WWYD - Truck tears off side view mirror causing $300 in damages

[jess_g]

And I have his license plate number. The truck did not stop just drove right past us and it was a giant truck. I think its not worth calling the insurance over this since he did not even scratch our car jsut tore off the side view mirror, but can I get the truck company info from the police or RMV and send the truck company the bill? Or should we just pay for it to be fixed and forget about it? I so do not want to tell my dh about this one but I can't get it fixed until tomorrow. -Jessica.

[weech]

A huge truck ran into my husband's car a while ago. He contacted the company and they were easy to deal with - he got an estimate and they reimbursed him, pretty much no questions asked. Big truck companies are used to things like that... this company actually had a department dedicated to complaints/damages/insurance claims/etc so they knew exactly what to do :rotflmao:

[BillK]

Really depends on the trucking company. Some are easy and some are a huge pain in the arse. SWIFT trucking totally sucked to deal with when they drove through my front yard. A smaller "mom and pop" type company out of N. Carolina that did the exact same thing a couple of months later was super easy to deal with.

[jess_g]

Thanks Rachel,

How do you find the truck company if you only have the licence plate number? The truck did not have a company name on it.

Thanks, Jessica.

[infomama]

Thanks Rachel,

How do you find the truck company if you only have the licence plate number? The truck did not have a company name on it.

Thanks, Jessica.
You have to file a police report (in the city it happened in) and they will run the plate and contact the trucking company. They may do a motor vehicle accident report but most likely it will be a standard damage to property report. Go in ASAP.

[jess_g]

You have to file a police report (in the city it happened in) and they will run the plate and contact the trucking company. They may do a motor vehicle accident report but most likely it will be a standard damage to property report. Go in ASAP.

Thanks but this form also must sent to the auto insurance company and we don't want them involved. Is there any other way to get their info with their license plate number? Thanks, Jessica.

[DebbieJ]

You need to file a police report. There is no other way to get the info unless you know someone in the police dept who can run the plate for you without making a report.

[ha98ed14]

Thanks but this form also must sent to the auto insurance company and we don't want them involved. Is there any other way to get their info with their license plate number? Thanks, Jessica.

Just because you file a police report that the accident happened does not mean you have to make a claim to YOUR insurance company. The police may want to see that you have insurance (show proof of insurance), but that doesn't mean you have to call the insurance company and make a claim.

Call the police and file the report. Then go back 4-5 days later to pick up a copy, or whenever they tell you it will be ready. The registered owner of the truck should be on the police report.

[Babymakes3]

For a couple of dollars you may be able to call a local towing company and see if they would be willing to run it for you if the police won't, there is a charge to run it thru the system we use which is where the $ comes in. We've never had anyone call our towing company and ask us that but i can't see why we couldn't do it.

[Tondi G]

we had a van rip our mirror off and run. We had the license plate number and made a police report. A couple of months later we got a letter stating they were unable to locate the driver of the vehicle (clearly the business owner said "I don't know what you're talking about") and nothing ever came of it.

we were also driving and a young girl was in a HUGE pickup truck. She ripped my mirror off and took off. My DH made a quick turn and managed to track her down. When we got out of the car to discuss exchanging information she pealed out and took off again (with her friends rooting for her from the backseat). We got her license plate number and DH went to the police station to file a report. Again we have heard nothing from them. This makes me so angry..... the cops don't give a damn about hit and runs anymore unless someone gets killed I guess. Life in the big city? maybe. Frustrating to say the least.

My DH was able to find a new mirror assembly for my car online and put it on himself.... it was SO much less expensive.

Good Luck

[ha98ed14]

We got her license plate number and DH went to the police station to file a report. Again we have heard nothing from them. This makes me so angry..... the cops don't give a damn about hit and runs anymore unless someone gets killed I guess. Life in the big city? maybe. Frustrating to say the least.


When I got hit in NYC (Staten Island to be exact), it took me following up with the police department. I had to go down to the precinct office and ask for a police report. They were not going to contact me. It was my responsibility to get the information from them. If you really wanted to, I bet you could try to sue in small claims court.