Ok so this Lady hit me on the highway trying to get into my lane. The officer did cite her but for some reason I can’t remember the citation was ( this is in houston ). He also gave me a piece of paper with her name , dl number, insurance company name and phone number etc … I am just curious on what the citation was.
Are citations public records in Houston/Harris County/Texas (depending on who cited her)?
It’s probably in here.
I’m guessing failure to yield or failure to maintain assured clear distance.
Yeah I think my husband has the paperwork … I will have to get the police report number when he gets home…
If she hit you then failure to yield right of way sounds about right…
This is what the responding officer just sent me . The other driver was not cited due to conflicting statements. However she was found at fault . The insurance company and yourself should be able to get a copy of my report. In my reportit was her who is at fault. Your insurance company shouldn’t need to worry about citations . Yourself and the insurance companies should be able to get a copy of the report in 12 business days… UGH what does that mean? I have to pay?
Myself finds this a bit confusing.
I do also
My interpretation of this is that the police officer is saying that he couldn’t clearly establish a particular act on the lady’s part that caused the accident (probably because your statement and the lady’s statements were inconsistent, or maybe because he couldn’t get a straight story out of one of you in the heat of the moment); and so he didn’t cite the other driver for a particular violation of the traffic code. However, it was clear to him that the other driver was at fault for what happened. What should happen at this point is that your insurer and the other driver’s insurer will hash out a settlement on who should pay for the repairs; if the police report says that the other driver is at fault, it’s most likely that the other driver’s insurance will pay, and that your premiums will not go up.
And anyway, any lady who hits you is NO LADY!
Are you sure all this matters? In my experience, the police don’t decide who’s at fault in an accident - the insurance companies do, either among themselves or in court. The report is just that - a report of what happened from both parties, along with witness statements. Maybe it’s different outside of IL…
Just call her insurance company and file a claim. Provide them with the facts that you have. They should take care of it. If they don’t, call your insurance company and let them handle it. They will deal with fighting with the other persons insurance company… that’s why you pay them to insure you.
Call your insurance and let them know. Provide them with the police report.
If the Lady’s insurance calls you and wants to ask you some questions and record it…DO NOT. They are just going to use your statements to try to find fault with you. Tell them there is a police report and you will send it to them and that is all they should need to know.
Police don’t get to determine fault from an insurance perspective. But they do get to issue citations when one person clearly broke a traffic law, resulting in the accident. And to the insurer, citations generally weigh the balance very heavily against the offending party.
If this cop didn’t issue a citation, then the accident becomes something of a he-said-she-said situation. The other driver might have lied and said the OP merged into HER lane. In the event of a conflict, the adjuster can ask both parties if they have any evidence of the accident (like a dash cam). They can also talk to the body shop repairing the vehicle for evidence whether the vehicle was the hit or the hitter. It’s not CSI-level stuff, but they can generally tell based on point of impact and type of damage which vehicle struck which.
Of course, sometimes the evidence is inconclusive. Occasionally lying pays off. If this is the case, they may assign 50/50 fault to each driver. Or the person with the better lawyer wins.