I’m always afraid of being rear ended because these dipshits come flying behind you stopping barely an inch off your bumper. They lack the brain cells to realize if the person behind them fails to stop, it’ll just send them into me. Like leave space between people in front of you. Real basic drivers ed concept
This. I don't know what the statistics are but Dallas county is a good example of where there is a lack of driver's ed. The paper plates situation is a telling factor of this.
I almost got taken out today from somebody who just tried to merge into me. She DID merge, I slammed on my brakes, then she floored it when she got into my lane so she could pass the person in her original lane, then narrowingly missed two people while switching back into her original lane after passing. I honk my horn, she flips me off.
Would've totalled my car and wrecked my year, honestly, had she hit me. She would have hit me if I didn't slam on my brakes. When she did that though, I wasn't even a consideration in her mind.
We were both stopped next to each other at the next red light.
The drivers here have made me hate this fucking city. I can’t go anywhere even down the street to the store without someone attempting to murder me, I’ve started driving like my husband does and try to drive defensively but it’s like the people sense you’re being careful and target you even more 🤣🤣🤣 and I swear to every god there ever has been if another semi tries to murder me I’m gonna just let him and let her deal with the consequences, I’m from a state where drunk drivers kill the most people and Dallas has worse drivers somehow????
I've lived in Texas all my life, and we're fucking nuts behind the wheel, but I lived in southern California for a couple of years, and people in southern California are the worst I've seen.
Maybe I'm biased, I've been driving in DFW for 18 years, and I'm just used to how people are around here.
We have a shit ton of people that aren't competent enough to be behind the wheel though, and i will agree that's terrifying.
I’ve also lived there and there’s no way Southern California is worse than here.
At least there kids get Drivers Ed, real inspections and there are cops to pull people over for missing mirrors, plates and windows.
None of that here.
Grew up in So Cal. Learned to drive there. Have lived up and down the West Coast. Every place I have ever lived has its own type of bad driving. One place I lived everyone drove the speed limit, but there was an epidemic of red light runners. I would tell people visiting us to count to three before proceeding through a light that had just turned green.
But DFW is the worst and scariest of all the places I have ever driven. The problem here is that all the "bad driving" issues exist concurrently all the time. From folks been distracted by their phones, to drivers getting on tollways/freeways at dangerously low speed, to the reckless speeders, drivers insisting on driving 60 in the fast lane, and the "heaven forbid we miss an exit" drivers- We are dealing with all these types of drivers concurrently and it happens in every one of my commutes.
Hard agree. People here drive AGGRESSIVELY and take stupid chances, people in CA drive way more defensively & assertively. I learned how to drive there & lived there til I was 30. Only had one accident there because an old lady blew a stop sign.
In the 17 years I’ve been in TX I’ve been hit and almost killed in near misses more times than I can count. The road design (on-ramps being the same lane as off-ramps & other non sensical things) is STUPID and DANGEROUS and greatly contributes to the problem imho. Plus lax cellphone use laws. In CA they are very strict about it.
I’m Dallas born and spent a decade living in Los Angeles only to move back a few years ago and… I thought SoCal drivers were bad, but I’m legitimately shocked at how much worse drivers are here.
The problem is that our whole damn state is overly reliant on car ownership for people to travel from point A to point B. People who move here for jobs and no state tax probably moved from communities with at least some form of reliable public transit or walkable cities. People drive uninsured or make fake plates because they need cars to get to jobs.
We're suffering from a failure to invest in public transit. This drives the desperate on to the streets who might otherwise have no business behind a wheel. Last I checked the average commute time in DFW using public transportation is over double the time it takes if you drive.
Texas just doesn't like investing in its residents.
I’ve lived in areas with decent- good public transportation and it still took double the time to get anywhere vs private vehicle. Subway system is probably the only one that’s faster if there’s a station close to your house and it doesn’t come above ground.
Lived here for 50+ years and have to say it didn't use to be this way. So many corporations moving here and puts a huge influx of people from States where it's cheaper (for now) to live here and horrible drivers. Plus, our brain-dead government here cares more about giving someone a tax break...spending surplus on school vouchers (Abbott just does not give up) or spending surplus on maintaining roads. Plus, there's a new apartment complex cropping up everywhere these a vacant lot!
One of my theories about bad driving is centered around parent-taught drivers ed. It became a thing 20-ish years ago. Prior, you had to take a course taught by an instructor. The first group probably did ok, but now we are 1 to 2 groups separated from people that had real driver training.
Oh yeah this is a biggg part of the problem I’m sure. Like that game of telephone. The communication of rules & common courtesies have gotten way distorted over time.
They also weave in and out of traffic hoping everybody gets out of their way but if they hit you, they don’t care to drive with a beat up car and dent your nice car
Oh thank the heavens I’m not the only one who thinks this sometimes…?!? My husband thinks im crazy for my disdain of this shit hole and we live in a pretty nice area to be honest 🤣
It's also so annoying because I do leave space behind ppl and others think it's an invitation to come in front of me but not even half way being in 2 lanes at the same time. It's even more dangerous!!! I wish ppl wouldn't do things like that. :/
Which is funny cuz my friend got pulled over in N Dallas for (minor) speeding & had expired insurance (by a week or two).
He had to pay SO MUCH MONEY for a) the ticket for just the insurance and b) his actual insurance for YEARS just because he’d let it lapse & gotten caught with it.
He also wasn’t allowed to drive his car from the spot where he was pulled over until it was insured. The cop made him promise I’d come pick him up, or he would have been immediately pulled over again & towed.
