[ericthehalfbee]

Seems like most people don't, otherwise you wouldn't see posts like "need a witness" or see those signs on the road asking if someone saw an accident on such and such a date.

Last night I was driving home and I saw an accident which was clearly 100% the fault of one driver (pulled out in front of another car without looking). The accident was minor and definitely no injuries - just scrapes and dents down the sides of the cars.

So I see the two cars pull over and I'm thinking should I even stop? I decide to circle the block and come back and see if anyone has bothered to stop. When I get back around I see the driver of the at fault vehicle and her husband are arguing and getting in the face of the young girl who was hit.

So I pull over and walk up to give the young girl my info and I hear some bits of the conversation. The older lady was saying things like "it's your fault" and "you have to pay". The young girl was saying "I can't afford to pay" and the older guy responds "then you have to get your insurance to pay".

I found this quite odd since the older lady was clearly at fault. I also found it odd the young girl was being pressured so easily and instead of saying "it's not my fault - I don't have to pay" she was making comments like "I can't afford to pay". Clearly the older couple was bullying her and she was flustered to the point of questioning whether she might actually be at fault.


So I walk up to them and I ask who was driving which car (I already knew, just wanted to see responses). The older lady pointed out her car and so did the young girl. So I handed my card to the young girl and told her I saw the accident and it was 100% the fault of the older lady (meanwhile pointing my finger straight at her). I told her to call ICBC and file a claim and don't listen to anyone who says to handle it privately. I also told her even if the older lady agrees to pay for the damages, she still has to call ICBC to file a claim and ICBC and the lady can settle on payments terms later.

The reaction of the older lady and her husband was priceless. The guy starts whining shit like "this isn't your business, why are you getting involved" blah blah blah. I plainly told him I did because his wife caused an accident and was trying to blame the other driver and it was people like her that caused my insurance rates to go up.

Off to the side when talking to the young girl I made absolutely sure she understood to call ICBC and never accept any offers to repair, money or anything from the older lady until after the claim was filed. I also let her know I do investigations under contract for ICBC so she would take my word for it, since she was still flustered and questioning what to do.

So now I'm waiting to see if ICBC calls me for my witness statement to see if she really did file a claim.

[Good_KarMa]

Good job, Eric. :thumbsup:

Wish there were more people like you.

[Greenstoner]

picture of the accident and the young girl ? lol


good job anyways

[van_driver]

old couple probably thought you wanted to get lucky with the young girl LOL

This world could use more people like you

[Pt20]

Depends if I'm in a rush..etc. but yeah, I've stopped for a couple accidents.
Good on you, guy

[TRDood]

What a clever way to get the girl's number.

[gdoh]

need pics to better assess the situation ;)

[Qmx323]

good on you man,

sucks when people push the blame just because they think they are "older" and never wrong.

[InvisibleSoul]

Yep, I've definitely done it a couple times before.

THere was one similar situation... I was pulling up to a light that had just turned red, and someone turning left got hit by someone running the red very late on the curb lane. It was also an older woman driving the car that ran the red, and she also had her husband in the passenger seat. They also tried to push the blame to the other party, saying the light was green still, blah blah. I told the older couple that the light was definitely red, and the red light camera flash even went off, so there's no disputing it. I told the younger guy I could be his witness... but I never ended up getting contacted.

[!Shuya80]

karma points to u op.

we really do need more ppl like you.

[SpuGen]

You might have to follow up on the accident yourself if ICBC doesn't contact you.

1: The at fault party will say you came out of nowhere, and you didn't see the accident, making your statement void.
2: The at fault party will admit to the fault, so your statement is not needed.
3: The girl might forget to mention that she has you as a witness.

Sometimes most witnesses are flaky, or they don't follow up on an accident after they give thier number to either one of the parties. ICBC doesn't really care for minor accidents, so it's better if you call in yourself. This is why people who get into minor accidents always get screwed over.

Location/Time/Date/Cars involved.
You should be put in through Dial-a-Claim, and then they file it into the case.

[SumAznGuy]

picture of the accident and the young girl ? lol


good job anyways

Pic of the young girl only please.


I will stop to offer any first aid help since I am a level II FA.

One time I was behind a mini van that pulled out of a side street causing a car to run up the island on Rupert st. She took off and I had to chase her down, and a few minutes later the other car came creeping up the street with 4 flat tires. Gave the guy my business card and carried on my way to work. A week later ICBC called and I told her everything that I saw/remembered.

[OTG-ZR2]

I stopped and gave a police statement at a accident i witnessed not to long ago, the guy hit a pole and flipped up side down. He was drunk and luckily didn't hit any one else.

[!LittleDragon]

Witnessed a few accidents, stopped once because it looked pretty bad. Other times, it was just a fender bender. Everyone looked fine so I kept on driving and called it into ICBC later on. As long as ICBC knows what you saw and can contact you later on if needed..

