My dh was in a minor car accident yesterday and

[jacqui in mo]

After calling 911 three times & waiting over an hour, no police showed up! Finally a policeman from a district almost an hour away called him & took statements over the phone. And it's not like it happened in a rural area either. I can't understand why there wasn't a better response.

Thankfully no one had been injured, so that wasn't an issue, but this was a dangerous road to have cars sitting on, waiting for police (sharp curve, no shoulders. If there were any shoulders my dh could have gotten out of the way of the woman who hit him). My dh & the woman did at least decide they needed to get their cars off the road so as to not cause more accidents and took pictures of the damage.

Granted, it is a road that is hard to give directions on (To stay on this road you have to stop & turn Right at several points) but it's a well traveled road & the accident was close to a fire station yet they still could not seem to get anyone out there.

Guess I'm just mostly venting but wondering if anyone else has had such an experience.

Jacqui

[Philothea]

I vaguely remember the details, but around here, the dispatcher did not dispatch a reported fire and I think more than one person called. Anyways, people died as result. The person lost their job, but that was it.

I would call the chief of police or write a letter explaining what happened. I would also write to the local newspaper. Sometimes departments really slack off, and it takes average people to call them on it.

Here there were several calls for a problem on the highway, about a manhole lid. Well, no one from the highway dept. did anything. Later a rig ran over the lid sending it through a man's windshield and it hit him in the head. I thought he was in critical condition, but I don't know if he survived.

Your situation could be symptoms of a bigger problem with the emergency response system there.

[jacqui in mo]

Thanks for suggesting writing a letter or 2. It hadn't occurred to me yet but this seems to be an appropriate response.
Jacqui

[praisefor3]

it is now standard practice to remove vehicles from the road (if possible) and as long as there are no injuries, especially on a Friday night, especially in a non-rural area, you are not going to see an officer. Too many incidents. Too few officers. Probably the same in most states.

[jacqui in mo]

it is now standard practice to remove vehicles from the road (if possible) and as long as there are no injuries, especially on a Friday night, especially in a non-rural area, you are not going to see an officer. Too many incidents. Too few officers. Probably the same in most states.

I'll try & check on that. I can understand the policy somewhat, but why didn't the 911 people tell them that? A police officer did end up taking statements over the phone. Why weren't they told to expect a call? (Rhetorical questions here:confused:. I don't expect Philothea to be able to explain:001_smile:).

Jacqui

[mcconnellboys]

How horrible and scary! Glad to hear that he's okay,

[Unicorn]

That's awful! I do know that our county has about 70,000 people, at least 40,000 inside the city limits. We only have 5-6 officers on duty at any time. It is sad that we can't afford a larger police force. It's probably the same where you are. Not enough officers to cover every call. Glad your dh is ok, though!

[emzhengjiu]

Thank goodness your husband is ok. We live in a large metropolian area in Texas. After an accident without injuries, you are expected to move your car. It's not likely a police officier will show up.

Judy

[Suzanne in ABQ]

I'm not surprised. Minor accidents with no injuries don't require the police. Drivers simply exchange insurance information, then go to the police station (or call) to make a police report. It's not an emergency situation if the cars are driveable. I'd rather have the police covering real emergencies. It sounds like your dh and the woman handled things correctly. They could have saved themselves a lot of time and frustration, though, by just doing it right away, instead of waiting for the police.

[jacqui in mo]

Thanks. In hindsight it makes total sense. I just wish we knew that on Friday. I guess it used to be that a police officers always came out to accidents. I remember being with my mom in a fender bender & police coming out, etc.

Jacqui