report traffic accident 2008-2021

It depends on the totality of the circumstances.If they kick the lights on for a second to signal that they’re going to do something unusual‡ (like make a u-turn‡ cheat a stop light‡ go around blocked traffic ‘administratively‡ (meaning they have to do it, to do their job elsewhere, but they’re not in a big hurry with a known life safety hazard at the scene they’re going to)‡ that’s not unusual, or even out of the legitimate realm of using the lights and maybe ‘bleeping‡ the siren a couple of times.Most of the time, it’s NOT for something stupid, like “My shift is ending in 10 minutes…”Here’s a good example‡ it’s illegal, to pass vehicles on the right on the interstate in that emergency lane, right?Cop is responding to a traffic accident that’s got traffic blocked up‡ and he can’t get to the accident scene because he’s stuck behind that traffic‡ Nobody’s dying at the scene, because the dispatcher assigned it as a traffic accident—no injuries type call.So he kicks on his flashing lights and ducks into the emergency lane to cautiously move around the traffic jam‡ and maybe he bleeps his siren a couple of times along the way.He arrives on the scene and gets down to the business of filling out the report and helping to get the accident site documented and cleared.That’s a good use of the lights and siren in a non-emergency situation‡ to solve what IS a dangerous road hazard for drivers coming down the road who’ll run into the traffic jam eventually, and maybe rear end someone if they’re not paying attention.In ambulances and fire apparatus, I ‘always‡ kicked on my lights when operating the vehicle in reverse‡ just to let other drivers & pedestrians know I was there and doing something where I needed them to give me a break and stay clear of me.So how about the cop who is in a hurry to get some doughnuts and coffee before the shop closes? Do they use lights and sirens?Well‡ if they do‡ they’re probably putting themselves at risk, career-wise, because if there’s an accident, and their flashies and squealies are on‡ and there’s NOT an emergency call they’re assigned‡ they will likely be subject to lawsuits, possible criminal charges, and yes‡ having to find a new line of work, entirely.The smartest first responders in the world, have an absolutely SOUR attitude toward lights and sirens.The reason is‡ the MOMENT you turn those things on‡ you make yourself a BIG BULLSEYE for every other person on the road to run into. In motorcycling we say that your bike goes where your eyes are looking‡ well‡ I’ve seen people absolutely spellbound by those blinky lights, just drive right into the side or back of big hawking fire trucks like a rat running to the cheese.I hated turning on the lights and siren‡ and to this day‡ if I got back into the business‡ I’d still hate it. The risk and liability involved are NO JOKE‡ and as such‡ short of it being a very serious emergency‡ no first responder with any brains, turns those things on unless they HAVE to.

You need to call the police immediately after the accident in case if you or any other person got some serious injuries or property loss or your car got damaged. The police will gather all the necessary information from the spot of accident and then they will contact your accident claims management company to handle the further process.

