sideswiped on scooter but didn't report it

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mukaiboston
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sideswiped on scooter but didn't report it

Post by mukaiboston »

This incident happened in Back Bay, Boston.

I'm driving in the left lane of one of the cross streets between Beacon St and Boylston St. On my right is a grey pickup. On my left is an open parking spot.

Without signaling, the pickup shoots into my lane to get the spot. I hit the brakes and the horn but the rear left corner of the truck clipped my mirror and I felt the truck brush up against my arm.

My mirror wasn't broken, just misaligned but I pushed it back into position. We pulled over. He immediately rolled down his window apologizing profusely . He said that it was completely his fault and that he should have known better since he rides a bike himself.

I was pretty irritated since he could've seriously hit me had I not slowed down and swerved out of the way. I told him there were no damages or injuries so we should just let it go.

I was too shaken up to think clearly but my reasoning at the time was that I don't want to make a mess of police reports and insurance when there are no injuries, no damages and he admitted fault. I figured insurance won't care since there is nothing to pay for but I'm wondering if I should have called the police for a report.

Again, no evidence of a collision and we have both left the scene. I just don't want the guy claiming later I ran my scooter into his truck, although I doubt he'd do that considering how scared out of his mind he was at the time.

I did a quick google search, but people seem to disagree about police involvement when there is no evidence of a collision. What do you guys think?
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theflash784
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Sideswipe

Post by theflash784 »

Most police depts won't take a report unless there is some damage or injury. Since the other driver wasn't being a jerk about it, you probably did okay letting it go. If you make a police report, it does show up on your driving record with the code that you were not at fault but your insurance company will see you were in a crash even if you don't make a claim. That can cause your rates to go up.
mukaiboston
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Re: Sideswipe

Post by mukaiboston »

theflash784 wrote:Most police depts won't take a report unless there is some damage or injury. Since the other driver wasn't being a jerk about it, you probably did okay letting it go. If you make a police report, it does show up on your driving record with the code that you were not at fault but youir insurance company will see you were in a crash even if you don't make a claim. That can cause your rates to go up.
Thanks for the prompt answer. This is what I was afraid of so I didn't want to make a big deal about it.
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siobhan
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Post by siobhan »

Glad you OK!

U-turns without indication can kill you. You did everything right. It's good you posted because you may save someone else. A friend was taken out (he's ok) in Brooklyn when a car pulled over to the right, he thought to park, and then pulled a U-ey directly into him. Keep vigilant, people! Predict, predict, predict what that car is going to do, and be pleasantly surprised when they don't do something stupid.

As for getting the cops involved, this guy was obviously shaken up because he recognized he did something wrong and almost hurt you. He's not going to suddenly decide there's a scratch on his truck and you need to pay for it.
mukaiboston
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Post by mukaiboston »

siobhan wrote:
U-turns without indication can kill you.
Dangerous stuff. He didn't make a U-turn though.

It was on a three-lane, one-way street with parallel parking on both sides. He was in the center lane and cut into my lane (left) because he saw a parallel parking spot on the left that he wanted to back into.

Basically changed lanes without looking. Very common occurrence here which I witness several times a week. Until now, Boston drivers always hear my horn BEFORE moving completely over but this guy was fast.
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lucasan
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Post by lucasan »

ahh those Boston drivers! Glad you weren't hurt and your bike didn't get damaged. I was doored while on my bicycle in JP on Center St. Had the 39 bus been going by at that moment I would have been a gonner. Luckily for me the pavement was just slick enough where my road rash was minimal. People need to watch it on those narrow streets, although where you were there was plenty of room. and no excuse for the driver. That's what mirrors are for!
mukaiboston
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Post by mukaiboston »

Riding a bicycle in Boston is more dangerous than riding a scooter.

I went to school at BU and, while I was a student there, it was a regular occurrence to see bikers get hit by cars, and to see bikers run into cars and pedestrians.

During my four years there, a fellow student was even killed while crossing the street at night.

So many scooterists in Boston apparently ride around without insurance? There is no way that is a good idea.
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ed85379
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Post by ed85379 »

I don't think police should be involved in accidents unless there is clearly some injury, and there is no reason to call the insurance company.

HOWEVER, you should always trade information, regardless of if you intend to report it. It is very common for injuries to not be readily apparent, and the pain may only start to appear an hour or more later. If this was the case with you, you'd have no choice but to pay for it out of pocket, since medical insurance companies like to refuse to pay if there is a motor vehicle involved. When I went down on my scooter, I had to kept saying at the hospital when I went in for an x-ray that "Massachusetts doesn't require insurance on scooters", nevermind the fact that they do for my scooter, and that I did have insurance on it. I wasn't technically lying. :) But the last thing I wanted was there to be a motorvehicle accident added to my driving record and costing me hundreds of dollars over the next several years on both my car and scooter insurance.
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jonlink
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Post by jonlink »

Did it happen today? I feel like the stupid folks were out in full force today. One lady tried to pull out into traffic (through me) while looking in only one direction. Then I was nearly sideswiped on the way home.

It pays to expect everyone to do the stupidest things all the time. I'm only right one out of ten times, but the one of the few times I didn't follow that rule I paid for it (on a bicycle).


ps. If you are ruled to be completely not at fault it will not increase your insurance rate. A while back (maybe six years or so) I got slammed by a guy running a red light. I was actually the second car into the intersection and the guy admitted that he'd been playing with his radio. That and the fact that I was able to lessen the damage (he hit my driver's rear quarter, but would have t-boned me had I not gassed it) meant I was completely free from fault. My insurance rate stayed low and when I got insurance at a new company they commented on how excellent my driving record was.
mukaiboston
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Post by mukaiboston »

Boston drivers don't signal...ever. Make sure your horn works.
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skully93
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Post by skully93 »

That happens in CO a lot too. Lots of lack of looking.

I try to see people's heads whenever possible, so that if they turn their head at all it gives me a clue what they're doing.

Glad you're OK, and super glad the driver realized his mistake immediately. Hopefully he admits it to others and it causes a few more people to look.
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ed85379
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Post by ed85379 »

mukaiboston wrote:Boston drivers don't signal...ever. Make sure your horn works.
Speaking of which, just 10 minutes ago, I came to within an inch of being hit by a truck, which had started swerving left, apparently to go into the tunnel. There was no turn signal noticed, but when I went to the right of him in the lane opening up, suddenly the cab swung around to the right coming to within an inch of checking me. Apparently he was taking a wide right turn into a parking lot or something. Like I said, I never noticed a signal.

I expect to be very sore later from all my muscles clenching up.
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BootScootin'FireFighter
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Post by BootScootin'FireFighter »

"I didn't see you" too often has subtitles on the bottom of the screen that say "I never even looked in the first place."
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persephonelily
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Post by persephonelily »

Wow, not a good day for some of us! I came within an inch of being crushed by a car who didn't seem to understand how merging when YOUR lane ends works. I was in the right hand lane, she was in the left, and for some reason she decided that she could simply use the right lane when she ran out of her own. I laid on the horn and cursed a blue streak, but she just kept creeping into my lane. Finally, I just gunned it to get around the front of her, since there was nowhere to go to the left or right, praying that the guy in front of me didn't hit his brakes suddenly. Once I was past her and in front, she decides I'M at fault and lays on her horn. Once the road went back to 2 lanes, she blazed past me and tried to muscle into traffic in my lane up ahead; no one would let her in, though. Seriously, what the heck are people thinking!?

I'm not sure what the laws are for Mass, but in Maine if the damage is under $1000, the police don't require a report. Since there was no damage and no injury, I'm sure you're legally covered.
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