Asking
for people to send me their thoughts at the end of last week’s article
resulted in one of the largest responses I’ve ever received. Ultimately,
the overwhelming choice of advice was to report the offending driver to
ICBC and the police. Fewer people
were willing to shrug their shoulders and carry on with life while two
offered emotional support.
I was also advised on how dishonest people might seek to profit from the
situation. This was not something that I had considered myself.
Had this person been polite and apologetic at the outset, I would have
probably shrugged my shoulders and carried on with life. A bit of
scuffed paint on an older pickup really wasn’t a big deal. After all,
it’s not like I haven’t backed into something in my
driving history either.
However, given my experience in traffic law enforcement and the
circumstances I found myself in, I was concerned that this woman may no
longer be a safe driver. RoadSafetyBC says that we are currently
outliving our ability to drive safely by about 10 years.
RoadSafetyBC does accept unsolicited driver fitness reports, but you
must be able to identify the driver. They are unhelpful in any other
circumstances and will only repeat that you must report to police
instead.
After some thought, I gathered my dash cam footage along with the
witness information and reported to ICBC, my own damage insurance
company and the police.
You should report any collision to your insurance company, regardless of
the amount of damage. Depending on the terms of your contract of
insurance, you could be denied coverage at a later date if you fail to
report promptly.
ICBC and my other insurance company resolved the claim quickly, finding
the other driver liable for the collision. A quick trip to the
recommended body shop found no hidden damage and I advised them to close
the claim. No repairs would be required.
Contrary to my expectations, the police were willing to take my
complaint that the other driver had refused to provide required
information post collision. I was contacted by a constable who discussed
the situation with me as a peer. He agreed to interview
the other driver and request a driver re-exam from RoadSafetyBC if he
felt that it was appropriate instead of issuing a violation ticket.
When I followed up on my complaint, he advised me that the request to RoadSafetyBC had been made.
Reporting can also help in the case of malicious and criminal intent. I
received stories from people who had been convinced not to report and
later on had the other driver either renege on a promise to pay or
reported themselves as victims. Some of these people
even paid their deductible and accepted some liability rather than
argue.
Offending drivers have also been known to convince victims not to report
and then made a fictitious hit and run complaint to get their vehicles
repaired for the cost of the deductible.
I may not have felt entirely happy about it, but in retrospect I think that making the reports was the wise thing to do.
Story URL:
https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/collisions/things-go-bump-parking-lot-part-2
—
Constable Tim Schewe (Retired)
DriveSmartBC: Where better than average drivers satisfy their curiosity.