Suspected Hit and Run Vehicle April 12 2019

lulu5kamz

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Two witnesses saw a grey or green Nissan Altima hit a parked vehicle and then drive away without stopping today. A third witness saw the vehicle drive off but didn't see the impact. This vehicle stopped on the corner exactly one minute later and a passenger appeared to be checking for front end damage. I provided a photo of the license plate to the owner of the vehicle that was damaged.

 

handinpalm

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Of course they stopped in front of your house. Everyone does! Hit and run is a common scene in FL. Good video Lulu.
 

lulu5kamz

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Pretty decent audio too considering how far away they are
This LPR camera is sharing the audio from an IPC-HDW5231R-ZE. I've noticed that the microphone from this camera is much more sensitive than the one in the older model IPC-HDW5231R-Z camera (both cameras have the noise filter setting disabled).
 

lulu5kamz

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Of course they stopped in front of your house. Everyone does! Hit and run is a common scene in FL. Good video Lulu.
It is becoming common here too. Less than 2 weeks ago there was another one on our street. In that case they didn't bother stopping on the corner. But I was able to provide a license plate photo to the neighbor who had property damaged in that hit and run too.
 

Parley

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This is why the neighbors do not mind cameras on my house. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ In fact more and more people are getting cameras even if it is the Ring.
 

lulu5kamz

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Just wanted to follow up on the above video. I just got a message from the owner of the vehicle that was damaged in the hit and run. The police were able to track down the driver of the vehicle that caused the hit and run with the help of the license plate capture. It turns out the driver has prior convictions for hit and run. The owner of the damaged vehicle is pressing charges against the driver and is hoping insurance will cover his damages.
 
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The odds are that the driver of the hit and run vehicle does not have insurance.
Perhaps, but in that case your own insurance covers the cost (uninsured motorist clause), and then you sign a subrogation agreement with your insurance company that gives them the right to sue the driver to recover their costs.

My experience has been that even when the police can't be bothered to pursue such matters, your insurance company absolutely will.
 

fenderman

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Perhaps, but in that case your own insurance covers the cost (uninsured motorist clause), and then you sign a subrogation agreement with your insurance company that gives them the right to sue the driver to recover their costs.

My experience has been that even when the police can't be bothered to pursue such matters, your insurance company absolutely will.
The problem is once you file a claim with your own carrier, your rates will go up for the next 3-5 years. Doesn't matter if your vehicle was parked and you did not contribute to the accident. If the damage is not significant it makes no sense. Ultimately your carrier will get a paper judgement against the other driver that they can hang on the wall until he files for bankruptcy or wins the lotter.
 
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The problem is once you file a claim with your own carrier, your rates will go up for the next 3-5 years. Doesn't matter if your vehicle was parked and you did not contribute to the accident. If the damage is not significant it makes no sense. Ultimately your carrier will get a paper judgement against the other driver that they can hang on the wall until he files for bankruptcy or wins the lotter.
That depends on the state you live in, and who your insurance company is. My own uninsured claim for $4500 had no effect on my rates, but my company is State Farm, which doesn't penalize you for them.
 

fenderman

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That depends on the state you live in, and who your insurance company is. My own uninsured claim for $4500 had no effect on my rates, but my company is State Farm, which doesn't penalize you for them.
Trust me they will. I know of no state law that prohibits this practice. State farm has a scam they run called accident forgiveness. While they may "forgive" the accident and not raise your rates this one time, it effectively locks you in to that carrier for the next few years.That alone is a rate hike because switching carriers can save you significantly. Carriers use various actuarial models to calculate risk and therefore the price for the same policy can vary by 500%. God forbid you have a second claim in the next few years.
You can easily confirm this, by going online to any carrier that does online quotes. Select a policy, dont mention the accident, look at the quote. Do the same in a second browser window, now disclose the accident.
State farm's scam is similar to car dealers that falsely advertise a "free 7 day exchange". Problem is you are now locked into what ever price they want to charge you for the second vehicle. You have no bargaining power.
 

bababouy

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I once plowed into someone crossing a two lane road to make a left. The guy in front of me stopped in the middle turn lane and I was looking to my right to make sure traffic wasn't coming. I hit him pretty hard and messed up the tailgate and bed sides on his old Nissan hardbody pick up. The guy got out and looked at the damage, then said" it's ok," and drove off. I had very little damage, but kinda figured the guy had no insurance. The moral of the story, drive something with a big bumper and a big hitch receiver on the back and carry good insurance.
 
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Trust me they will. I know of no state law that prohibits this practice.
If the damage is minor, and it's an old car, I could see your point. But in my case I certainly wasn't going to eat a $4500 repair bill. I called my insurance company.

As to uninsured people getting hit with judgments that they can't pay anyway - it's either do something, or else choose to live in a society where irresponsible and criminal people do anything they want, and the rest of us play BOHICA and keep paying for it. A paper judgment is better than letting them walk away scot free, IMO.

Even in a city where property crime is often ignored because the police have other priorities, I still put up my cameras, publish my images on NextDoor, and report incidents to the cops. I think most of us would agree with that sentiment, or else we wouldn't be posting in this forum.
 
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erkme73

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I see this come up in some of the drone forums I visit... Specifically State Farm. They issue a personal articles policy (PAP) for $60/yr that covers items up to $5000. Everyone gets so excited about this policy because it seems too good to be true.

What most people don't realize is that there is a risk rating reporting system that works just like Expirian/TransUnion/Equifax credit agencies. It's called ChoicePoint and is run by LexisNexis. Unlike the credit bureaus, CP is only accessible to insurance companies and their underwriters. You have no ability to review your report, and they can be riddled with errors.

For example, on a recent renewal, I was informed that I didn't qualify for the lowest rate because of an incident on my risk rating. When I inquired with my agent, she covertly provided me with a copy of the CP report, with a stern warning that I not disclose that I viewed it. Turns out, my father had an accident in his driveway earlier that year, and because it was listed as my previous address, it increased my risk! She was able to get it rectified.

In any case, ANYTIME you file a claim - it doesn't matter if you were at-fault, or if it's a comprehensive event (theft/vandalism/hit & run), that incident gets registered in your CP record. If you remain with your existing carrier through your renewal, and you have a long, established history with them, it may not affect your premiums. However, if you shop around at renewal (something I do every year), then a new carrier won't have any loyalty or first-hand experience with your history - and they will rely entirely on the CP report - and you will no longer qualify for best rates.

This happens over a $500 PAP (drone) claim, or a totaled vehicle. The claim is an incident. While a higher claim payout will result in more significant risk penalties, even a relatively minor comprehensive claim (like having a free windshield replacement in FL) increases your risk rating.

Point is, there is no free lunch.
 

looney2ns

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My daughter rates were raised after she simply called in inquired about whether or not she could file a claim on an incident. She didn't file, just asked a question.
 

58chev

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The moral of the story, drive something with a big bumper and a big hitch receiver on the back and carry good insurance.
Great advice if your vehicle can have either.

I have a rear hitch on my MDX and keep the ball in at all times. Been rear ended twice and not a scratch to my vehicle, aside from some rust removal off the ball. The bumper on the others did not fair to well.
 
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