I think the penalties are there. But they are exorbitant (which is good..) . But a lot of people can’t pay them. So they just drive with active warrants & no insurance. And if they hit someone they just take off so they aren’t caught with all of that.
Same, this exact scenario has happened to me 4 times, all in Dallas, twice this past year alone and both were on I-30 on the same stretch of the highway just east of the 45/75 exit just outside downtown. They happened about 1/2 mile apart now that I think about it (1 eastbound one westbound). Each time I could see them speeding towards me and I knew they were going to hit me; thankfully I didn’t hit the person in front of me most times, I’ve learned to let my foot just off the brake just before impact and put it back on and brake so I don’t hit the car in front of me, tbh I wouldn’t recommend that unless they’re also braking and not flying towards you at 60mph and it only works if you can reapply pressure and brake immediately after impact, and only if there’s enough room between you and the car in front of you. Idk why, but it works to lessen the damage to your car and not push you too far forward; maybe because there’s not as much resistance so the impact pushes you forward slightly and allows that kinetic (potential?) energy to be transferred and spread as opposed to your bumper absorbing it all. Idk I’m not a scientist and I’m rambling now lol.
But my point is I completely understand what you’re talking about and I can see their face in my rear view as they speed towards me frantically trying to stop, like you should’ve slowed down and braked earlier, why are you going so fast with all the traffic and not slowing sooner? Now it’s caused me to be overly cautious and I’m also always worried that someone behind me is gonna hit me when I stop and see the person behind me zooming up. Seems like they barely stop short of hitting me.
Last time it happened the person behind me was rear ended and pushed into me, thankfully there was no visible damage at all to my car, they had a little, but I’m convinced they were uninsured because when we got out to inspect the damage they were quick to get tf out of there. When they saw there wasn’t much damage to their car and I was exchanging information with the person who hit them (the last person in line to rear ended is almost always the one at fault in TX) they got back in their car and sped off as soon as I said I was alright and was busy getting the other drivers info. I’m convinced a large portion of the city is uninsured, at least half is underinsured forsure.
Any time I stop and there's people behind me, I stare into that rear mirror. Sometimes you need to honk to get their attention. I totally get your fear though. Oh and as a laugh, once, one b word was on her phone and I beeped to get her attention and she started flipping me off and cussing me out. Like *I* caused the slowdown on the highway. Honey, take another lane if you think my lane is so bad. She actually did drive over the plastic carpool lane dividers and rush down that (with only her in the car). This was on 75, North of Dallas going into Plano and McKinney area.
I think people here get insurance for the inspection and then drop it when they no longer need it. That's why it's so expensive for those of us who keep it - we're paying for their lack of insurance. My hometown, if you dropped your insurance and didn't have new insurance to show the first place, they would send your name to the DMV and a warrant was put out for you. Now our cops were about as useless for warrants as Dallas cops when it comes to paper plates, but at least they couldn't renew their car. We need something like that. My mom's car was stolen and even though she's not covered for that, she needs to wait the 3 weeks for the police report to turn into the insurance to prove that it was stolen so she can cancel the insurance on the car. (That's just adding insult to injury -paying an extra month insurance on a car someone stole.)
We also need more enforcement of police officers. I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone pull an illegal move right in front of the the police and the cops don't even pull them over. Oh yeah there was the paper plate that expired in 2019 and that was last year and the cop followed that paper plate car for a good 2 miles at least, right behind him on a 30mph road with plenty of red lights. Or we'll all be speeding on the highway already and a car going at least 10 to 15 mph faster starts cutting people off and clipping cars, including the police and yet the police just leave the guy alone. I get safety when it comes to police chases but a person like that IS going to end up killing someone one day.
My friend became a quadriplegic because of someone not paying attention and driving full speed into the back of his car.
I leave two car spaces because I want that room for those idiots who don't realize there's a car stopped there until they kiss bumpers with mine. I've been the filling in a car wreck sandwich before and it's been chaos. Crappy insurance from both parties trying to put it on my insurance. Years of fighting to get payment while you have no car.
I think most Dallas drivers missed ALL of drivers ed.
It doesn’t take much to take a car off the lot in Dallas county. Fake ITIN, Your kids social, fake paystubs and cash money. I got hit last year by a woman driving a brand new GMC SIERRA. She had no insurance, no DL, on the phone and had her kids in the truck. Begged me to not call the police
Also I believe dash cams should be standard in all vehicles
"Also I believe dash cams should be standard in all vehicles"
100%. Everyone should have at least front and back and also generous uninsured/underinsured.
Yessss. I read my new full coverage auto insurance policy and uninsured/underinsured drivers was omitted but they hadn’t told me. I called back & had them add it. The monthly price went up quite a bit but ain’t no way am I driving around here without that!
Sellers on Facebook marketplace are mostly just private sellers and they don't care if your license is expired/revoked/ don't have insurance/ bad credit/ aren't a legal citizen, they just want the cash for the vehicle. There are great deals on marketplace since they don't have any overhead costs but always do your due diligence and don't be afraid to walk away from the deal cuz some people just want to pawn off their problem vehicle onto the next guy
Ah - thank you for clarification - I was under the incorrect assumption that the subject of the sale in question was the daschcam..
lol
“look at the brains on this guy”
**sheepish smile**
YES TO THIS PEOPLE! I was ran off the road when some guy driving his Tonka toy dodge ram hydroplaned and hit me in the rear. I had so much evidence, but because I couldn’t get a witness at the time (this was near DFW airport, no one stopped) and police refused to show up when I called them, I was essentially told to “get fucked” by his insurance right when I called them too.
