flabberghaster wrote on May 25, 2021 at 2:58 PM

So I had this question myself after I got hit by a car while I was on my bike. The day of, I didn't file anything I just got their insurance. Then over the course of the day everyone I spoke to including people whose opinions on the police system I trust, said yeah just file a report. So against my better judgment I did.

The cop told me that insurance doesn't actually need the report, they just want the police report because that usually determines fault. If the cops don't do it then insurance has to pay to get that figured out. So he claimed.

He also spent the whole time acting bored and like I was wasting his time, but as soon as I gave the other driver's name, he perked up and asked "oh -- did she speak English?"

So I don't know how much of what he said is true. I think in most states the police are supposed to be called for a crash that results in some amount of damage. Under that amount and they don't. I would look it up for your state myself, but for me, since that experience I have gotten in to a minor car crash and decided not to involve the police in any way and was happier for it.

hollyhoppet wrote on May 25, 2021 at 5:43 PM (edited on May 25, 2021 at 5:45 PM)

he perked up and asked "oh -- did she speak English?"

wow lmao cops suck so much

flabberghaster wrote on May 25, 2021 at 7:50 PM

That is exactly what I feared and also why I didn't contact them after the car on car crash I was in later lmao

twovests OP wrote on May 25, 2021 at 11:21 PM

Oof, thank you for sharing this experience. Everything I read and people I talked to seemed to agree "call the police" but I didn't actually hear anyone with an experience where they didn't call the police.

flabberghaster wrote on May 26, 2021 at 6:40 PM

The crash I got I to later that was car on car, part of it was I figured I could afford to get it fixed on my own and partly because I suspected the other driver may not have had all the paperwork they were technically supposed to and I though getting insurance involved might also get police scrutiny they didn't need. So I decided to just cover it myself even tho it was 100% their fault. I don't want to ruin someone's life over it.

I don't know what I would do if the crash was much more serious. It wasn't cheap fixing my car even with the minor damage that was done. If I'd needed insurance idk.