PoliceLink

Hello, I just joined the LEO website. I suport the Boys in Blue when I can. Recently I was involved in a fender bender in a small Texas town which will remain maneless. My hometown of Rowlett and this other town border each other.   I was stopped, in a  NO PASSING zone. I was in the middle of the single( the road went from two lanes at an intersection to a single lane) intending to make a permissable               U turn. I checked all my mirrors , and before I could start my turn, a cadilac brushed the side of my Rav 4 and tore up my bumper and front left fender.  The Caddy did not come to a complete stop till it had gone 2.5 blocks from where it hit me. Can you calculate the speed of the caddy?  My son who is a school teacher in NC and my wife an RN in Dallas were both with me and saw what happened. They cold not be used as wittnessesbecause they were family.   I approached driver of the other car, a BLACK lady of foriegn nationality. her first words to me were " I don't have any insurance, I am just comming from the dealer, this is a new car ".  When I heard ( I don't have any insurance) I called the police. I still hadn't moved my car. I just shut off the engine and turned on the emergency flashers. Other cars were passing on the right side of mine. ( proof that I was in the middle to left side of the lane). When the officer arrived he of course asked for insurance papers, and asked us how the accident happened. I explained that I was going to make a U turn when this lady had rushed passed and side swiped my car. I took him back and showed him the "  NO PASSING " sign, also indicated where her car had finally stopped. He didn't seem to interested in what I had to say. I mentioned to the other driver that if the car was just newly purchased, it was probably insured by the dealership, or her previous insurance would probably cover her while she was driving the " new " car.  The officer agreed and said we should move both cars around the corner which was about 3 blocks away, so the other traffic would not be slowed down.  When we got out around the corner, the officer continued his questioning. When I mentioned again that I was in a " NO Passing "zone, he said  " There was plenty of room to pass back there"  I was speechless! Here was an LEO telling me that it was OK to pass in a no passing zone.  I mentioned that from the distance the other driver had taken to stop, it was obvious that she had been speeding as well as passing in the restricted lane.  He told me "There is nothing I can do since  I did not wittness the accident". Oh!  did I mention the fact that the other driver lived in the same town as the Black police oficer?  I was the out of towner. The insurance companies are in Arbitration.  Is there anything I can do to recify this injustice?   Thank you in advance,   Jimmy McConnell 

So a black person wrecked into you, and a dirty old black police officer covered it up, what is it that you think we can tell you?

If you feel like you were wronged and the insurance companies do not handle it up, then you can have your day in court.

Uhhhh...just because I live in the same town as a bunch of sh*$ heads, doesn't mean they are all my buddies and I know them all. Think about it.

ded2bred says ...

Just to let you know, when you are going to make a u-turn, you are required to check for oncoming as well as traffic behind you before you execute your u-turn.  The driver behind you may have seen you pull to the right side of the roadway and assumed you were pulling over to the shoulder. That car can then legally pass you if she didn't cross the center line. If you had been watching behind you as well, you shouldn't have tried to execute the u-turn.  You may have confused the other driver if you flipped on your left turn signal and then veered towards the right side of the roadway.  This is not the Psychic friends hotline.  People should not have to predict what you are going to do. You messed up, and I doubt anything the officer said would have satisfied you because you were wrong. It has nothing to do with color, nationality or the size of the town in Texas.  Before you scream about how you were "Wronged" you might want to do a little research on traffic laws in the state of Texas. 

Yeah! What She Said...!!!! LOL

Scottie2,

If I may be so bold...You are clearly very new to PL. I will guarantee you that if you even imply that a cop is wrong or bad, without some type of FACTS or DETAILS to support your statement... not only will you get ZERO play from the rest of the forum... you can expect a "less than pleasant" response from a whole buch of folks here, ESPECIALLY if you are not some type of sworn LEO...

So with that in mind, tread lightly and put on your fireproof underwear....

Of course this is just my .02 cents....your opinion and mileage may vary....

Stuff happens, there are 2 tells to each side of the story. I am not saying you are lying, but I say the other party says you caused it. Thats whu we have insurance and dirty lawyers to find ways to get money for each side from the ones who pay enough insurance.

I was wronged too.....

I was speeding down a dark two lane highway with a burnt out headlight going 95 in a 55 zone. Damn lady in front of me wouldn't speed up and I was in a hurry to go no where.... So I decided to pass her even tho there were "no passing signs" posted on the side of the highway... When I merged into the other lane I saw a car so I decided to speed up to try and cut off the lady next to me, the damn truck in front of me was coming faster then I thought so I swerved back into my lane clipping the lady in front of me causing her to spin out and lose control,...... Now her car is wrapped around a tree and guardrail and my paint job is ruined.. The freaking cop wrote me a ticket.. I think he did it cause I'm white.... I wasn't doing anything wrong. That lady should have been driving faster and none of this would have happened.... Damn COPS!

Give me a Break dude!!! It wasn't about race, follow the laws while driving. Deal with the consequence.

Im with Stalker on this one....my thumb hurts from hitting my own desktop

If you were given a citation then go to court if you don't like the outcome.  Around here you are only likely to see an accident report if there are injuries.  Insurance companies do what they want to anyway so what's the point when it's property damage only.  The fact you left your car sitting right where it ended up after being struck says you're not that safety conscious and whether you were right or wrong this is what I personally have the biggest issue with.  The magic hazard lights don't prevent a secondary collision.  People are so worried about being "right" but they could care less what happens in the meantime.  I can think of at least two times in the last month where had I not been looking both ways before entering an intersection on a green light I would have been broadsided.  Sure I would have won a heck of a lawsuit but I prefer eating solid food.  Forget about being right -just do the most you can do about avoiding collisions in the first place.  The word "accident" is crap.  What they should call it is a negligence causing damage/injury report.

Gotta admit, this is the first time that I have ever heard "The Black Officer only gave me a ticket cause I'm Scottish" excuse.  Sounds like the Officer did the right thing here.  He did not witness the collision.  That's why you pay such high iinsurance rates, let the Insurance company sort it out.  Your rationalization here is totally flawed.

Wow i just noticed that this guy has only been here for a day and seems like he's off to a little bit of a rough start.

 Is there anything I can do to recify this injustice?

Of course there is something you can do...don't drive like a jackass...

Hope that helps

got a lawyer...?? if not.... get one.

The title of this thread should have bee " I WAS WRONG". Sound like the crash occurred when you entered the travel lane of the other vehicle in which case you WERE WRONG. Leave the race card at home. The officer is not there to play the race card. He listens to your side and their side and looks at the situation and completes his report. Having you move your vehicles was a matter of public safety. Since it sounds to me your not a LEO I'll let you in on a secret..."OUR JOB IS PUBLIC SAFETY"..not defending your disregard for protocol when operating a motovehicle. I don't care if a gay,irish, illegal immigrant alien hit you...You executed a U turn into a lane of oncoming traffic and caused a crash....just my 2 cents. But who am I, I've just been to 100s of accidents that you obviously havent had the experience to allow you to articulate your predicament intelligently.