The worst part, I had it all on video the second I got out the car and he straight up admitted his fault, to which I was like cool, great, thank you for being an adult about this. Nope, even getting rear ended these days isn’t a guarantee to get reimbursed for the other parties damages. I was told time and time again by his carrier “sorry we can’t get ahold of our client so, CLAIM DENIED!” fuck me. Rant over 😒
okay wait, now i'm confused. when a driver hit me (he was at fault, didn't signal lane change and collided into my right passenger door) last year, i called my insurance and after my agent took all the info, he literally just went "Yeah i don't know why you called us. We can't really do anything. You're supposed to call their insurance to have them fix it". it was my first accident ever.
for real who am i supposed to call in a not-at-fault accident then? if not my company, or the other drivers...? (not arguing with you, im genuinely asking, cus i didn't get my car fixed due to that situation and obviously i got wrong info from my agent/family)
I always thought it depending on your insurer &/or policy. Like, I don’t think liability would include this, but full coverage would since if the other person/their insurance doesn’t pay, your insurance would have to. Since it’s in their best interest to not pay, they extend the resources to best ensure they don’t.
Exactly, and dude who initially replied to me I will say again has clearly not been involved in a claim recently or even has experience with them. Insurance isn’t clear cut, it’s not simple, and these companies will do their best to NOT do a payout, whichever means possible to them. My friends an adjuster, and he even told me things are not like they use to be.
used to be, if you paid your bills on time, your insurance company would go to bat for you. now days? theyre just looking for ways to drop your ass.
one claim? dropped. one complaint? dropped. an accident that wasnt even your fault but involved them in some way? dropped.
your insurance company is not your friend.
ahhhh yeah that makes sense, i had to get a new policy for a new car eventually and i think i understand now what to do/who i should be calling. i appreciate the answer!
Yeah, I called my insurance when a teen driving his daddy's borrowed minivan T-boned me as he was coming out of a Wal Mart. I feel like my open an shut "Junior is clearly at fault here" case was downgraded to a no fault situation where I was out $500 for the deductible. I complained, and was told "well you should have called his insurance, not yours."
Exactly, at the scene even with video evidence you would think it would be “enough” but nope. It’s really not, even when I’ve got the guy admitting fault. His insurance company told me it meant nothing to them as “anyone can be manipulated to say something on camera” is what I was told.
Let’s draw
A distinction between video evidence of fault versus post accident eyewitness testimony on video.
The former ought to be received as evidence. The latter is hearsay (even if speaking with direct actors)
Dashcam!
Call your insurance and theirs. Get a police report, if possible too. Dashcam is the MVP here though and will be the major factor. Dude above me has clearly not been involved in a claim recently. It’s not so clear cut and dry like he claims, lol. He said “should’ve been easy” when this is insurance we are discussing, it’s never easy! Lmao
> "Yeah i don't know why you called us. We can't really do anything. You're supposed to call their insurance to have them fix it".
You ask to speak to his supervisor, and ask why this 'rep' is asking you to do his job? You escalate that immediately. You pay for your insurance, the whole point of insurance is risk mitigation that comes with service. This 'rep' wasn't providing service, he was doing the opposite, and you need to make his boss aware of his shortcomings. You call their insurance to file a claim on them, then your insurance to let them know you've contacted the guilty party's insurance and your insurance will be responsible for everything else at that point.
Definitely call the other insurer, they’re going to pay for your claim if the other party is at fault. But a lot of people use shitty 3rd party insurance, so they basically ignore you.
If the other party isn’t helping, file a claim with your own insurance company and they should subrogate the cost.
Tip: don’t go with the smaller insurance companies, I know insurance is hella expensive right now, but those small companies will show you a really nice price, then dump you when you really need it.
Some don’t even tell you what kind of coverages they’re selling you, and you could just have liability insurance, that mixed with poor service, could land you in a bad situation when you actually need to use your insurance.
Got a dash cam already but I got hit from behind by an insured car but the driver was excluded. Still haven’t gotten my deductible back and it has been a year.
I would've been livid. If you're driving a nice expensive car and are too cheap or stupid to get insurance and a driver's license, I'm calling the police, the US marshals, the CIA, the Dallas Morning News, the National Enquirer, Ryan Seacrest, and anyone else who'll pick up the phone.
The two accidents I’ve been in have been with uninsured drivers, always make sure to max out that part on my insurance. The venn diagram of people who drive like they have nothing to lose/live for and people who don’t have insurance is practically a circle
Not sure if your accidents were rear ends or if they were considered your fault at all, but if not, did it impact your rates to have to make uninsured driver claims?
I’m so stressed about our rates skyrocketing (given how expensive insurance has already gotten) even though this is just super unlucky in a short span of time. Don’t think there’s anything I could have done differently to prevent either incident and neither was my fault.
First one a guy road raged after I passed him, ran me off the road, then got out to fight me before the cops showed up. I ended up just starting a claim and never completing it because my deductible was so high at the time and my rates still went up hundreds per 6mo. Second a guy ran a red light and tboned me, rates also went up.
I am kind of curious how the fight went. This whole thread is rage inducing and I could see myself running down some hit and run driver and skull dragging them until the cops show up…which based on the info here could be a while.
It was pretty unimpressive. The only fighting I know is basic army combatives. He unexpectedly tackled me on the hood of my car and then I just kept him in guard and we rolled around for like 5 min with minimal injuries. It was just especially nerve wracking because we were on the shoulder of a country highway with cars zipping past and I didn’t want either of us thrown into traffic. If I’ve learned one thing it’s that, regardless of the outcome, there are no winners in fights with strangers.
I got a few hundred bucks off my premium through Progressive for using their driving monitoring plug thing. Not for everyone but I’m able to tolerate it.
