A week and a half ago, my boyfriend was riding his motorcycle down 17th street when an uninsured driver pulled in front of him and caused an accident. Luckily, my boyfriend only suffered a laceration over his eyebrow (requiring several stitches) and damage to his motorcycle. The driver of the car told the officer that he had insurance, and then gave the officer a fictitious phone number and address. The car had obviously seen better days as the officer had a hard time pinpointing the impact point of the motorcycle.
Luckily, I know the person driving the car, and was able to locate contact information. The driver of the car was appropriately shocked when my boyfriend called him at home and questioned him as to his insurance situation. They had a very civil conversation regarding responsibility for the damages, and my boyfriend told the driver of the car that he would contact him when he had an estimate from the mechanic regarding the repairs on his motorcyle. Since this conversation, my boyfriend has been unable to locate the driver of the car again, but I’m sure we will find him.
Now, on to the discussion portion of this post. My boyfriend called the police and talked to a different officer (evidently the officer at the scene is on vacation). He described the situation to the officer and told him that the person driving the car had given the officer fictitious contact information, to which the officer replied that this is not a crime.
WHAT!?
So, if I have this right, as long as I give the officer my real name (the officer told him that giving a fictitious name would be illegal), I can tell the law anything I want to keep them from locating me and it’s not illegal? I guess I would want to do this if I don’t have insurance and also lie to the officer about having insurance, because I certainly wouldn’t want them to be able to find me.
This man had no insurance at the time of the accident, and lied about his contact information so that he couldn’t be located to stand up to his obligations. How do you even take someone to small claims court if you can’t find them?
The fact that giving fictitious information to an officer is NOT illegal is appalling. Luckily, since I know this person and most of his family, it shouldn’t be hard to find him… getting money from him to pay for the damages he caused may be a different story.
So, to the title of this post, why does anyone who doesn’t own a nice car, or have any common sense, have to carry insurance? Evidently, all you need to do is hit someone, endanger their life and break their vehicle, then lie to the police and lay low and hope no one finds you.
If there are any officers reading this post, I would really like some insight on this, because it seems very backwards that the people doing things correctly are the ones getting hosed.
*steps off the soapbox*
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Gato got runned over by Marcus many moons ago. Be ye daft, 2486? 
Let's have a new poll, alright, Joe?
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{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
I think drivers should have to provide proof of insurance before they can renew their license or license plate tabs.
In fact, I have read were some states require insurance companies to provide the DMV with a list of customers who drop their coverage. This allows the DMV to follow up with them and request new proof of coverage. Not sure, what I think about that one yet – still it’s a thought.
Personally I think each person should insure themselfs and not insure for the other person. That way, if you dont have insurance, your the one that suffers.
I have maintained for many years that I thought the driver should be insured, not the car. And, that that insurance should be mandatory. Any thoughts on this?
When police arrive at the scene of motor vehicle accidents, one of the first things they do is ask for the involved drivers’ licenses and proof of auto insurance.
I imagine if the guy lied about his home address, and it was different from the one listed on his driver’s license, he was planning on hiding from court appearances. Which means there will eventually be a warrant out for his arrest. He did get a ticket for not having proof of automobile insurance with him, right? I imagine that’s why he lied about his address, and is attempting to hide from the law.
He can lie to the police about where he lives without getting in trouble, but he’d better not try lying in to the court. He’s in for a world of hurt. Would have been much cheaper to buy auto insurance; as the law insists.
Just about every state now will suspend your drivers license within 1-2 months after your auto insurance lapses. Idaho included. Your insurance company will pay to fix your vehicle whether he has insurance or not. If your still making car payments that means you have full coverage, which means your car will be repaired regardless. If your car is paid off, minimum insurance required to have is comprehensive & collision, which will cover you in the event the other driver doesn’t have insurance. Finding this guy shouldn’t have anything to do with you getting your car repaired. The insurance company and the police will find him and make him pay. In the meantime youre still covered, but this is why we all pay such high premiums because of jerks like this.
His uninsured motorist insurance paid for his injuries, but not his motorcycle. He was instructed by the police that it was up to him to try to get the money from this guy, and it’s up to him to take the guy to small claims court.
To me, this seems like an unnecessary risk to the person seeking compensation. If the person doesn’t have insurance, lies about it, and tries to hide, he is obviously not socially conscious, and I don’t like having to hunt this person down.
I used to have the insurance that covered me, not the vehicle. I never had to use it, thankfully, so I don’t know how well it pays, but I know insurance companies hate it, and a lot won’t even offer it. It makes them a little uneasy when you can be driving a pinto one day and a porsche the next.
We honestly don’t care what this guy gets hit with from the police, we just want the bike paid for, but it seems that he isn’t going to even attempt to make things right, so it will have to get ugly, and in the end it will be worse for him.
I just don’t know what people are thinking sometimes.
Every major auto insurance company offers it. There are far too many people driving around without insurance, especially in this economy. I’ve known a few people that have been screwed over by uninsured motorists and I won’t drive without it on any of my cars.
Regarding your pinto to porsche statement, sorry but it doesn’t work that way.
Well, all I can do is relay what my insurance guy said, and he said that there is only one insurer in Idaho that would offer broad form insurance.
I’m not an agent, so I can’t say.
As far as the “pinto to porsche” comment, he told me that that was why insurers don’t like to insure the person instead of the car, because the insurance company never knows what the person will be driving. Once again, that’s just what I was told.
You insurance agent doesn’t have a clue. I’ll leave it at that.
I think we should all be allowed to save for our own emergencies and not have to subscribe to an insurance policy. My $0.02.
To the original post.
The officer you spoke to was correct: it is only illegal to lie to the police about your identity. If it was illegal to lie to the police about other things the jails would burst at the seems: “I’ve only had two beers officer”, “No officer I didn’t know I was speeding”, etc.
Whats worse is that many people print up fake insurance cards with their computers. The officer can later cite them for no insurance but thats it.
This information was given to me regarding the false information issue:
http://law.justia.com/idaho/codes/18ftoc/180540013.html
That’s what makes this all so confusing…
Using http://law.justia.com/idaho/codes/49ftoc/490130002.html
might be more appropriate for a traffic offense. The one cited in comment #12 pertains to giving false identification or false information concerning a crime, knowing it has not been committed or when the person has no real information on that crime. It is also under the state Title 18 code, not the Title 49 (traffic) code.
Thanks for the link!
So, if I read that correctly, it does say that willfully giving false information is a misdemeanor, right?
And, I know people will lie about lots of things, like how much they have had to drink or whether they have insurance, my curiosity lies in whether it’s illegal to just make up contact information. It sounds like, if I read that right, it would be a misdemeanor anyway, so probably just a ticket.