[uber335]

To make a long story short, I made a few scratches and maybe a small dent on the rear bumper of somebody's car by accidentally stepping on the acceleration in a red light(yes I know im stupid, i don't know how I could've did that. I had an argument with my gf on the phone =/). The car I hit is a 1999 Honda Civic. The guy recorded my drivers license number/address/and phone number; the police was not involved (at least yet). My question is what kind of penalty etc would I be looking to face? would the insurance company get involved?(can he somehow put that in my driver record since he has my drivers license number?)
I'm kinda panicking at the moment =/

Any opinions/feedbacks would be greatly appreciated!

[G-Mach1]

If he calls the insurance Company or you call the Insurance company it will go to your record. The best option for you is to get hold of the guy and tell him that you will pay for all his damages (You have to pay it out of your pocket if he agrees.). Make sure that he is not going to go behind you for Physical damages/Pain. Hope this helps.

[achien]

Originally Posted by G-Mach1

If he calls the insurance Company or you call the Insurance company it will go to your record. The best option for you is to get hold of the guy and tell him that you will pay for all his damages (You have to pay it out of your pocket if he agrees.). Make sure that he is not going to go behind you for Physical damages/Pain. Hope this helps.

+1, make sure you pay the guy ASAP, before he calls his insurance company.

When he has all your information (i.e.driver license number and insurance policy number), his insurance company will be able to report this incident to your insurance company.

This long weekend may actually save your a$$, call him tonight and arrange for payment first thing in the morning before his insurance broker start working!!!

[Ascension]

Leave the country and get on the next plane to Europe

[Yvette]

I dont know about Toronto,, but in vancouver, ICBC do all the claims...
ICBC inspect all the damages, basically if you dont want your insurance company to pay it, you can pay it yourself.
You gotta make sure you dont get rip off by him... he could go anywhere and get super estimated price for his damage.

[uber335]

I don't have his number =/ he just recorded mine.

If I pay him for the damages would he still be able to do anything to ruin my record?

[G-Mach1]

Originally Posted by uber335

I don't have his number =/ he just recorded mine.

If I pay him for the damages would he still be able to do anything to ruin my record?

If he calls your insurance company then 'Yes' he can ruin your record. However If you have proof that you paid the damages then most likely the insurance company won't do any yhing.

[Mo]

Take Pictures!!!!! if he's driving a shit car and he see's you in a nice car he will most likely try to get something out of it extra. You got to be careful and the only way you can save your ass is with pictures. Hopefully its not too late.

[SGxi]

If he is going to the Collision Report centre, then yes, it will show up in your record. If he is willing to deal with you private, then it won't be on your record. Only problem though is, like G-Mach1 said, he may ask for physical damage/pain, and that's a big issue.

[uber335]

the only thing he recorded down is my address/phone number/and drivers license number. If he wanted to go report it, wouldn't it be useless? because he doesn't have proof or anything.

[SGxi]

Originally Posted by uber335

the only thing he recorded down is my address/phone number/and drivers license number. If he wanted to go report it, wouldn't it be useless? because he doesn't have proof or anything.

If he didn't have your insurance policy number, then yes...

[aspiring335]

Originally Posted by uber335

the only thing he recorded down is my address/phone number/and drivers license number. If he wanted to go report it, wouldn't it be useless? because he doesn't have proof or anything.

It was your fault so you're kind of at this guy's mercy. He may be reasonable and accept your offer to pay for the damages (if that's what you're going to do -- and it's the only smart thing to do under the circumstances). Or he may not, in which case you'll have an at-fault claim on your insurance record and your rates will go up.

I may be wrong, but the tone of your posts suggests you're thinking of denying it if he reports the accident. I wouldn't recommend this strategy -- you'll just dig yourself a really nasty, deep hole, not to mention how unethical it is.

In some jurisdictions they'll give you a ticket (following too closely, or something like that) for rear-ending someone, in which case you'll get demerit points.

[dawgpoop]

i think it would be safer for u to report the incident. even though it may make ur record look a bit bad, it's safer for u to report the whole incident so that the insurance company can protect u cause like the others said, the person can always come back and claim for physical injuries or whatsoever, and its gonna be a painful long process. it may be better to let the insurance company to deal with the other party.

[paullo]

Denying that it ever took place is about the second stupidest thing you could do- hitting him was the first. He's got your Driver's License number, your address and phone number; explain how he got that to a judge?