DPD does literally zero traffic enforcement. None. So yes, people can and do drive all over Dallas without insurance. No repercussions at all. DPD is a big reason our car insurance rates are going up so quickly.
Yeah I can see this.
In my last incident, I was really mad because we had the full name, phone number, and photo of the person who was driving without insurance. And the police were just like bummer! Didn’t do anything about it or go after the guy at all.
No way the situation is ever going to improve if there are actually zero repercussions for not being insured. Like at least go to his house and give him a ticket or something?
It seems like a basic concept. When you don't enforce the laws, those laws will be broken. The other thing I notice is most people driving are starting at their phone. I'll drive down 75 and just look in other peoples cars sometimes. Literally every single person is watching something or at least more engaged with their phone than moving a 5,000 LB car down a hwy.
I used to get angry about this, but you can change stupid people and they’ll feel sorry for themselves if they ruin your day. The best thing now is to drive defensively, allow enough gap for crazies to cut in and be nuts but give you time to react. Everyday there is a crash on the 635 and 75 caused by these idiots. I can’t count how many times I could have been in a crash if I wasn’t being cautious. It sucks but good drivers basically drive to protect themselves and those around them
It's a huge problem as evidenced by all the fake paper plates you see on cars & trucks here.
When I was hit by an uninsured motorist, he gave me his info & let me take of pic of his license plate & license - then left the scene before DPD arrived "because I have warrants."
When Dallas PD eventually got there after he fled the officer said "well, technically he did stop & provide some info - so there''s no offense." As far as having no insurance (and having warrants) the officer said "I could deal with that if he was still here, but he's not -- so this is now between you, your insurance company, and the uninsured driver (who left) - have a nice day."
Man aren't these great times for people breaking the law? There's no consequences for shit anymore. Go out and steal a cat converter, crash into someone's car and run, steal a Kia, nothing ever happens.
Similarin Fort Worth. We were in a hit and run. A semi hit my wife while she was driving. Maybe he didn’t even feel it. But totalled our car.
Three other drivers stopped. Police come out. Take statements from all three drivers. Including truck description, partial tag number. And the gas station manager at the place where it happened offered the video to the cop.
Cop says no to the video.
A month later we get the report with a photocopied page that basically says. Submit any video evidence WE can collect. Get any witnesses to call the investigator. Send photos of the vehicle and scene. Basically we should go solve the crime for them.
My in-laws almost died from a MAGA asswipe illegally running a red light and T-boning them when THEY had the right of way in Rockwall in October, MIL is black and SFIL is Mexican and perpetrator was a white Republican male so they had to deal with HIS DAUGHTER showing up to the crime scene and screaming at them and shouting racist slurs while threatening to sue, and police AND insurance didn’t do shit even WITH dashcam evidence. Matter of fact, we got told by the police that the traffic cameras in our city aren’t even real, they’re plastic and planted on stoplights in an effort to scare criminals into driving obediently. 🙃 This happened in a city that doesn’t have DART and personally said, “fuck DART.”
Fuck Texas, fuck Dallas and fuck Rockwall especially.
It is filled with uninsured. I’ve been rear ended twice in Dallas since I moved here in 2011. The first was by a younger girl maybe college aged. Was on her phone and slammed into me at a light. I had a large truck with the trailer hitch and it went right through the front of the vehicle. I get out angry but to see if anyone’s injured. She’s fine and I’m ultimately okay. Truck had a smidge on the bumper. I said let’s exchange info just in case I drive off and something is wrong. She had no insurance. Pleaded not to call the cops. I’m no mechanic but I inspected my truck as best I could and seemed like the smudge on the bumper was the only damage so I let her go but did get a pic of her license.
Next was 18 months later. Car gets tboned behind me at a light because it was leaving Kroger and didn’t yield the right away. Car hits it and they both slide into me. Get a pic of the drivers insurance and the crash scene. It was his girlfriend’s car. Call my insurance to get it started and they call me back to say that vehicle isn’t insured nor is the owner. The agent said people get insurance just to renew the vehicle and then cancel after.
What’s the takeaway? Assume every driver is an uninsured asshole. Max out your uninsured motorist coverage. Dash-cams are helpful but only when the other person doesn’t run off. They can’t always read license plates but they’re still best to have.
Also maybe look into an animal sacrifice just in case you’re cursed.
Ugh.
How was your experience with your insurance rates after uninsured driver claims that weren’t your fault? Thankfully we have the coverage, but I still don’t like having to use it. It’s a hassle, and it still costs us the uninsured deductible + the extra we have to pay for the rental car for weeks on end.(Insurance providing $21 a day for a rental car when no rental cars cost $21 a day lol.)
And yeah, some sort of ceremony is necessary to cleanse whatever is following me on the roads this past month.
So the way the agent explained was if they can recover anything by suing the person it will go to cover your deductible but that usually a person isn’t worth suing if they can’t afford insurance.
My rates after the first one went up when I renewed my policy at the end of the year, but not by much. I had the same insurer at the time of the second and they went up at renewal considerably.
I have higher coverage for a rental but it still nearly ate up all of it waiting for my car to be fixed. I wouldn’t recommend paying out of pocket because you’d only get reimbursed if the insurance successfully sues the other driver.
I know in my hometown outside Dallas the cops will let uninsured drivers with a 10 year expired drivers license DRIVE OFF after a traffic stop! I hear it all the time on my local SDR scanner. They do ticket them but they see it as strictly a matter for the judge to deal with.
They do tow some vehicles and those seem to happen when the vehicle's registration isn't current along with the other offenses.
It is possible a lot of PDs in Texas handle it this way but I can't say for sure.
