Traffic law question for the locals.... (Pigeon Forge: insurance, live, cost)

[MrsMopar]

OK, I live here but I cannot seem to find ANY information regarding traffic laws, specifically citations.

Long story short, my question is this: If you are involved in a minor fender bender, and the police arrive and take a report, but you are given nothing...no ticket, no citation, nothing; you sign absolutely nothing that indicates you understand you are being cited or considered the party responsible for the accident, how can you be considered 'at fault'?
If you are involved in an accident, and the police consider you to be in the wrong and the responsible party, do they not have to provide you some sort of paperwork indicating such? At the scene?

I just can't seem to find anything about traffic laws, specifically for Sevier County; Pigeon Forge.

Help! LOL! Thanks friends!

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by MrsMopar

OK, I live here but I cannot seem to find ANY information regarding traffic laws, specifically citations.

Long story short, my question is this: If you are involved in a minor fender bender, and the police arrive and take a report, but you are given nothing...no ticket, no citation, nothing; you sign absolutely nothing that indicates you understand you are being cited or considered the party responsible for the accident, how can you be considered 'at fault'?
If you are involved in an accident, and the police consider you to be in the wrong and the responsible party, do they not have to provide you some sort of paperwork indicating such? At the scene?

I just can't seem to find anything about traffic laws, specifically for Sevier County; Pigeon Forge.

Help! LOL! Thanks friends!

If the cops don't give you a citation - or the other guy for that matter - it has nothing to do with what the insurance company decides regarding fault. Traffic laws and insurance are two separate issues. However, if you ARE cited there is a very good chance that you will be found at fault. But if you aren't you can still be found at fault by the insurance companies.

Full disclosure: I'm a personal lines agent in Tennessee. I have my resident's license here but I'm licensed in 43 states for property and casualty.

[Richard Cycholl]

Originally Posted by MrsMopar

OK, I live here but I cannot seem to find ANY information regarding traffic laws, specifically citations.

Long story short, my question is this: If you are involved in a minor fender bender, and the police arrive and take a report, but you are given nothing...no ticket, no citation, nothing; you sign absolutely nothing that indicates you understand you are being cited or considered the party responsible for the accident, how can you be considered 'at fault'?
If you are involved in an accident, and the police consider you to be in the wrong and the responsible party, do they not have to provide you some sort of paperwork indicating such? At the scene?

I just can't seem to find anything about traffic laws, specifically for Sevier County; Pigeon Forge.

Help! LOL! Thanks friends!

Does the following web page Help? or links from that page?

Frequently Asked Questions - Question 10

[MrsMopar]

Thanks to both of you!

The insurance company is not saying who is at fault; rather the police officer said that he has to get both stories and come to a conclusion and decide if anyone is cited.

But what I don't understand is how can the police officer say one individual is at fault, and cite them, without giving them a ticket or citation at the scene?

And then, to top it all off, if you want a copy of an accident report, you have to pay for it? What??
You don't automatically get a copy of the report, unless you file a claim with your insurance company.

This is frustrating to the max.....

[hiknapster]

Oh, I see...Well, that does seem unusual. And paying for the report seems ridiculous. So this was a state cop?

[MrsMopar]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Oh, I see...Well, that does seem unusual. And paying for the report seems ridiculous. So this was a state cop?

No, it was a PF cop. The insurance company will get a copy of the report, but I don't see how a person can be considered "at fault" when they aren't advised as such at the scene. And if you aren't cited, how can you be technically at fault? A citation should be given at the scene if a person is going to be cited and points put on their record, right?

The insurance company will do it's investigation, and that's good because that's why you pay for insurance, but I'm perplexed on this whole situation.

And to ask individuals to pay for a copy of the report is ridiculous. And PF police are lazy. Just my opinion.

[hiknapster]

People have accidents all the time with neither party cited. It's more common than accidents where a citation is involved. However, once the insurance company steps in they generally find someone at fault. It depends on the state, if there is no fault. Sometimes there is even degrees of fault. But generally speaking, it's common for no citations to be issued and someone to be eventually deemed at fault. Bear in mind that I look at about 10 accident history reports and motor vehicle records a day and throughout the country.

Sorry this happened to you. (((Hugs!))))

[Richard Cycholl]

Originally Posted by MrsMopar

Thanks to both of you!

The insurance company is not saying who is at fault; rather the police officer said that he has to get both stories and come to a conclusion and decide if anyone is cited.

But what I don't understand is how can the police officer say one individual is at fault, and cite them, without giving them a ticket or citation at the scene?

And then, to top it all off, if you want a copy of an accident report, you have to pay for it? What??
You don't automatically get a copy of the report, unless you file a claim with your insurance company.

This is frustrating to the max.....

Just thought of this. I do not know if this works here, but in Virginia when my sister was in her accident, she got her copy of the report from the insurance company, which the insurance company got from the police. Maybe your insurance could do the samne. I was reading further that article and $4 is cheap compared to California which charges $23 and in Wisconsin you have to go thru the District's Attorny's office. Seems like nothing can be made simple or cheap.....

[inave]

I am so confused by this thread that I think the best thing for me is to just keep backing into my daughter's vehicle in my driveway...which, for a while, I was doing regularly! BUT I thought all accident reports came at a cost but couldn't prove it and don't know why I got that idea. Hope everything works out for you.