Mega carrier hit and runs

You can file a police report but without a video, not much they can do.

Someone backed into my truck while I was jogging in Florida. I hate to say it but it was funny, I got back, hadn't noticed anything yet and some little foreign guy came running up to me pointing at my truck "Hit your truck! Hit your truck! Took off running!" I was like WTF what? I went and looked and saw a huge rip in the side of my sleeper. Well I have a dashcam and while I couldn't get the license plate, I could read the DOT number and we goggled it. Came back to a one truck company with a phone number. The cop called it and it was the owner. The owner called the driver and told him to return. He was already over 2 hours away. I requested he be arrested for hit and run so he was. But on paper, not in cuffs. He had a mandatory court date.

Someone on here mentioned that its felony hit and run if it exceeds a certain amount. That's not true. It only matters if an injury is involved. If they hit your truck and you are injured and they take off running, it's felony hit and run. It does not matter the monetary damages caused by the hit and run. My truck basically needs an entire new side of the sleeper and it still wasn't felony because I wasn't injured.

 

Injured.
Can’t sleep, afraid it’ll happen and you’ll have to chase him down in flipflops and tighty whiteys.

Flipflop, flipflop.

 

The two times I have been hit in truck stops were not mega carriers. How do I handle that?

 

Just as a thought, does anybody jot down the numbers of the 2 parked next to you, just in case?
I realise that there might be a change of neighbours while you are away, but wouldn't hurt.
Never did it myself, but then I never got hit either.

 

Police probably will not get involved since it happened on private property.

 

Mentally injured

 

Ooh.....BUUUUUUURN!!!!!!

Here's the deal; If Joe Rookie hits your truck with his and damages it, it's a CIVIL matter, since no laws were broken, and nobody was injured. The Po-Po have CRIMINAL investigations to take care of, so no, they don't care about your damage claim. That's what civil courts are for.

When the guy gits up and goes, then it's a small crime, and the cops will probably (eventually) investigate it IF you have an identity of the culprit. Without that, they won't because they have, like, REAL crimes to investigate. Get videos, witness statements, etc., and you'll have a case (maybe). Regardless, since you are a company driver with a company truck, it's up to the company to pursue legal actions. You just need to document the accident.

 

Take to court, may cost you but…
A first conviction for any hit and run charge will result in a 1 year disqualification of your commercial driver's license.

Depending on damage.

 

Blimey, that's strict, I don't think we even come near in Europe, especially France. I even knew a driver where I worked banned for over the alcohol limit and then I saw him in the truck a week or so later. At my surprise he said he had a 'white permis'.That meant he was allowed to drive his car to work and back, and continue to work as a lorry driver, but nothing else. I don't know if that law is still in place, this was about 22 years ago.

My surprise was tempered becaiuse I know that Northern Europeans, and that includes Brits, get bladdered for the hell of it whereas French and other Latins are more measured in their consumption, being brought up from a very young age with a small glass of wine at meal times, but really, that is extraordinary.

 

Report, let your company handle it; the more details you can provide the better.

I picked up a trailer once, and as part of its inspection, I reported a long blue/red scrape pretty high up on trailer side. My claims department called me saying that they’d been looking for a trl that matched my description and wanted pics. Turned out they had received a claim from a car hauler being hit by one of our trls but the driver had only caught the name of the company. Not sure why they couldn’t have used gps and date/time to locate possibilities. idk what happened after that, not my department/job.