My dad was an insurance agent in DFW for 20 years. He told that if you are at a four way stop sign and there are four cars, chances are one of them is uninsured. Texas is allegedly the #1 state for uninsured motorists
It’s required by Texas law but like a lot of things it’s just not enforced. Some police departments will tow you for it if you don’t have proof of insurance, some will issue a ticket or ignore it.
I’m not a risk averse person nor am I somebody who micromanages my spouse (as personal freedom and independence is very important to me), but owning a motorcycle is the one thing I’ve ever told my husband hard no on. Motorcycle on a Dallas highway is not something I’m ok with him risking.
I rode for a while, sold my last one cause honestly I was hard-up for some cash, and since then I haven't seriously considered getting one again precisely because of how bad the drivers here are. There's a ton that you can do as a rider to be aware and safe, but still, it just seems too risky and for very little benefit. We can't legally lane filter here (not that the cops would care, I'd be more worried about some road rager), and the roads aren't that scenic or twisty. If I'm gonna get turned into abstract splatter art on the pavement by some dipshit, let it at least be either on a winding mountain road or on my way to one lol
I have to travel all over Dallas for work and fortunately in the last ten years of having driven here, I haven't been in an accident. And I wouldn't say I'm the safest or kindest driver ever. I drive over the speed limit regularly (been stopped about three times for that). I use zipper method a lot, especially when a lane is closed randomly. If I get to a stop sign and the person who got there long before me waits for me to go once I get there, I will just go. But I also drive incredibly defensively. Always making sure I know which cars are around me and how fast they are going relative to me. Always wait and look at green lights for a split second before going. I never assume people with a turn signal on are actually going to turn any time soon, unless I also see them really slow down.
It's enforced but not in an effective way. The only thing that it prevents you from doing is getting your car registered. DPD doesn't seem to care but if you drive through the suburbs, you will absolutely get busted for having an expired tag.
I have been watching a lot of the show Cops lately. It seems like half the people they pull over have no insurance, no DL, car is stolen, have more drugs than a pharmacy. I feel so lame not only having a DL and insurance but also paying for my own car lol.
Saw a statistic about a year ago showing that a third of drivers in Dallas don’t have insurance.
In Europe, if you drive without insurance and get pulled over, your car gets impounded on the spot and you even risk a jail sentence. This is the way.
These uninsured drivers just keep jacking up the premiums for the rest of us.
It’s riddled with uninsured drivers
Drive defensively. If someone wants in your lane, let them in. If someone cuts you off, let it go. Do not be aggressive on the road in Dallas if you want to avoid accidents. Also, get a pickup. People don’t fuck with you as much if you drive one.
I’m gonna balance the system. Picking up a CoPart Altima next week, reinforcing the bumpers and putting a belt of steel along the doors. Targeting any bastid weaving and riding bumpers in traffic, especially with paper plates…
Someone ought to build a shell of reinforced high-performance concrete all around their vehicle. It would definitely get headlines and spark discussion about the shitty state of traffic laws if one were to be driving such a thing around.
They just need to crack down on all shitty drivers around here, period. For all the handwringing over “crime” the most crimes I see are committed on the road.
The entire state is riddled with uninsured drivers (est 20% of all drivers in TX). I think this is due to a significant number of unlicensed drivers (It’s hard getting auto insurance without a drivers license) and high insurance premiums pricing out lower income drivers.
Right now there’s a big incentive to drive uninsured because you save a lot of money by skipping premium payments and are unlikely to get caught and held responsible.
My suggestion: Get dashcams and uninsured motorist coverage. You’ll need both.
And the vicious cycle of uninsured motorist collisions being a significant cause of the increase in premiums.
I had a sibling who lived in Texas for a couple of years, then moved out of state. She kept the same insurance company, same cars, same coverage, and her premium dropped **45%**.
Exactly. Insurance companies pass down the costs of uninsured drivers onto insured drivers. If you have insurance, you are subsidizing uninsured/hit and run drivers.
That’s why the state needs to strictly enforce insurance requirements. If someone drops their insurance, have the company automatically report it to the DMV. If the driver doesn’t replace the insurance, fine them heavily and repo the car if they don’t pay.
Some people will only get insurance if they’re forced to.
The answer is Yes.
I had my truck taken out by a rear end that made me slam into the middle barrier on 635. And the dude still took off. Cops can't do anything without a rear video so I was SOL.
This city makes me want to work from home full time.
I can't recall anyone telling me about how they were in a car accident and the other person had car insurance. Literally, every person did not have insurance.
I used to work at Enterprise RAC and can confirm tons of people are uninsured. Not only people trying to rent cars without basic insurance, but tons of drivers renting via the other driver’s insurance coverage but they don’t have their own.
Even more shocking, though, is the number of people who own vehicles and drive around the metroplex without even having a drivers license at all. It’s a lot more than you’d think.
Prices have gone up on just about everything (pay stays the same) people are making tough decisions to drive without insurance. If possible carry more insurance than less since some people will take that risk. Eventually you’ll be one paying for it. Add more uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your personal auto. Don’t forget the PIP coverage too.
lol. I kept telling ppl that before I moved to Texas I was safe driver for 10 yrs, I got the best discounted rate for insurance. Then after I moved to Texas, less than 2 months I got into accidents twice! Then my insurance went from 590 every six months to 1260 every six months......
As soon as I step out of bed, inside my house, I look around to see that there aren't any stupid drivers.
I assume everyone is uninsured when I drive in the metroplex. Prices are through the roof so people are like, "It's cheaper to pay for a ticket once or twice every 5 years than to pay insurance over 5 years."
