The driver can make any claims she wants since both of you left the scene without
a police report.  She can take a hammer to her bumper, and it would be your word against hers.

However, the amount of damage to your vehicle is an indicator of how severe the crash was.

Even if a cop had been there, she can claim her kids are having back pain tomorrow.

Unless damage to both vehicles exceeds your local limit, you don't need to call the police.

Edit:  The fact that you exchanged information is proof you both agreed the damage didn't exceed
the "limit", and that there wasn't any personal injury.  

Basically, don't worry about it.

Regardless of what the final outcome is, ....  isn't that why you are forced to pay for insurance?

no police were called?

Should have given her someone elses business card

Quoted: Was in a fender bender yesterday. Most of the damage was on my car. I rear ended a car. Scratched up the bumper of the car I hit. I was stopped making a right turn onto a major street. Looking left for on coming traffic. On the corner of my eye, I thought I saw the car in front of me move. So I move up. CRASH. We pull over. It was a mom. 2 kids in the back seat probably 8-10YO. We exchange info. Everything was cordial. I asked if the kids are fine. She says yes. The kids seem to be playing some kinda gameboy or something. Got pics of the damage, both my car and hers.  Good!  This is why every person driving should have a disposible camera in thier glove box. Lady said its her husbands car and will make him decide wether or not to claim it. Basically there is a scratch of my license plate on their bumper. It was an Altima. Appears to be an 05 model. No cops were called. So we go off our merry way. I call my insurance company and report it. My insurance company said I should called the cops. I suppose you could've,and, that probably would've been best, but, you should still be ok.  Unless she drove straight to the ER, she essentially refused medical care.  With kids involved this could turn out to be much larger. So you guys think I am screwed or what???

You should be ok.  I mean, they can claim anything they want after the fact, and,
that wouldn't have changed with the cops there or not.  I WOULD, if I was you, go back and, take pictures of the area, and, make some measurements, so you can refresh your memeory if need
be.  Also, make some notes to yourself about it.

You're at fault, becasue you rear ended her.  Sucks, but, that's the way it goes.

Almost the same exact thing happened to me last winter. Only I was the one hit. I was waiting to turn out onto a highway and thought I had enough room to merge in. My tires spun on all the fresh ice and snow and I couldn't get traction, so I decided to hit the brake rather then end up pulling out in front of the car coming from my left.

The guy behind me saw me start to go and then must have looked to his left to watch for cars also and didn't see me spinning my tires and stop, so he rear-ended me. All it really did was gouge the bumper a little. It's a black plastic bumper with red paint, so pretty noticable and my car was only a year old.

Well, I called the cops. The kid was in HS and late, but I made him stay. The cops eventually called me back and said just to leave because they had too many serious accidents to go to. So, I got the kids info, insurance, etc. The kid was real nice, he apologized and never mouthed off or anything and he even extended his hand and shook mine as we were leaving.

So, I ended up calling his insurance, but I didn't actually make a claim. I couldn't get a hold of the kid's dad, but I told his insurance company what happened and I offered to just work it out with him directly if he wanted rather than go through insurance. They called me back later and asked if it was ok if his dad called me directly. I said fine and we worked it out without the insurance company. The quote ended up being $500, so I faxed the quote to him and he just wrote me a check. I never filed anything with his insurance or the police.

I may have been less accomodating if the kid was an jerk about it, but he was really nice and apologetic. Anyway, the moral of the story is that you may want to contact her insurance and ask if it's ok to work it out on your own. If she's an honest person you'll be fine...hopefully she's not scum sucking lawsuit seeker. Good luck.

you should have just dealt with it man to man the mistake was calling the insurance company,

BOHIC!

Excellent job taking pictures.  I hope you got the kids playing too.  Showing they were not even phased by it.  You should be ok.

Quoted: The driver can make any claims she wants since both of you left the scene without a police report.  She can take a hammer to her bumper, and it would be your pics word against hers.

Missed the pics part of LT's post?
....

Quoted: Basically, don't worry about it.

Agree with you on this; once she left and LT has pics, I think he's in pretty good shape.

Merlin

Around here you can do what's called a "walk in" accident report. Give your local P.D. a call and ask for the traffic division. Let them know what happened and after they are done telling you you should have called in the first place they will tell you your options.