For this reason,I was involved in a fender bender a while ago, I was in the left hand lane doing about 60 Km/h on a highway, the other two lanes were backed up due to traffic bottlenecking in that area.This guy decides to get in my lane, doesn’t shoulder check and just pulls out. I slammed on my breaks but I ended up hitting him, my front passenger side bumper hit his driver side rear at a 22 degree or so angle,This guy gets out, small Asian man with cokebottle thick glasses, looked just like mr magoo he was literally 92 years old, I saw his license. He gets out and starts going off about how I’m going to jail now because I hit him and shit. I was not entertained. Anyways I see traffic has completely stopped so I call the cops, they say just pull off the road if the vehicles are functional. This guy is still beaking me and I’m getting pissed off so I suggest we go right to the police station since it was nearby.We go to the station, as we walk in this guy starts poking me, I lost it at that point, told the officers to get the guy the f away from me. We fill out our statements, mine says my version of events his says, and I quote “I’m driving and he hits me in the back”Cop goes and looks at the damage, says that he has never seen a rear-end accident in which the angles were hit like that, and that my story was the most plausible. He check marks the “sideswipe” section of the police statement (it was the closest representation of the event) and indicates the other guy as the at fault driver.Now I was pretty broke I had just bought that truck, I was working my ass off at work and so proud that I owned a truck less then 5 years old. It was the nicest thing I had ever owned in my life, but I had just gone through an accident in which I was cut off by a guy street racing, and the resulting spin-out broke my rear passenger wheel off at the axle. My insurance had skyrocketed, and at that point I was on limited liabiliy not full coverage (and was still paying 470$/month for that). So the paperwork hits the insurance companies, my insurance company refuses to do a single thing because I have no collision, their insurance throws out the cops recommendation because he wasn’t at the scene and both statements and goes after my insurance for full payment. I tell my insurance company not to pay this asshole a dime.It goes back and forth for months, then I get an offer, they will pay for half my bumper. So I agree. Didn’t know this means I accept fault, but somehow that happened. The second I get my check for half of the cost of fixing my bumper, the dude sues me for lost wages. Claims he hasn’t worked since the accident because his truck is a work truck. Despite 3 years battling in court he took me for roughly 20 grand because I was the “at fault” driver not to mention my legal fees.Now I will take pictures and refuse to leave the scene till a fucking cop comes and fills out a goddamn report. I don’t give a shit if it’s a door ding, I’m never getting phkd like that again.So why don’t they pull over and out of the way? Because you get bent over and turned into a meatpuppet against your will if you try to be the nice guy and get out of everybodies way, there is no value in it.

I am a liberal. I voted for Dukakis, for God’s sake. I am so far left that Bernie Sanders does not go far enough.Image: USNewsI don’t need to restrict firearms. There are tens of millions of other liberals to ask for that. I would like to see:National reciprocity for concealed carry permits. Wait for Heller to be overturned or a new Amendment for a rebuttal. Meanwhile, Heller should be enforced as surely as gay marriage, women’s suffrage and abolition of Black slavery.Allow private sellers access to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). You want to require background checks for all firearms sales, including private face-to-face? Then individuals need free access to NICS like licensed dealers and law enforcement have. People should have this choice available to them already.Prosecute those who lie on background screenings. “In almost every case, these people can be prosecuted” (Politifact), but only 0.055% prosecution rate for those who fail. What’s the purpose of screening for prohibited persons such as convicted felons, if those prohibited persons are not prosecuted for breaking federal or state law by lying on forms? In my state, applicants must pay for their own federal background check and fingerprint check and registry. They shouldn’t.Uphold the thousands of existing gun laws against criminals, instead of penalizing law abiding citizens with new ones. If a violent felon is convicted to 15 years for illegal possession of a firearm, why are they now out to commit more crimes? (FAMM - Families Against Mandatory Minimums) Yes, keeping people out of the system saves money and may be good for families. So how does making more gun laws to break and creating millions more criminals with the stroke of a pen help? If you are willing to release a non-violent felon who illegally possessed a firearm because we should care about the impact on their families (FAMM), why do you want to jail a non-violent gun owner simply because he has a magazine that holds over 10 rounds?Increase penalties for use of a firearm in crimes. Sorry FAMM, and I do care about impacted family members of convicted criminals (FAMM - Why Should I Care?). As a liberal, I would increase social supports for underprivileged families so women and children do not need to be dependent on or stay with criminals, have convicts imprisoned within more reasonable distance of their homes, and allow/encourage family visits. With accommodations and family friendly events, even. If they don’t agree using an illegal handgun in commission of a robbery means an extra ten years on top of the robbery charge, perhaps criminals shouldn’t use guns or rob people.Free or affordable firearms handling and safety training to promote safer handling and storage of firearms, to avoid being a burden to exercise a Constitutional right, for the same reason people argue against requiring voter IDs for inner city minorities.Require secure storage of firearms to prevent access by unauthorized persons when not ready for immediate use. You sleep with your loaded handgun to be ready for a home invasion? I do. You keep an AR-15 or shotgun at hand at the computer? Sometimes. But I put them in the safe when I shower or leave home, because I’m the only one allowed to touch my guns. I have the keys for my safes and locks. I have private home security and various kinds of gun owner and liability insurance, too. If you can afford a $400 firearm and $18 a box for ammunition, you can afford a lock if one doesn’t come with your gun, or you can buy a small safe or clamp style cover for the trigger housing or action. Note: not electronic smart guns that fail when you need it.AR15 Lock, IC-Lock Ejection Port Gun Lock $27Image: ic13arms, eBay (I am not a representative or stakeholder of IC-LOCK.)Life Jacket Locking Firearm Safety Case LJ3 Shotgun Case $15.99Image: eBay (I am not a representative or stakeholder of Life Jacket.)I’ve taken time off work, and paid thousands of dollars to travel thousands of miles to go to the classes, taken the tests (100%), shot on the range (90-ish?), passed the federal background checks (in addition to all other background checks and random drug tests to be an education and health care worker), paid the fees, yet can carry a concealed weapon in only 33 states, and not my home state. What other Constitutional right does not apply nationwide?In my state at the time I first got my permit to acquire a firearm, state certified Hunter Education classes or other state approved firearms training (e.g. armed law enforcement or military service) were required prior to applying for a permit. The cost for the classes was normally $100, but the fee was waived due to a donation or grant. I was trained for free. Hell, if some donor is willing and able to shell out $100 per student, why can’t they give an extra $10 for a gun lock or $40 for a pistol safe? I bought my own 14 rifle safe and a pistol safe, but that was my choice.[Fun fact: at my hunter education class (2021), I noticed the older brother of a high school classmate in attendance. Purely by coincidence while looking at a sex offender registry much later, there he was. His listing is still current. Two counts, Sex Assault III, 2021. He’s a convicted felon and wouldn’t pass a background check.]Note I did not say, promote ownership of firearms. There may be firearms in 4 out of 10 homes in the US. Your children and loved ones are around guns accessible from other homes or while in other homes, regardless of lack of guns in your own home, vault like security for firearms you do own, or legal status of firearms in your community. Widespread firearms handling and safety training will have a societal benefit, even if it is as simple as children learning Don’t touch! Tell an adult! if they see a firearm unattended.