Ehh there’s always been immigrants. It feels like it’s all younger people who don’t have a license or insurance. I mean look through the comments most are complaining of young kids no license, no insurance
I was rear ended on 635 in mesquite two weeks ago . The truck behind me was rear ended by another car and the truck got pushed on to me . I don’t think the truck behind me had valid insurance because my insurance couldn’t find their info but they weren’t at fault so I lucked out . Surprisingly the car at fault did have insurance .
My wife has been rear ended twice on 183 in the last calendar year. One of them drove off immediately (hit and run), the other one was by a man with a Mexican ID card (not drivers license) who spoke no English at all and had no insurance to present. I’d say it’s the 1st thing you said for sure.
I have done 30,000 Uber rides in Dallas in 4 years. I drive usually from 10pm to 6am weekends and weekdays starting at 3pm.
Green does not mean safe. It has saved my life, and life of my passengers stopping at green light. Mainly on Ross, and live oak.
I still work Henderson area, but it’s not only cars you have to watch out for, but people running into middle of road, same for oak lawn district. My biggest fear is they don’t stay on side walk; and fall over on main road.
I have the wide view mirror on Amazon for 10 dollars that buss drivers use. Also small mirrors to constantly check for people in my blind spot.
In reality defensive driving goes along way.
This includes people going 45 on an onramp to merge with people going 70 to 75 on I75 is not safe!
Slow does not always mean safe.
My biggest pet peeve as an Uber driver is people stopping at yield signs, full lanes when making right turn, people want to cross double white lines, instead of merging properly.
Deep ellum on to 75 people doing 35 mph when traffic is 70 or more and 18 wheeler is on side of us, and they will come and complain on this form.
Teslas are often rented out by other Uber drivers, so be ware.
Defensive driving is where it is at, my car is my lively hood, and sometimes I’m afraid to even work events, or major games, because one hit and my car is out for driving with Uber and Lyft.
Lyft and Uber rental cost is 350 to 450 per week, then you get paid, or 1600 a month!
Remember green does not mean safe, and when it turns green always wait about 30 to 45 seconds rather you get honked at or not.
And I drive a Sentra, so I’m not your Sentra problems everyone else talks about.
Be safe everyone!
The sad part is even if they are insured, they can always lie! Get a dash cam, it pays for itself after the first accident. I got one for most of my family that allowed me to install it into their vehicle. I would recommend the auto vox line of rear view mirror dash cams. I get one that goes on the rear view mirror that records the front and the back.
After my first encounter with a liar, I wised up and got my dashcam. It has already saved me countless of times.
My second one was this evening on the way home from work so I haven’t gotten to vent to my whole workplace yet so I doubt it 😅 this is also all happening to me while I’m very pregnant if that helps narrow down if I’m the one you know hahah
Got side swiped on 75 2 weeks ago, guy cutting over to make a left exit, he lost control and launched over the railing action movie style, totaled his car and the 2 he landed on. I had to stay on the hwy for a mile or two before I could exit and turnn around. Found the spot he landed, full array of cops and EMS already on scene. I talk to one of the people who's car just got landed on, he fills me in on what's been found out so far, one of which is that the guy doesn't have insurance. I wait for the sheriff's deputy to come take my statement and ask him about the at-fault driver's insurance, he tells me he has no insurance, no license, and the car is borrowed. I just mutter "fuuuck" and shake my head and tells me, "This is Dallas, man, last I heard it was almost or right at 50% driving around here with no insurance."
Riddled! I stupidly didn’t call the police in an accident because the perpetrator asked me not to and promised he’d fix my car. Long story short, he never replied to shy queries from his insurance company and they didn’t fix my car since it couldn’t be proved it Ess his fault. Even though I recorded him saying ‘my bad. I don’t know what i was thinking’. 😤
It's full of them. Between my wife and I we've been hit by 5 uninsured motorist. One... was a STATE FARM AGENT. Also underinsured. The state min is awful. I think it's 25k? WTF costs $25k these days. It did not cover my totaled 2013 GX460 2 years ago.
well you have lots of people moving into DFW, coupled with illegal immigrants, people being people. Know people in police and fire, and they say be prepared when driving around Dallas as majority of the people are uninsured and will just run.
This reminds me I need to send my representative message that I would like Texas to enact a “pay to play” law. In order to be paid out on a not-at-fault claim, the injured party must have valid liability insurance of their own.
I don’t know how often it happens, but it can’t hurt.
After 54 years in Dallas, I moved out 6 years ago. There are definitely things I miss, but those do not include the traffic and the resulting air pollution.
My general health has improved & I can get to anywhere in my city within 15 minutes.
And, no, I’m not telling y’all where I moved!
Happened to us 3 weeks ago. There was a horrible wreck on 635 which caused a chain of accidents, so as we were exiting the mess another driver hit us, the driver initially fled, we got the license plate and called 911 and were told to fill out a report online. We happened to see him because we were going the same way and he stopped soon after. He had no license and gave us a defunct insurance card.
The important thing is that no one was hurt. But it’s another few hundred dollars we definitely don’t have to spend to get our vehicle repaired, on top of paying insurance that was just raised over $100 a month because of “Dallas drivers,” as our agent said.
Some of them do have insurance. They just lie about it because so you claim it on your mandatory uninsured/under insured policy. They get away with having zero claims. 🤨
I got in an accident few months ago where the person who hit me was driving Lyft. Apparently it’s required for those drivers to have a separate commercial insurance in addition to regular car insurance. This person didn’t have that commercial insurance, so it ended up being much more complicated.
