In a stunning reversal of public policy, the Cincinnati Police Department has decided to abandon its decision to stop writing accident reports and tickets following minor car crashes. Last July, Cincinnati police quietly unveiled a new policy in which officers were told not to get involved in cases of minor fender benders. In response to a large public outcry, the police department has now decided to go back to writing reports and tickets. That policy went back into effect on June 1.
The change could have arrived sooner, says one Cincinnati woman who experienced a minor traffic accident while the old rule was in effect. The Westwood, Ohio, woman says that she was rear-ended by another motorist just last month. The damage was relatively minor — a pushed in bumper and a bent license plate. Still, the woman says that she was infuriated after a responding Cincinnati police officer declined to make a report. The woman says the officer told her they simply didn’t have the manpower. The officer did, however, offer to testify for the woman as long as she subpoenaed him during a civil lawsuit.
Making matters worse, the woman says that the woman who hit her from behind was on her cellphone as the two vehicles collided in a rain shower while traveling down a hill. Ironically, the other driver’s insurance company told the victim that she was at fault for the accident because she had failed to control her vehicle on the road. The victim says that is extremely hard to refute that asserting without a police report. It is unclear whether she intends to move forward with a civil claim.
Cincinnati drivers involved in minor auto accidents need to know that if they are injured as a result of the negligence of another motorist, then they may be entitled to recover damages for their injuries. All cases are different and no outcome is guaranteed, but it may also be possible for a driver injured as a result of a preventable accident to also recover lost wages and non-economic damages as well.
Source: WKRC Local 12, “Trouble-Shooter- Police accident reports continue” Howard Ain, Jun. 18, 2014