If you want to make it as least painful for yourself as possible, admit you were at fault and deal with your insurance company.

If he's in any pain as a result of the accident, trust me, you don't want to be paying him out in cash. Your insurance premium isn't going to go up that much!

Do the right thing, and own up to your mistake.

[Kid Eh]

He has 24 hours to report it or else he's fucked. Hopefully he doesn't know that.

[paullo]

Where'd you hear that BS line? Don't give this poor guy false hope that he'll get off without having to pay if the other driver doesn't call it in within 24 hours.

It's 7 days, if someone's been killed, injured, if damage is apparently over $1000, or property has been damanged, btw.

[Kid Eh]

Originally Posted by paullo

Where'd you hear that BS line? Don't give this poor guy false hope that he'll get off without having to pay if the other driver doesn't call it in within 24 hours.

It's 7 days, if someone's been killed, injured, if damage is apparently over $1000, or property has been damanged, btw.

I'm talking about a police report. I know from experience. I don't "apparently" know from cutting and pasting something I found on the internet.

[montreal_bimmer]

just work it out with him that you will pay out of your pocket for the damages.... no one else should get involved besides you and the guy you hit... and therefore, nothing should happen to your driving record.

[paullo]

Originally Posted by Kid Eh

I'm talking about a police report. I know from experience. I don't "apparently" know from cutting and pasting something I found on the internet.

Well; if you knew from experience, you'd know you don't have to have a police report filed to still have a claim made against you, (which was his original concern). Police reports are only required if there's a significant amount of damage to one or both cars, and/or someone's been hurt.

Apparently, handing this guy a one line answer with nothing more than your experience should be sufficient, according to you.

Whether it's correct or not is an entirely different matter. Which, was my point. And, it was lost on you.

[Kid Eh]

Originally Posted by paullo

Well; if you knew from experience, you'd know you don't have to have a police report filed to still have a claim made against you, (which was his original concern). Police reports are only required if there's a significant amount of damage to one or both cars, and/or someone's been hurt.

Apparently, handing this guy a one line answer with nothing more than your experience should be sufficient, according to you.

Whether it's correct or not is an entirely different matter. Which, was my point. And, it was lost on you.

No his original post he is clearly concerned about his drivers license and penalties. Insurance matters have zero to do with his license. If he's not charged by the police his record is not effected. Anyways no use arguing on the internet. Peace.

[paullo]

Originally Posted by Kid Eh

No his original post he is clearly concerned about his drivers license and penalties. Insurance matters have zero to do with his license. If he's not charged by the police his record is not effected. Anyways no use arguing on the internet. Peace.

That's a good point, although I'm getting confused by what exactly his original question is?

He's not going to get any points on his license for causing an accident, only his insurance premiums will be affected. Or is that something that's different between Ontario and BC?

[canucklion]

Paul, I totally agree with what you've just said, oh and for what it's worth, Kid Eh is correct about the 24h time limit, that's how it is in Toronto, perhaps it's different in BC, but here, we have up to 24 hours to report an accident to the Collision Reporting Center, unfornately I know this through experience

To the OP: if you don't want any more headache, own up and pay him out of pocket to avoid any red ink on your insurance record, however, if you do decide to pay him out of pocket, draft a paper stating that you're agreeing to pay to fix for the damages outlined, no more and no less, and it absolves you from any future claims.

However, having been hit twice before, I'm very cautious, and ALWAYS report to the police department within 24 hours after the accident, I've been screwed once, and that's once too many. I got hit one more time after that incident, the other driver begged me not to go to the police/insurance, I still did, I wasn't about to get screwed over again.

So, depending on the other party, your choice is really left at his mercy, I suggest if you want to settle out of court, do it ASAP, go to the bodyshop with him to get the estimate, so you know that you're not getting ripped off. And don't wait too long, for he might've already gone to the collision reporting centre.

And yeah, let me echo what Paul said, don't be stupid and try to deny the accident, you'll be charged with whole bunch of other charges and still pay for the other driver's damage

Originally Posted by paullo

Denying that it ever took place is about the second stupidest thing you could do- hitting him was the first. He's got your Driver's License number, your address and phone number; explain how he got that to a judge?

If you want to make it as least painful for yourself as possible, admit you were at fault and deal with your insurance company.

If he's in any pain as a result of the accident, trust me, you don't want to be paying him out in cash. Your insurance premium isn't going to go up that much!

Do the right thing, and own up to your mistake.