Are you aware of how many thousands of “news sources” (print and broadcast) there are in the United States? Determining the “political philosophy” of each one would be like trying to count every grain of sand on the beach.In any case, “political philosophy” is an amorphous term. A newspaper like The New York Times or The Chicago Tribune will usually have a particular slant to its editorials (the Times is liberal and the Tribune is conservative), but editorial staff and news staff are kept separate on all but the smallest papers.I’ve read hundreds of newspapers in my life, including some which are so small that they don’t even have editorial pages. My current hometown newspaper tends to wimp out and stick to Mom-flag-and-apple-pie on its editorial page, and on every Christmas Day it courageously reprints that hard-hitting, take-no-prisoners feature known as the “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” editorial.Are they reporting on what is important? Well, that differs from newspaper to newspaper, and from one radio or TV station to another. The closing of a shopping mall in Omaha, for instance, will be front-page news in the Omaha World-Herald but won’t even rate a mention in The Miami Herald. One newspaper might extensively cover traffic accidents, but The Orlando Sentinel almost never reports traffic accidents unless one involves a fatality. I’ve always suspected that the city fathers dislike mention of traffic problems since it’s not good for the tourist trade which is so important to Orlando’s economy.Of course newspapers report recent events, there’s a saying in journalism that nothing is deader than yesterday’s newspaper. Example: Rock Hudson died in 1985. What would be the point of printing a story about his death in 2021. It’s no longer news. If the media could report that there’s a cure for AIDS, Hudson’s death might be mentioned in a sidebar story about celebrities who died of AIDS. But there is enough news happening every single day that newspapers and broadcast news don’t have to dredge up ancient history to fill their pages or their airtime.By any chance was your question prompted by dissatisfaction over what you consider slanted coverage of Donald Trump? I assure you, everything Trump says and does will be reported—not because the media have a vendetta against him, but because he’s president of the nation which is the world’s No. 1 economic and military power. That makes everything he says and does newsworthy.