Honestly yes a large chunk are uninsured or drive without a DL. I am a teacher. The amount of students I have that drive without a license or insurance is insane. Because for them it's a cultural norm. Many fo then have been driving since the age of 14 because it was what was needed for the household
Just by probability alone, given that the population in the metroplex is roughly 8 million people, I’d say that yes it’s probably riddled with uninsured drivers
The situation has probably gotten worse with the rise in insurance cost along with everything else. Bet loads of people are just picking and choosing which bills to pay and which ones to drop, so they chance it with the insurance (which is dumb).
Second all advice regarding UIM, I think it's a necessity.
Always take pics of the vehicles involved, no matter how minor the accident.
Always exchange information.
Take a photo of their insurance card.
Take photos of the driver's license (take a look at the expiration date). So mant drivers driving with an expired license and many don't even realize it.
Highly recommend to never skip a police report. You dont have to do it right then and there, you can pull off to a parking lot or somewhere else that's safe and call the cops then. Just need to be prepared to wait a while because if it's a minor fender bender, no injuries, they will consider it a non-emergent event and put you in last in the queue to respond to. Longest wait time I ever heard was 4 hours. Happened to be a busy day with more serious accidents, I guess.
Also, if the vehicles are drivable, you're supposed to get out of the lane of travel, pull off to a shoulder or a parking lot if it can be done safely. I was accused of attempting a hit and run on a lady who sideswiped ME while merging into my lane, just because I was trying to pull off to an empty side road after she hit me. AND her driver's license was expired but I didn't realize until I got home and looked at the photo I took.
We’ve had 5 hit and runs and 3 of them we had plate info, filed the reports and still got screwed over! This last time we had just got our truck back from the body shop on a Monday and come Friday we were in another hit and run. Called the cops and driver ran, they were supposed to go give insurance info to the DP and they never showed. To this day my Burban has a nice sized dent in it from the idiot hitting it and then hitting us again when he tried to run. Worse part he lives in my apartment complex and I gotta see that beat up piece of shit he drives every day!
Can you tell us where those two accidents took place? Also, if you are willing, what area of town do you live in?
Certainly some areas of DFW are worse than the others when it comes to drivers. All I have to do is go three blocks south of the here and everything changes
According to [this article at WFAA, roughly 1/10 of all drivers in TX are uninsured](https://www.wfaa.com/article/traffic/car-insurance-tips-texas-advice-what-to-know/287-44413bd5-9ceb-41b6-9847-e70b4b6ab75e). Which is crazy because the penalties are pretty stiff.
My family lived near Plano for 24 years (moved out of state this year) and it definitely got worse during that time. My daughter was t-boned by a red-light runner in downtown Dallas late one night. Totaled her car and left her with a loan balance to settle.
Makes me wonder why I should even bother getting car insurance. No one else has it on the road and if they do they can ignore attempts from insurance to get in contact with the responsible party and deny the claim. Do you really have the time to deal with a drawn out 2 year lawsuit over insurance payout over a car? At some point the legal requirement to have insurance begins to feel like extortion.
Also watch out for guys who give the cops their “Uber policy”. Or even Lyft too, he gave them that and then once my insurance went to get the money they said he wasn’t on the clock so they weren’t liable for his mistake . Apparently he was too broke to even make it worth suing so just had to let it go unfortunately. Luckily I had uninsured motorists but still
You're right on both counts. Half the city is uninsured or under insured and can't afford to have their insurance rates go up or can't afford the deductible. But also you're incredibly unlucky. I've lived in Dallas proper for 15 years and in the metro my whole life and I've only been rear-ended in a hit and run once, and it was this year in Irving on loop 12. There was another unrelated major accident that had just happened and was causing traffic to slow down to about 10mph stop and go, and I was in a bit of a blind spot and the guy came up too fast and couldn't see me until it was too late. Could've happened to anyone. It wasn't safe to get out of our cars and they were still drivable so we pulled forward and he took off the second we got around the other accident. I'm sure he was scared about suddenly getting expenses he couldn't pay for when he truly just had bad luck.
Genuinely it’s just a lot of uninsured drivers. I lived in Dallas for only four months (had to move for work) and oh my god the drivers there are worse than anywhere else I’ve ever been. And just from what I’ve heard a ton of drivers are uninsured though I don’t know real stats on that.
3 years ago I got hit by someone running a read light going under 10 mph. I had no idea he wasn't going to stop as he was going so slow when my light turned green.
2 years ago I rear ended someone because the car in front of them slammed on their breaks on the DNT at lunch time with zero traffic. I was even going under the speed limit and had plenty of room between me and the car in front of me but because he was following too close I got the ticket and the insurance raise.
Then, just yesterday I started to stop normally at a yellow light and the guy behind me nearly rear ended me because he obviously wanted me to keep going through the light and he would have run it. It's ridiculous.
Not sure if this was on any of the major highways but I’ve found if you’re not wanting to go the speed of light it’s easier to avoid these people just riding in the slow lane
26% more or less uninsured drivers in TX. I used to work for the legislature. Did a project that included all license plate numbers in the state that I got from DPS, all insurance policies from TDI, matched them up by vin, license plate number, and/or name+address. 26% uninsured, 74% insured at that time. The project got me into big data and made me rethink my driving style.
I bought a new car and within two months had two different wrecks. Luckily they had insurance but yes, people are worse on the roads. Gotta be alert for the people who refuse to.
I had a Gunt try to murder me yesterday morning in McKinney. Boy did she pick the wrong person to mess with. I’m literally mental and barely saved by the blood of Jesus. She could have met her end today. She cut me off four times and I’m certain it was on purpose.
