Dings and dents

[nixtux]

I'm curious what the laws are when someone hits your car in a parking lot.

Assuming you have proof...

My car goes into the body shop in Feb to get hail damage and city decor
repaired.

I'm curious what the laws are if you have video of the perp.

This idea came to me during the holiday when I went to Coborns for 5
minutes and came out to see a huge scratch on my driver side fender.

It's so rude and really expensive to fix. I've never scratched anyones car
without leaving a note and I find it unbelievable that someone can do it. So
I want to protect my investment. I also want to protect myself in case of a
accident since people around here seem attracted to my car. Curse white
cars and snow I guess but I tend to lean toward arrogant asshats who can't
pay attention while they drive. It's also mostly truck drivers... Yeah so you
are safe but the person in a car isn't... I'd gladly face off in my 73' GMC
against your POS 2k F150 but an alero... nah, pass.


So my plans are to setup two Atom DC boxes. One to capture motion around
my car and one to report those images to a VPS via verizon G3. I also want
to report GPS coordinates (which I fully know how to do I'm just saying my
plans.) Another advantage is people steal all the time. My truck has been
broke into before. Those $40.00 6x9's are super awesome and totally worth
going to jail.


Back to subject, I'm more curious about the laws. I'm not sure where to
look so I'd welcome some advice. If you report it to the cops, are they
going to help get insurance information or do you have to take alternative
actions?

If your advice is to not fret about scratches and whatnot, please don't
respond. It happens way too often and I get truely annoyed. So if I have
to drop 2k into this to keep my car scratch free, I will. It's better than
dropping 2k a year to keep it scratch free.

[robertisaar]

i know this all too well...

just yesterday in the wal-mart parking lot, the dumbass pushing the carts around was knocking the shit out of the car parked in front of me...

as far as video: i'm not sure what state you're in, but i would at least attempt to get video though it may be dismissed in court. or at least it did when my dad got video of someone cutting the brake lines in his truck.

[pocket-rocket]

i know this all too well...

just yesterday in the wal-mart parking lot, the dumbass pushing the carts around was knocking the shit out of the car parked in front of me...

as far as video: i'm not sure what state you're in, but i would at least attempt to get video though it may be dismissed in court. or at least it did when my dad got video of someone cutting the brake lines in his truck.

Now THAT is a bunch of crap and that judge should be fired! How about going out and getting a video of yourself cutting the judges brake lines and see what happens to you? Do you think it would get the same outcome? I would have asked him that right there in court. How on earth can they dismiss camera footage? The camera doesn't lie!

nixtux, I would call your local police. Maybe you can press charges or something. Either way they should be able to help point you in a good direction to go with this.

[19Cutlass94]

When I go somewhere, Im always that guy that parks far away from everyone else. and yet somehow, some asshole always parks next to me and theres a new ding in my car...

[nixtux]

When I go somewhere, Im always that guy that parks far away from everyone else. and yet somehow, some asshole always parks next to me and theres a new ding in my car...

Exactly! I never park close. I alway distance myself at least 5 cars from
people. I don't get it.

My 1995 Cutlass was perfect until I moved to Saint Cloud. Less than
3 months after I had white, red, black, ect marks on it.

The only thing I had left was the car didn't have any accident damage or
rust because I actually washed and waxed it. That's a awesome feat in MN
IMO. It's not a hard thing to do though. Just wash your car and put a coat
of wax on every now and then.

[Charless1]

The way that Video can get thrown out in court is if the Video is taken on Private property (Not your property but your works or a Chain store) You would need to have express written consent from the property owner prior to the video being shot. (at least that is how it is in AZ) I am planning on installing a Cam in front of my Front door. I need to get permission to record anything from my neighbors if the camera even catches a blade of grass in their front yard for it to be admisssable in court

[robertisaar]

The way that Video can get thrown out in court is if the Video is taken on Private property (Not your property but your works or a Chain store) You would need to have express written consent from the property owner prior to the video being shot. (at least that is how it is in AZ) I am planning on installing a Cam in front of my Front door. I need to get permission to record anything from my neighbors if the camera even catches a blade of grass in their front yard for it to be admisssable in court

that might have done it, actually, if michigan is the same. my dad has a LOT of property, but the line of sight from where the camera was and where it was pointed probably caught a few of the neighbor's yards as well.

but this isn't about me...

