Once again, my life presents a good topic to write on – although I could have done without this one. This morning on the way to work, I was hit when I slowed down for a person turning in front of me, and the person behind me didn’t. It was a big, older pickup that hit me, and I have a little 1981 Nissan 280zx, so it did some damage. The truck pulled onto the side street, and I followed up. I had the distinct feeling he wasn’t going to stop, but he did, and I didn’t listen to my instincts about the other driver. He got out, and he was a short little Mexican who didn’t speak much English. As I called 911 from my cell phone, he started walking back toward his truck. I asked if he was getting his information, and he said, “Yes – information.” I was distracted by getting the street name for the cops, and I didn’t notice at first that the other guy was leaving. When the cops arrived five or ten minutes later, we were unable to find the guy in the truck, even though the apartment complex he went into had only the one entrance and exit. Of course, it’s likely that he ran because he didn’t have insurance, so it wouldn’t have helped my situation any even if we’d found him: I still would have to figure out how to either fix my car or get a new one without the luxury of money to help me out.

In the few hours since, I’ve been beating myself up for not doing certain things differently – things that would have made it harder for the guy to leave or at least easier to find him after he did. Hopefully a few words of wisdom will help you if you are ever in this situation:

First and foremost, stay with the other driver. Trust me, you don’t want them to have a chance to get in their car and leave the scene. Follow them around as they get their information out of their car.

Get the other car’s license plate number, as well as descriptive details about the car, just in case. I’m pretty sure the truck that hit me had a temp tag, so no license plate, but had I walked with him over to his truck, I would have gotten a better look at the vehicle, not to mention made it more difficult for him to sneak off.

Call 911. Of course, you probably won’t forget to do this, but sometimes the other person will try to convince you not to call. Usually they promise to fix your car for you without going through their insurance company. This may actually mean they don’t have insurance (that’s happened to me before, too). Call the cops anyway.

Don’t admit fault. You’ve probably heard the insurance companies tell you this, and they’re right. In the aftermath of an accident, which can be pretty upsetting, you may be tempted to take responsibility, even though after later reflection your memories may indicate otherwise. Don’t make any promises while you have a potential of being upset and confused.

I hope my hard-learned lessons will be of help to you.