lane almost hitting me and causing a serious accident. After I honked and flipped the driver off, the car sped up and I saw that it had diplomatic plates. What would have happened if we would have gotten into an accident (even a minor one)? I have heard that diplomats are immune to most traffic regulations. What would this have meant for who was at fault? Would I have to take the blame being the only one under the jurisdiction of the law? Finally, if this is the case, how could I ever prove to the insurance agency that it was not my fault? Do diplomats even have insurance?
It is an enforcement question. You can not force them to pay if they cause an accident. They might voluntarily pay. If not, an insurance company would [should] treat it the same as if any other uninsured motorist caused an accident.
Dips are not “immune to most traffic regulations.” It is just that dips can’t be locked up to punish them. I believe that they are not permitted to drive without a locally valid license and that they can have their driver’s license revoked. Diplomatic status has no bearing on who is to blame. The U.S. requires that it’s dips overseas have liability insurance for their cars but I don’t know if other countries require their dips in the U.S. to have liability insurance.
More on diplomatic immunity