CS Police illegally arrest open carrier ... now have to pay up.

[Irving]

It has always surprised me how often a police officer will wander around just making up statutes out of thin air.

After all this time, it still surprises you? The one I hear all the time in my profession is, "Well the police officer told me this is a no fault state, so he didn't write a ticket."

The words, "No fault state" should never come out of a police officer's mouth. I'm not sure when police started saying that (probably around 2003 when Colorado changed from PIP to MED PAY), but I really wish they'd stop saying that. Ronin, can you mention that in class sometime?

[spqrzilla]

After all this time, it still surprises you? The one I hear all the time in my profession is, "Well the police officer told me this is a no fault state, so he didn't write a ticket."

Its been awhile ... but I did do insurance defense work once upon a time - defending against personal injury suits, auto accidents ... etc.

[driver]

After all this time, it still surprises you? The one I hear all the time in my profession is, "Well the police officer told me this is a no fault state, so he didn't write a ticket."

The words, "No fault state" should never come out of a police officer's mouth. I'm not sure when police started saying that (probably around 2003 when Colorado changed from PIP to MED PAY), but I really wish they'd stop saying that. Ronin, can you mention that in class sometime?

I did a ride along with Lakewood PD last week and we drove up on an accident. Icy conditions and one vehicle hit the other in a double turn lane. Both drivers were cordial and legal. The agent/officer told me he felt bad for the driver at fault but had to write him a ticket precisely because we are a no fault state. He said the insurance cos would fight it out and end up 50/50 so he issued a ticket to protect the guy who got hit.

[Irving]

I did a ride along with Lakewood PD last week and we drove up on an accident. Icy conditions and one vehicle hit the other in a double turn lane. Both drivers were cordial and legal. The agent/officer told me he felt bad for the driver at fault but had to write him a ticket precisely because we are a no fault state. He said the insurance cos would fight it out and end up 50/50 so he issued a ticket to protect the guy who got hit.

Oh man, that hurts my head. Liability decisions can weigh on if someone was issued a ticket or not, but are mostly independent. Whether or not an officer "has" to write a ticket is completely independent of how the insurance industry operates as far as I know. Heck, in Missouri, most times there isn't a ticket issued no matter what happened.

In this case, the officer had the right idea, but his understanding of why he did what he did was off. An example of this is when one of my insureds fell off his motorcycle, and was then run over by a truck. He was issued a careless driving ticket even though he was killed in the accident. I was initially upset by this, but another member pointed out that this likely makes it much easier on the guy driving the truck, who didn't do anything wrong, to not have any liability pinned on him.

Here is a definition of what "No fault" means. http://www.answerfinancial.com/insur...nsurance-state

EDIT: Here is an example of a definition that is incorrect as far as Colorado or any of the other states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa) I've ever handled claims in goes: http://www.ask.com/question/what-is-a-no-fault-state

Sorry for all the insurance talk, keep calm and open carry on with the current discussion.

[KevDen2005]

I did a ride along with Lakewood PD last week and we drove up on an accident. Icy conditions and one vehicle hit the other in a double turn lane. Both drivers were cordial and legal. The agent/officer told me he felt bad for the driver at fault but had to write him a ticket precisely because we are a no fault state. He said the insurance cos would fight it out and end up 50/50 so he issued a ticket to protect the guy who got hit.

That is so odd. I have never used that at all. I also have never heard another office say it. It has never occurred to me to use that as a reason when issuing a summons for an accident. Where are they getting this info? What PD's?

[Irving]

What PD's?

Every single PD I've ever encountered In all of those states I mentioned. It is very common.

Driver: The officer from your ride along DID do the correct thing.

[Snowman78]

Every single PD I've ever encountered In all of those states I mentioned. It is very common.

Yep, I see this all the time too.