Good Luck.

With your luck her husband's probably an ambulance chaser.

In my experience, in Texas if it's a non-injury fender-bender, the police don't want to be bothered by an on-the-scene report.  In fact (at least in San Antonio), if none of the vehicles are disabled and there are no injuries, they will often flat out refuse to send an officer to the scene.

You can make a statement at any nearby substation at your convenience if you want it on the record.  You are under no obligation to file a report in your situation, but doing so might be nice.  It's really just a statement, though -- an official record of your view of the incident.

Times change and so do policies, so take this with a grain of salt.

But great job taking pix.  That was the right thing to do and you were properly prepared!  

Shouldn't have called the insurance company, unless you needed to file a claim to get your car fixed.  Now they will require some type of a report.  Here in GA, you would get a "Personal Report of Accident" form, since you would be reporting an accident after the fact.  It's a form you have to fill out on your own.  Pretty self explanatory.  No police officer will do an official accident report after the fact, since the officer  can't attest to nothing on the report (officer wasn't at the scene, didn't hear what each driver said at the scene, etc).  Good luck.

The pics will be your savior.  If they claim more damage, the pics will disprove it.  In many areas, LEO will not respond to a non-injury collision, regardless of monetary damage.

I had a friend that hit a car from the rear.  They did the same as you, but the female decided that she was injured after talking to friends/Oprah, whatever, and had minimal damage to her car.  My friend already replaced his damaged bumper when the adjuster came out.  Since he had no damage and she had very minor damage, there was no injury claim.  

I had two crashes with no police report, and one I had to do my own investigation, with a scene map, NWNTI speed/skid estimates, pictures, etc.  You should be fine.

Definitely would have given another card if cops werent involved...

Wouldnt help to get a spare plate from a junk yard either

Quoted: UPDATE: My insurance company just told me that they are claiming a loss. Don't have the figure yet.

Well, you're gonna get kiestered, but, probably just your insurance rate.

I doubt they'll have grounds to proceed much further.

Quoted: Definitely would have given another card if cops werent involved... Wouldnt help to get a spare plate from a junk yard either

Who accepts JUST a business card.

Driver's license number, and insurance policy number.

If they aren't available, call the cops.

Quoted: Quoted: The driver can make any claims she wants since both of you left the scene without a police report.  She can take a hammer to her bumper, and it would be your pics word against hers. Missed the pics part of LT's post? ....

Yep.

Quoted: Quoted: Definitely would have given another card if cops werent involved... Wouldnt help to get a spare plate from a junk yard either Who accepts JUST a business card. Driver's license number, and insurance policy number. If they aren't available, call the cops.

I've had an accident where all they wanted was my phone number, YMMV

Quoted: The driver can make any claims she wants since both of you left the scene without a police report.  She can take a hammer to her bumper, and it would be your word against hers. However, the amount of damage to your vehicle is an indicator of how severe the crash was. Even if a cop had been there, she can claim her kids are having back pain tomorrow. Unless damage to both vehicles exceeds your local limit, you don't need to call the police. Edit:  The fact that you exchanged information is proof you both agreed the damage didn't exceed the "limit", and that there wasn't any personal injury.   Basically, don't worry about it. Regardless of what the final outcome is, ....  isn't that why you are forced to pay for insurance?

Yes and no, but YES to your final point.  My first reactionis that's why I have an umbrella.

But if LT took photos, the BEST thing that could happen is some giant fake property damage claim reveals the plaintiffs to be liars.

Second, nothing stops them from crying to a Dr. just because a cop scrawls minimal damage on a PR.

Here in Kali, they won't send anyone to make a report unless injuries are apparent at the scene.  

If you exchanged info, call the guy! Ask him if he'd like to work it out with you directly. If the insurance company hasn't paid yet, they should be happy to kill the claim.

Offer to meet him at the body shop and be prepared to write a check for the estimate.

Around here... if you get into even the tinest fender bender, call the cops.

People start having the most far out pains/symptoms after a car accident....

Quoted: Quoted: Definitely would have given another card if cops werent involved... Wouldnt help to get a spare plate from a junk yard either Who accepts JUST a business card. Driver's license number, and insurance policy number. If they aren't available, call the cops.

