This is a good one...Alright im drivin today to get a new cell phone and theres some construction so my lane merged into the next trafic was at a standstill so I start looking for a place to merge so I see this truck behind an RV ands it like one car length behind so I pull in and Merge But after I merged and was waiting for trafic to move this guy decides that he doesnt like my merging in his lane so he tries to get around me while im already 50% in his lane completely stopped... and he basicaly gets by me but he's drivin a big flatbed with dualies and big *** tires like the same size that shcool busses have with those huge lug bolts sticking out the front tires.....yep so the lug bolts in on his wheels start gouging my door and he only stops when they get locked in the spokes of my rim
So we eventualy get sepperated and I jump out ready to throttle some one and this old guy gets out looks at me and says "hey you got a flat...well theres no damage to my truck so take it easy" and the guy starts walking away, by this time im just beyond words im like noway man I need your insurance information so after I follow him across traffic I finally get him to give me his registration which just has the name of the company and address Im like can I see your license and hes like "I dunno what for its in the truck" so im trying to get his name to no avail then he just takes off...

So a cop drives up a little later and hes like what happened ...so I tell him and hes like well its deffinatly his fault because I was aready in the lane partialy and stopped as was the rest of traffic so hes like I track down the driver and talk to him ...so hours latter I get a call and the officer comes to my house with some paperwork and he says... well he had a different story and he recount the same thing I story I told him and he finishes by saying that its no ones fault...so I start telling that a few hours ago it was deffinately this guys fault no its no ones fault? so I start pressing him for an explanation(bad Idea) and he comes back saying well If get contacted buy the ins. company Ill tell them it was your fault and im like wait a minute blah blah blah... and he starts sayin sumthin about my cars too low and my lights arnt dot certified ...So I can see where this is goin so I walk off with my paperwork
Just like that judge jury and executioner style... All I can think is when he tracked the guy down he knew him and the cop even admitted the guy didnt have his insurance card on him which is the law here and probly why he was in such a hurry to leave
so now I got a $1000 dollars in damage and I can either feed the insurance gods or foot the bill
maybe I need leagal advice????

 

Holy crap that sucks!!!! I would be sooooo pissed.
One question I would have is was their a sign to merge at least a mile before? Just playing devils advocate but that could result in your fault for not gettin over sooner. In Michigan it is illegal to wait until the last minute to merge and the driver not getting over sooner is at fault for an accident. Not sure if that was what happend, you never said how close you were before the lanes merged. This could be enough for the cop to say it was your fault even though you were stopped.

I would definately seek legal advice. They will probably say you are screwed since the cop said it was your fault, but what can it hurt. I am curious what the other story was. If he says you hit hit the guy in the truck I dont see how that could even happen with the dammage you have. It seems you would have to back up for that to happen. Unless the driver in the truck said you drove into him while he was moving? Deffinately tell the insurance company your side of the story maybe they will send their own investigator to see what really happend, try to determine if the story the truck guy told could be true with the damage on your car. If they say your screwed and it were me I would probably pay out of my own pocket. I would not let this go too easily.

Have to ask....Any pics??

 

Holy sheet man, I got pissed off just reading that!!!

I'm in a similar situation (although not as extensive in the damgage area) but instead of the cop telling me its my fault, the other dude's insurance keeps hinting at me being a lier. We were in a parking lot and the guy backs up and scapes my back bumper from corner to license plate, but since the damage to him was on his rear quarter panel, the insurance company is basically saying I backed into him and it's my fault.

I F***ING HATE INSURANCE COMPANIES!!!

At that point I told them I would have had to get out of my car, summmon my superhuman strength and pick up the back of my car, then scrape it down the side of his van to do that kind of damage and make a lateral scrape a foot and a half long on my car for it to be my fault. Hmmmmm...what do you think??

And of course they came back at me with the whole "Well, I'm just saying...." argument.

So I guess we'll see where this ends up..

 

yeah the thing that really sucks is that my car was just painted because of vandalism and the rims have only been on 4 months now ones toast and my tire that only has 3000miles on it is shredded

 

Yeah the story he gave was basically the same except he said he didnt see me which is bullshit because when I merged into his lane traffic was stopped and he was at least at or behind my rear bumper we were sitting there for about 30 secconds then he just starts trying to get around me ...there was still plenty of time to merge but traffic was completely stoped
And the cop said at first it was his fault because I was in the lane stopped already

 

I don't wanna beat a dead horse, but why the hell did the cop come back and say it was nobody's fault?! It doesn't make a goddamn bit of difference if the guy says he didn't see you or if your lights are illegal or if sasquatch distracted him, the fact remains, HE hit YOU and it is still his fault!!! Unless there is something you haven't told me, you definitely have a case to get both the cop and the other guy busted! First of all, get a lawyer, ask him what to do, and second or even option 1b, if you will, get a second cop that's totally removed from the situation to come in and take care of it so you can start building a case against em!!

Hell, the simple fact that it was a hit and run puts the other guy at fault anyway!! I'll smack you if you let this one go, cuz I don't see any fat ladies singin!! So do me proud!

 

well Im not lettin it go Im gonna talk to my friends wife shes a lawyer for an ins. co. .. but the fact remains that another officer in this town isnt goin to udermine his colleage the message I get even from family is that there good ol boys and Im a stranger with a shiny car and funny accent
also it wasnt a hit&run says officer X he gave me his registration info (though I never told the cop it was a hit&run he came up with that one on his own)

 

legal representation would cost you more money than fixing it your self or paying the insurance compony

 

Do what's right. Get a lawyer. Let the lawyer handle both the cop and the other driver. It will all come out best for you. The lawyer won't be emotianally involved and he can keep it all in perspective as well as keep your best interests intact.