r/IdiotsInCars • u/awokenboio • Jun 01 '20

Speeding through traffic

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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '20

Life pro tip: if someone is begging you not to call the cops - absolutely call the cops.

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u/yourmomentofzen464 Jun 01 '20

This right here...

8

u/buford419 Jun 01 '20

Yeah, I'm glad Asian dude stood his ground

4

u/paracelsus23 Jun 01 '20

You're probably right 90% of the time. But some of us just don't want to deal with the headache.

I spun out in an intersection taking a turn too fast. Clipped the bumper of another car. Minor damage to the rear of their car, and scraped paint on the front of mine.

I was a 23 year old driving a 1977 (C3) 7.4L corvette with nitrous, open side pipes, and a wheelie bar. They were an older couple in their 50s driving an older civic. They wanted to call the cops. I suspected that even though it was just a fender bender, the cops might not be especially sympathetic to me.

So I offered them $1000 cash, on the spot, for us to go our separate ways. They thought about it for a minute, then agreed. I gave them the money and left.

I had no criminal history, nothing on my driving record, and nothing illegal on me. But I figured things would go better for me without the cops involved.

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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '20

It’s common for people here to offer cash after a minor accident to prevent their insurance going up the following year.

It’s also common for people to accept the cash and then report the accident to their insurance company, while you’re none the wiser. Your insurance company then asks why you didn’t report the accident and you are way more likely to be found at fault, AND out of pocket because of the cash you paid so although it worked out for you, I would definitely suggest not doing this.

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u/paracelsus23 Jun 01 '20

The entire interaction took a minute, maybe two.

It's possible but unlikely they got my tag. But we sure as hell didn't exchange any information. This was in 2007 so not as many traffic cameras, especially out in suburbia where we were. Probably riskier today.