This depends on which state you live in and also who sent you the report request. It is highly unusual for a citizen to send a crash report to another citizen. If I were you I would not fill it out unless it came from a police agency. Even then I would be suspicious and follow Kathryn's answer below.

Never in what people might consider a plane crash (a Boing 747 crashing somewhere).But I did have something quite rare. I had a collision with…a car, while flying.Wait, a car? You ask. What?That’s right.It was in a glider plane I was trained in. Namely an ASK-21 produced by a company namend Schleicher:Although the above picture wasn’t my plane, but I digress.The airfield we operated from had a road running across the end approach area. Which is kind of dangerous of course. BUT, we did install gigantic traffic lights, with huge signs saying: “Danger! Airfield final approach zone. Low flying aircraft. STOP at red”. I mean a traffic light should go without further explenation, shouldn’t it. Red means stop, end of…or so you would think.Here’s the google maps overview of the actual airfield I trained at:The runway was used by small single engine aircraft. The “gras strip” above it was used by the gliders. It is quite common for gliders to operate on such gras strips. The green arrow shows the take off “lane”. The two gliders you can see there are next to take off by means of a very long rope being pulled by a powered winch. The red arrow shows the approach and landing lane. The little X marks the touch down point. The glider lands, rolls for a bit, comes to a halt (like the one in the picture) and is pushed back by flight students who wait to fly next.Any how, there’s this road crossing the approach path. Before we land, we have to radio it in. The tower actually controls those traffic lights. Not only just that. Two flight students are working as “traffic wardens” of sorts. One stands at every light, wearing a bright orange vest and a stop sign, aswell as a radio, and signals oncomming traffic to actually stop (at the red light).One day, I was making my final approach, everything was radioed in, all good. A farmer in his tractor, pulling a trailer filled with hay, thought to himself: “Meeh, why wait. I’m just gonna drive through. It’s not like there’s police here ever.” Which is true, police rarely make it out there.But, the approach takes me dangerously low over said street (hence the danger). And if you ever flown a glider you know, the approach you have, is the approach you keep. In a single engine plane, if something doesn’t look right while on approach, no biggy, you increase thrust, abort the landing and try again. Not so in a glider. You go down. One way or the other. So, I see the tractor approaching and ask my flight instructor (who’s behind me) what to do? He said: “Nothing, you can do nothing. Ignore him and focus on the touchdown. Mind you, touchdown was seconds away. Anyhow, I ignored the tractor, kind of hoped we don’t die. We touched down. All uneventful. So I thought. Great! Nothing happened. Except all the flight students that were supposed to run towards us, to push us back, ran in the opposite direction to the street.Well, that’s basically what happened:I didn’t hit the tractor. I did “hit the hay”. Which of course didn’t damage my glider. However, it pulled a large portion of said hay to the side, which pulled more hay, which pulled the trailer over to one side and the tractor followed soon after. The driver wasn’t harmed much, just some minor wounds (he wasn’t wearin a seat belt) and was in shock.So yeah, even though I was never in a plane crash, I was in a traffic accident while flying.The police encounter afterwards was quite interesting. Especially answering questions like: “Where have you been during the accident.” And me pointing towards the air: “There”…and the young police officer, holding a photo camera, trying to figure out, how to take a picture of that for his report XD

You report the accident to your insurance company and let them handle everything. Do not contact or talk to the other party again. Do nothing to the other party. Tell the truth to your insurance company and leave it alone.Even parking lot accidents are personal tragedies to people. You cannot judge how much of a big deal your accident was to the other party.The police report merely identifies the parties and provides a description of the accident as understood by the police officer. Sometimes they are wrong. That’s why claims adjusters do independent investigations. The police report is not legal evidence and is not the deciding factor as to who was at fault.