[GLOW]

either i'll stay to be a witness or call it in to ICBC on my own and give the details. i know i'd want someone to do the same if i was the one involved in the accident.

[ziggyx]

I wish I was there just to see the old couples reaction but good job. :thumbsup:

[RabidRat]

I'll do you one better.

Last time I witnessed an accident, I watched in disbelief as the SUV that sideswiped the other guy in a failed lane-change decided to DRIVE OFF. So I chased him down, and eventually got his plate and a thorough description of the vehicle, including verification that there was damage to the vehicle matching up with where I saw them collide.

What sucks is that by the time I caught up to the hit-and-runner, then fought my way through traffic to return to the scene of the accident, the other guy had already left.

In hindsight, I probably could've directly called this in to ICBC and they would've been able to match it up by the plates. I didn't realize at the time.

[rawr]

You're a hero, OP! Good job :thumbsup:

[Gumby]

+100 karma points.

Good job - world needs more people like you. :thumbsup:

[StealthFighter]

+100 karma points.

Good job - world needs more people like you. :thumbsup:

+1. good job OP

[twitchyzero]

yes
cause i expect others to do the same.

[orange7]

It depends on the situation.

If I were driving home to take a big shit witnessed the accident, I would probably not stop since I don't want to shit in my pants.

If I were driving to an interview or an school exam, then I would probably ignore the accident and keep on driving (depends on the time).


If I'm not in a rush, then I would probably stop (depends on the situation..).

[Senna4ever]

I always stop and give a statement to police or business card to both parties. Always. It was due to witnesses when I had my accident (taxi ran a red light and t-boned me) that it was deemed not my fault. Had it not been for them, ICBC was going to deem it a 50-50.

[flagella]

Always. I have the urge to do the right thing :D

[Meister1982]

I see some hit and runs usually and I'll take their plate down right away and put a paper with their plate # on their windshield wipers.

[Sp0r3]

Ask yourself this question. If you are in an accident and it is not your fault, would you want someone who witnessed the event come help you out? There is your answer. For those who doesn't, I sure hope karma will come one day and you will regret for not helping.

[Cillu]

You're a cool guy, OP.

[falcon]

Yes I stop because I hope someone would do the same for me.

[Matsuda]

I wish more people would do this, when I got rear ended and went flying into an intersection, people thought it was and inconvenience and drove off, didn't even check to see if I was injured/alive.

[blackg]

I wish more people would do the same!

[CP.AR]

Props to you OP!

I would stop and give my information for sure only if I saw the entire situation, or deem that my portion of what I saw would make a difference in ruling.

However, that opportunity hasn't come up yet (and I don't hope it does)

[124Y]

2 years ago, this asswhipe middle-aged China fob side-swiped my car when he changed lanes in an intersection... he then laid the blames on me. Good thing there were pedestrians who saw the whole thing and stayed till the cops came and told them what they saw. Props to nice and righteous people like the OP. :thumbsup:

[spoonek4]

Saw an old lady who got hit by a careless driver who tried to make a turn on to kingsway going west from clark/knight awhile ago. I was in a rush driving company's vehicle but I did the same thing, looped around the block & stayed til the popo arrived. ICBC did call me back but didn't know if the old lady is ok.

How about hit & runs? Do u guys leave any info if u saw something like that? Saw that happen one time in Crystal Mall. Tons of ppl around but no one left any info. Poor guy got big dent on his front fender & front door.

[Ferra]

So I see the two cars pull over and I'm thinking should I even stop? I decide to circle the block and come back and see if anyone has bothered to stop. When I get back around I see the driver of the at fault vehicle and her husband are arguing and getting in the face of the young girl who was hit.

So I pull over and walk up to give the young girl my info
admit it...you turned back because it was a hot young girl :rofl:

seriously tho...you did a great thing. I hate seeing soft easy going ppl being bullied by loud mouth jerks

[Mugen EvOlutioN]

pics of the girl or it didnt happen

[fliptuner]

I've left my card with 3 people this year alone.

The last one, I was in a huge rush to get to a jobsite so I couldn't stick around. I gave the person who wasn't at fault my card, told her to give me a call if she needed a witness and left. I felt as if I should give my version of the story to ICBC while it was fresh in my head so I called Dial-A-Claim with details - just witnessed, these plate numbers, if you need a formal statement, give me a call, etc.. I got a call from the adjuster, several days later, followed by the girl, an hour after that. She said that had it not been for my account of the accident, she would've got dinged on her premiums (deemed 50/50 at fault).

Karma, good.

[MR_BIGGS]

Good on you OP.

