Cop changes his story - why?

[ellenr]

Hello,
I was in a slight accident last Wed. Traffic was merging from 2 to 1 lane. I was clear of a dump truck, then he hit me in the left rear. Happened right in front of a cop who was sitting in his car. Cop says he didn't see anything. The other driver refused to give me his insurance info.
Isn't he required to?
We each tell our story to the officer. The other guy of course has a different story. The cop tells him that looking at the damage to my car (his huge truck had no damage of course, it was his tire that hit me.), the cop says the damage to my car supports MY story. The guy argues. The cop repeats what he said.
Fri I pick up the accident report, and the cop has said that I was inattentive.
Today I went to the station to ask the cop what's up, but I have to go back tomorrow. Possible he made a mistake, but if not, what recourse do I have?

thanks,
ellen
Do you think $ changed hands and that is why he changed his story, if it wasn't a mistake?

[lamehonda]

Were you inattentive? I would have been sure to have been clear of the truck when the lane ended. Were you supposed to merge into his lane? Or was he supposed to merge into yours? I seriously doubt the cop was paid off. I am sure that this will all be cleared up when you talk to him.

[ellenr]

I could have been more attentive. I should have avoided the truck if possible. But the point is, and the damage shows this, he hit me, I didn't hit him.
I don't really think the cop was paid off. I don't think anyone would take a chance to try to bribe a cop- pretty big offense.
I'm just curious that the cop was so certain one way, and then filled out the report the other, unless he just made a mistake filling out the form. But that's a pretty big mistake to make.
Point is - I don't have much chance of having the owner of the truck pay for my damage, unless the cop says his drive was at fault.

ellen

Originally Posted by lamehonda

Were you inattentive? I would have been sure to have been clear of the truck when the lane ended. Were you supposed to merge into his lane? Or was he supposed to merge into yours? I seriously doubt the cop was paid off. I am sure that this will all be cleared up when you talk to him.

[Chevy4life1985]

Well if you are supposed to merge into his lane I.E Right Lane ends merge left then you are at fault. Now if you were in the left lane now that a diffent story. You didnt describe which lane ended for the merge or which lane you were in. Let us know that info and we will gladly answer and help you out.

[ellenr]

Hi,
I was in right lane and merging left, but I don't see why that would automatically makes me at fault. I was ahead of him, I had cleared him, and he hit me. By the imprint of his right front truck tire on my rear left, if I had hit him, I would have had to aim my car right and back up into him.

ellen

Originally Posted by Chevy4life1985

Well if you are supposed to merge into his lane I.E Right Lane ends merge left then you are at fault. Now if you were in the left lane now that a diffent story. You didnt describe which lane ended for the merge or which lane you were in. Let us know that info and we will gladly answer and help you out.

[Chevy4life1985]

You unfortuantly are at fault. Any merge from a right lane to a left lane the left lane has the right of way.

[drunken monkey]

you guys overtake on the left, correct?
if the car that you overtake hits you, it's the general concensus that you were the the one who was trying to get into a gap that wasn't big enough.

the other driver shouldn't have to slow down to let you in.
how fast he is going is (almost) irelevent as you should've been able to judge from your mirrors whether or not you would be able to merge in safely.

if you got hit, that would mean that you were not able to judge; hence your fault.

in this case, you were also in the lane that was merging into the other. seeing as this is usually sign-posted way before the end of lane, you also would have plenty of time make safe judgements.

[carbuzzard]

Just curious...how fast was traffic going? It's generally not a good idea to get very close to dump trucks. They'll squoosh a car.

I will say this. If this was a crawl type merge, you might have a prayer...if you had started the move over and he rolled up into you as you were stopped.

ALSO, if he hit you from behind, even one corner, then he's usually presumed to be at fault.

HOWEVER, there's no one size fits all answer. My uncle was hit as he pulled out from a side road, which would normally make him at fault, but the car that hit him had come flying over the crest of a hill, well in excess of the speed limit. If you can prove that someone else was not obeying the law, it sure makes life easier for you.

Are you on good terms with your car insurance guy? He might be able to give some advice...even if you don't plan to file a claim. Hey, you give them a lot of money. Get something back for it.

[ellenr]

well, traffic was going very slowly. Because it had been slow before the merge, then you drive around a curve and there is the cops car in the right lane, so I was probably at a stop when I merged with the other lane of traffic.
I do agree that one should stay away from dump trucks. I can believe that he didn't see me (altho that is not an excuse for him).
And the cop filled out the accident report saying the principal impact was at the rear.
I just came from the cop,and he said that he had made a mistake in his initial assessment (at the scene, favorable to me), and he seemed sincere, so at least I am no longer t'eed off that this cop is trying to do me wrong. He explained why he thought I was at fault and I told him why I disagreed, and I filled out a report which will be attached to his report, and I will contact the other ins co. Got nothing to lose.

I had been thinking maybe to ask my ins co for advice, as you suggest. Couldn't hurt. Then if I get nowhere I shall try to find someone who can fix the damage, not a regular place for thousands of $ because my car is 12 years old and 125,000 miles. But perhaps a 'back-yard' person who can touch it up and do some repair, so my poor car doesn't look so pathetic.
thanks for your interest.

ellenr

Originally Posted by carbuzzard

Just curious...how fast was traffic going? It's generally not a good idea to get very close to dump trucks. They'll squoosh a car.

I will say this. If this was a crawl type merge, you might have a prayer...if you had started the move over and he rolled up into you as you were stopped.

ALSO, if he hit you from behind, even one corner, then he's usually presumed to be at fault.

HOWEVER, there's no one size fits all answer. My uncle was hit as he pulled out from a side road, which would normally make him at fault, but the car that hit him had come flying over the crest of a hill, well in excess of the speed limit. If you can prove that someone else was not obeying the law, it sure makes life easier for you.

Are you on good terms with your car insurance guy? He might be able to give some advice...even if you don't plan to file a claim. Hey, you give them a lot of money. Get something back for it.

[drunken monkey]

one more thing you mentioned about that he didn't see you.
is it a big truck becauseno idea how big US dump trucks are?
if you can't see his mirror, he can't see you.
seeing as you are the one to merge into his lane, the onus isn't on him to make sure no one is going to run into to him as you are the one making the manouever.

like i just typed on another thread, just because you got hit from the rear doesn't automatically mean it is the other person's fault.

[fredjacksonsan]

Having worked in auto claims for a major insurance company, I'd suggest reporting it. If you had merged into the lane and were stopped (as your posts suggest) then the truck driver is definitely at fault. However if you were both moving at a merge area, it's harder to figure. Was the merge one where your lane disappeared, or were both lanes being channeled into one?

As far as the insurance information, in the US you do have to give your insurance information in an accident, if asked. The cop should have at least made sure that info was exchanged. Hopefully you got the license tag # of the truck, and it isn't an expired tag. Did you get the name of the company, usually written on the side of the truck?

On the police report, you can get the officer to amend what he wrote. If you talk to him so he remembers the situation, he may be willing to do that for you.

Overall, merging accidents suck. Liability is often not clear, and both people think the other is at fault. If you have collision coverage, your insurance will likely end up paying for the damage, minus your deductible. If not, you'll probably end up paying for your own damages.

PM me if you'd like some more discussion on it.