I am giving you a lawful order to provide ID and proof of insurance.........pause........OK, you are under arrest.  

Yup, that is exactly how it goes.

Quoted: ...I rear ended a car...I was stopped making a right turn onto a major street. Looking left for on coming traffic. On the corner of my eye, I thought I saw the car in front of me move. So I move up. CRASH. I've had several cases recently with very similar facts.  Unfortunately, this is an all too common scenario. ...No cops were called. This could turn out to be a good or a bad thing.  Look on the bright side, at least you didn't get cited! ...With kids involved this could turn out to be much larger... It could, but that doesn't mean it will.  Kids are pretty resilient.  They're like the energizer bunny; they can take a beating and keep on going...and going...and going.  If it turns out that the mother wasn't even concerned enough to take the kids to the ER/Urgent Care/Doctor right away, then it's going to be much harder to support an injury claim later on. So you guys think I am screwed or what??? "Screwed" as in the accident was your fault?  Yep, it sure looks that way, based on the statements that I quoted above.  Of course, other information may come up later that shows otherwise. "Screwed" as in you or your insurance company will have to pay for the damage to the other car?  Probably.  It really depends on a lot of different factors that could make it go either way.  You'll have to sort it out with your insurance company and your attorney. "Screwed" as in you or your insurance company will have to pay for someone's bodily injuries?  Depends on whether they even make an injury claim.  That depends on a lot of things, not the least of which is the attitude of the other driver and her husband.  A lot of people just brush things off as long as no bones are broken and nobody's bleeding.  Others complain about every single ache and pain in their body and try to pin it all on your accident. Be glad that you had insurance and grateful that the accident wasn't worse. Disclaimer:  None of what I said should be taken as legal advice.  If you want legal advice, you should talk to an attorney in your area who specializes in this type of law.

Quoted: Almost the same exact thing happened to me last winter. Only I was the one hit. I was waiting to turn out onto a highway and thought I had enough room to merge in. My tires spun on all the fresh ice and snow and I couldn't get traction, so I decided to hit the brake rather then end up pulling out in front of the car coming from my left. The guy behind me saw me start to go and then must have looked to his left to watch for cars also and didn't see me spinning my tires and stop, so he rear-ended me. All it really did was gouge the bumper a little. It's a black plastic bumper with red paint, so pretty noticable and my car was only a year old. Well, I called the cops. The kid was in HS and late, but I made him stay. The cops eventually called me back and said just to leave because they had too many serious accidents to go to. So, I got the kids info, insurance, etc. The kid was real nice, he apologized and never mouthed off or anything and he even extended his hand and shook mine as we were leaving. So, I ended up calling his insurance, but I didn't actually make a claim. I couldn't get a hold of the kid's dad, but I told his insurance company what happened and I offered to just work it out with him directly if he wanted rather than go through insurance. They called me back later and asked if it was ok if his dad called me directly. I said fine and we worked it out without the insurance company. The quote ended up being $500, so I faxed the quote to him and he just wrote me a check. I never filed anything with his insurance or the police. I may have been less accomodating if the kid was an jerk about it, but he was really nice and apologetic. Anyway, the moral of the story is that you may want to contact her insurance and ask if it's ok to work it out on your own. If she's an honest person you'll be fine...hopefully she's not scum sucking lawsuit seeker. Good luck.

Thats cool of you. Friend of mine had something similar but very different happen.. He was around 19 when it happened and some scammer purposely breaked hard for no reason to get my friend to rear end him. My friend wasn't exactly the safest driver (he didn't tailgate but he followed too close for going 45mph) and hit the guy. Guy wanted like 700$ within 24hr's or he'd file with the insurance co. :\

lol I hit someones bumper in same way but it was some cheap crappy car and it smushed all that plastic crap off.  We were outside inspecting damage, A cop comes driving by ,asks if we are alright then tells us to drive our vehicles off the road. And he left.

See: www.dot.state.tx.us/trafficsafety/road_tips/collisions.htm

Quoted: UPDATE: My insurance company just told me that they are claiming a loss. Don't have the figure yet.

NEver should have reported it if there was no report filed.  Insurance companies always want a reason to increase your rate