[AVS_Racing]

yep i always try to help if i can

[love_man339]

NICE... but i guess it's fair to say if it's ur 1st time being involve in an accident it's easy to get pressure by other driver

[q0192837465]

Another question spurs up is whether your statement is biased in any way. Like in OP's case, it's normal for people to side with the young girl and his statement might reflect that. It is important to just tell what you saw and not your interpretation of what you saw. Leave the interpretation to the judge.

[hal0g0dv2]

great guy you are

[optiblue]

I always stop to give my info and what I saw to ICBC :)

[ericthehalfbee]

UPDATE:

So I finally got a call from ICBC regarding the accident. Long story short: The older lady tried to claim to ICBC that the younger lady was driving while talking on her cell phone and therefore she was at fault. ICBC believed my version of the events and that the older lady simply pulled out into the path of the young lady without even looking and in an aggressive manner.

They assigned the old lady 100% of the blame (I mentioned the young lady tried to avoid the accident but simply ran out of room to swerve around).

[Presto]

^^^
WIN!

[DavidNguyen]

UPDATE:

So I finally got a call from ICBC regarding the accident. Long story short: The older lady tried to claim to ICBC that the younger lady was driving while talking on her cell phone and therefore she was at fault. ICBC believed my version of the events and that the older lady simply pulled out into the path of the young lady without even looking and in an aggressive manner.

They assigned the old lady 100% of the blame (I mentioned the young lady tried to avoid the accident but simply ran out of room to swerve around).

wow! cant believe the older lady still trying to put the blame on the younger girl glad the outcome was right

[moomooCow]

What a bitch move... does ICBC make a note of these bullshitters? So basically like they lose credibility in the eyes of ICBC for any future accidents?

[7seven]

I've witnessed 3 accidents and all 3 times I was in a rush so I've just pulled over quickly to give the parties my business card if they needed a witness.

[The_AK]

witnessed an accident not too long ago, left my phone number but my phone broke and contract ended

[gdoh]

UPDATE:

So I finally got a call from ICBC regarding the accident. Long story short: The older lady tried to claim to ICBC that the younger lady was driving while talking on her cell phone and therefore she was at fault. ICBC believed my version of the events and that the older lady simply pulled out into the path of the young lady without even looking and in an aggressive manner.

They assigned the old lady 100% of the blame (I mentioned the young lady tried to avoid the accident but simply ran out of room to swerve around).

good to hear

question: if you turn right at an intersection into the close lane and the guy switches lanes in the intersection whos at fault??

[OTG-ZR2]

^ your not supposed to change lanes in an intersection.

[gdoh]

^ your not supposed to change lanes in an intersection.

no shit thats y i asked cuz i see ppl do it all the time and sometimes i dont want turn right unless are no cars coming/enough space in both lanes

i was j/w what would happen in that situation

[Gumby]

UPDATE:

So I finally got a call from ICBC regarding the accident. Long story short: The older lady tried to claim to ICBC that the younger lady was driving while talking on her cell phone and therefore she was at fault. ICBC believed my version of the events and that the older lady simply pulled out into the path of the young lady without even looking and in an aggressive manner.

They assigned the old lady 100% of the blame (I mentioned the young lady tried to avoid the accident but simply ran out of room to swerve around).
Good job! :thumbsup:

As a side note, I fucking hate liars. :flamemad:

[freakshow]

good to hear

question: if you turn right at an intersection into the close lane and the guy switches lanes in the intersection whos at fault??
As far as I know:
If you turned right into the closest lane, and your light was red, you are at fault.
A driver with a green should get right of way. It's not illegal to change lanes in an intersection, but a defensive driver wouldn't do it.
Either way, a right turn on a red does not mean you have right of way, you still have to watch out.
Same deal if you turned right on a red to the closest lane, but someone hit you going the opposite direction but had a green left arrow, it would be your fault, since you're still turning on a red.

[Phil@rise]

About a year ago I witnessed some dude smoke a telephone pole. Tore it right off its base only the civic he was drivin was holding it up and sparks were raining everywhere. I pulled a quick u turn to aide and was shocked how many people just slowed down to gawk and no one else stopped to help.
Some nurse that was parked in the next parking lot came over to hand me a blanket for the dude. He was wrapped up around his steering wheel in a mess and in shock.
I always offer witness or assistance no matter the situation cus I'd expect someone to do it for me if I was in a tough spot.
This dude I helped may have never helped anyone before but I'm confident he would if needed now.

[gdoh]

since when is it not illegal to change lanes in the middle of an intersection ????

[Jgresch]

since when is it not illegal to change lanes in the middle of an intersection ????

during a left turn you are allowed. Trucks sometimes can't turn sharp enough to go to the close lane.

I believe if you're driving straight though, you are unable to switch lanes in an intersection

[gdoh]

during a left turn you are allowed. Trucks sometimes can't turn sharp enough to go to the close lane.

I believe if you're driving straight though, you are unable to switch lanes in an intersection

this is what im asking