[Charless1]

I am giving this info to help nixtux understand that even video taping the act of aggression on his machine may be inadmissible in a court of law

[pocket-rocket]

You know, that really is ignorant. Who cares if it caught 3 blades of your neighbors grass. What if it were someone getting murdered in your front yard? A crime caught on tape is a crime caught on tape- bottom line. I don't see how the system can be so stupid and blind like this towards the people that pay the judges salary... You all know just as I do if they caught you on tape with their camera, we would hang to the fullest extent of the law no matter who's grass was in the footage...

[nixtux]

I am giving this info to help nixtux understand that even video taping the act of aggression on his machine may be inadmissible in a court of law

Very true. At least I'll know what vehicle I need to find and ram with my
truck. Mostly kidding... But if I saw them running a red light I'd punch it!
You cannot hurt a 73' GMC.

I think it may be more relevant insurance to insurance if the law won't do
anything about it.

I'm mainly looking to protect against door hits and theft. It really sucks
when someone jacks your shit and breaks windows. It's nice when you
catch them and the cops come but when they are drunk you feel bad
pressing charges so you agree to send them to detox.

I was at the shop that's doing the motor swap on my Alero. I help them
with their computers and their shop surveillance. The mechanics wife
said that parking lots are often owned by someone else. But if you push
legal to them they will cover the cost for repairs. She also mentioned other
scams where people will hit their brakes on off-ramps to try and get a
settlement... But insurance companies flag repeat offenders so that's pretty
cool. But be careful I guess and I normally am. I hate people riding my
ass. It's nice having a car I could give two shits about if the tranny burns
up. I drop it to 2nd and 1st all the time on those fuckers!

I think Minnesota is pretty liberal about these things. I know with voice it's
a one party law and typically video is more lax. So I suspect that having the
evidence would at least cover the repair. That's all I care about. The car
has 223,000 on it and lots of city decor, rust, and even hail damage. Getting
all that fixed is insane! But it'll be sharp as a tact when it's done. I'm
really excited just to drive it with the 3.5l in it. It's a snappy girl. But
I came across a Ford SHO today that put me in my place. However, that's
a stock 3.4l with 223k so...

Thanks for all the good information. It gives me an ideal what to expect.
I'm 50/50 on all this but that's all you can really hope for.

[nixtux]

The way that Video can get thrown out in court is if the Video is taken on Private property (Not your property but your works or a Chain store) You would need to have express written consent from the property owner prior to the video being shot. (at least that is how it is in AZ) I am planning on installing a Cam in front of my Front door. I need to get permission to record anything from my neighbors if the camera even catches a blade of grass in their front yard for it to be admisssable in court

That's state to state. There was a case where a traffic stop was caught on
tape and the cops were at fault but it was dismissed because the video had
audio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's retarded... If you harm someones property, pay for it or have your
insurance pay for it. If you are in a hurry or the person doesn't come
around leave a note on their wiper and check back. At least check back
if it's on private property...

I had a case where it was -40F. My truck is a carb and electric choke.
The guy was half in the ally and I tried to drive passed him but my choke
clicked in and slide sideways for a second and scratched a grand am.

I knocked on the guys door, left a note, and even returned. I took pictures
that same day showing the damage and his super awesome park job. The
end result was a $100.00... Hell ya... But I was honest at least. I barely
grazed the car and I had more damage anyway and it was technically his
fault. But I didn't want any increase in insurance. I got 9 points when
you was 19 and they have raped me since! The points are gone now so
insurance is pretty cheap but it's still annoying. Plus progressive is
a joke.