Local police get calls for all variety of traffic accidents, incidents, and even calls from just angry pedestrians or drivers. Emergency dispatch, which expedites calls to the local police, fire units, and medical response teams often get calls about “stupid drivers” or someone “cutting off” another driver. The result is that minor car wrecks simply don’t get much attention from the police.
Not only is it because they’re over-saturated with calls for minor traffic incidents but also because drivers are expected to resolve minor wrecks on their own. As people go through their driver’s training and get their license, they’re taught to exchange information, collect evidence, and contact their insurance provider when people can’t do that; it takes a toll on the police department.
Usually, Police Won’t Respond to Minor Car Wrecks
While the Cincinnati Police Department has about 1,000 officers and over 125 civilian staff members, they cover 52 different neighborhoods and a massive amount of ground. While they’re responding to accounts of gunfire, arson, domestic disturbance, reports of theft, and investigating open cases, they get calls for fender benders and minor crashes.
Minor crashes usually don’t warrant a police response unless someone is seriously hurt. A crash could be minor but also involve a pedestrian that needs immediate medical attention. Ultimately it comes down to a judgment call of the dispatcher on the Emergency Response system. Does the caller need help from a police officer, or are they just reporting a crash?
Contact Your Local Police Department to Write Your Own Crash Report
Now reporting a crash is a big deal because you want to go through and collect as much information and then get that into a real system. When police do respond to a wreck, they take a police report, often called a crash report. That report will detail the vehicles involved, who was traveling in which directions, and, if possible, an estimate on the speeds.
That report can include witnesses, driver and passenger information, and much more. But, you don’t need an officer to register a crash report. Drivers can submit a crash report in nearly any local police department. You can begin a report online, but often people find themselves lost as the online reporting system is specifically for crimes, not necessarily holding reported information.
Arrival to Resolve Disputes Could Take a While
If you and the other driver simply aren’t agreeing or can’t exchange information nicely, then you may get stuck waiting around for hours. You’ll be at the absolute bottom of the priority list unless you have something like road rage or threats of assault. Basically, CPD expects that drivers conduct themselves in a way that allows for the easy flow of information, and that means that you need to be nice and trade information peacefully.
When there is the threat of assault, then the call escalates, and the police officers will know that this isn’t just a car crash. It’s a potential assault.
Why Don’t Police Respond to Fender Benders?
The resources of the CPD will always be limited because there is a huge city with a ton of people, and they simply can’t be everywhere at once. Instead, they work on a priority system, and if drivers can resolve the matter on their own, then they should. Fender benders happen every few minutes.
Someone backs out too far in a grocery store parking lot, or a neighbor hits your vehicle trying to park on the street. People follow too closely, and others don’t use their turn signals. Not every crash is a life-changing event, in fact, most are property damage with some neck or shoulder pain, and the police can’t respond to every one of these calls.
Do Attorneys Get Involved in Minor Car Wrecks?
Your crash should definitely involve an attorney, and at that rate, even if the police weren’t involved, you should definitely have a formal report. A crash report, which most people mistakenly believe must but filed by an officer, can help you establish what happened during the time of the wreck and how you can go through and manage the claim moving forward.
Involve Young, Reverman & Mazzei, the local law office in Cincinnati, OH, for any car accident claim. Even fender benders that seem minor can come with serious injuries such as whiplash, or TBI. Injuries and property damage involved in accidents make it difficult for the victims to recover in a timely manner if they don’t have someone managing their claim for them.