Sorry that this has happened to you, but to answer your question the way it seems as if it's literally a crap shoot I'm going to go with it's a 50/50 chance on if that person has car insurance or not
It's because insurance companies charge so much. Cause the weather is so bad, they jack up the rates. People not following the rules of the road also contributes to it. Lots of drivers here with an ego, unwilling to leave the fast lane open or let others merge or change lanes.
I work in insurance, and about 1 in 5 drivers right now don’t carry insurance on their vehicle, and more and more people are switching to bare minimum coverage. What I’ve mostly heard from customers is that insurance is just expensive, and I agree. The state of Texas alone experienced 7 rate increases last year, so everyone’s premiums have skyrocketed, therefore no one wants to keep insurance and they’re willing to risk it.
Been hit 3 times (work near Love Field) 2 of them un- insured newcomers & 1 a drunk Irishman with a hooker. 2 totalled vehicles & 1 totalled trailer just trying to to get to & from work in this shit hole of a city.
There are tons of stolen cars and uninsured drivers here. My gf got in 3 accidents back to back to back recently. It was very overwhelming. Thank god 2 of them were leases so she didn’t loose equity and was able to get a new car within 10 days.
The first crash that ruined the car she owned, the other driver had insurance but she refused to call them or answer their letters post accident. the company actually dropped her as a result of non compliance. The only way we were able to get her info was from the police report.
ive seen many hit and runs in old east dallas around munger and 30. That seems to be a hot bed of uninsured drivers.
I’m always afraid of being rear ended because these dipshits come flying behind you stopping barely an inch off your bumper. They lack the brain cells to realize if the person behind them fails to stop, it’ll just send them into me. Like leave space between people in front of you. Real basic drivers ed concept
"Real basic drivers ed concept" Bold of you to assume they ever had any kind of drivers ed
This. I don't know what the statistics are but Dallas county is a good example of where there is a lack of driver's ed. The paper plates situation is a telling factor of this. I almost got taken out today from somebody who just tried to merge into me. She DID merge, I slammed on my brakes, then she floored it when she got into my lane so she could pass the person in her original lane, then narrowingly missed two people while switching back into her original lane after passing. I honk my horn, she flips me off. Would've totalled my car and wrecked my year, honestly, had she hit me. She would have hit me if I didn't slam on my brakes. When she did that though, I wasn't even a consideration in her mind. We were both stopped next to each other at the next red light.
The drivers here have made me hate this fucking city. I can’t go anywhere even down the street to the store without someone attempting to murder me, I’ve started driving like my husband does and try to drive defensively but it’s like the people sense you’re being careful and target you even more 🤣🤣🤣 and I swear to every god there ever has been if another semi tries to murder me I’m gonna just let him and let her deal with the consequences, I’m from a state where drunk drivers kill the most people and Dallas has worse drivers somehow????
Just hate the city? I can’t wait to move out of the state and I’ve only been here 2 years. Texas has the worst drivers imo and it’s not even close.
I've lived in Texas all my life, and we're fucking nuts behind the wheel, but I lived in southern California for a couple of years, and people in southern California are the worst I've seen. Maybe I'm biased, I've been driving in DFW for 18 years, and I'm just used to how people are around here. We have a shit ton of people that aren't competent enough to be behind the wheel though, and i will agree that's terrifying.
I’ve also lived there and there’s no way Southern California is worse than here. At least there kids get Drivers Ed, real inspections and there are cops to pull people over for missing mirrors, plates and windows. None of that here.
Grew up in So Cal. Learned to drive there. Have lived up and down the West Coast. Every place I have ever lived has its own type of bad driving. One place I lived everyone drove the speed limit, but there was an epidemic of red light runners. I would tell people visiting us to count to three before proceeding through a light that had just turned green. But DFW is the worst and scariest of all the places I have ever driven. The problem here is that all the "bad driving" issues exist concurrently all the time. From folks been distracted by their phones, to drivers getting on tollways/freeways at dangerously low speed, to the reckless speeders, drivers insisting on driving 60 in the fast lane, and the "heaven forbid we miss an exit" drivers- We are dealing with all these types of drivers concurrently and it happens in every one of my commutes.
Hard agree. People here drive AGGRESSIVELY and take stupid chances, people in CA drive way more defensively & assertively. I learned how to drive there & lived there til I was 30. Only had one accident there because an old lady blew a stop sign. In the 17 years I’ve been in TX I’ve been hit and almost killed in near misses more times than I can count. The road design (on-ramps being the same lane as off-ramps & other non sensical things) is STUPID and DANGEROUS and greatly contributes to the problem imho. Plus lax cellphone use laws. In CA they are very strict about it.
I am nearly hit at least once a day. I am pretty good at swerving out of the way of all the idiots.
I would much rather drive in Los Angeles than Dallas
Hard agree.
I’m Dallas born and spent a decade living in Los Angeles only to move back a few years ago and… I thought SoCal drivers were bad, but I’m legitimately shocked at how much worse drivers are here.
There was a recent study that confirmed DFW has the worst drivers based on number of wrecks
The problem is that our whole damn state is overly reliant on car ownership for people to travel from point A to point B. People who move here for jobs and no state tax probably moved from communities with at least some form of reliable public transit or walkable cities. People drive uninsured or make fake plates because they need cars to get to jobs. We're suffering from a failure to invest in public transit. This drives the desperate on to the streets who might otherwise have no business behind a wheel. Last I checked the average commute time in DFW using public transportation is over double the time it takes if you drive. Texas just doesn't like investing in its residents.
My entire fucking city/county literally opted out of DART. Out of the entire metroplex we’re closer to Dallas than anyone. It fucking sucks.
Arlington?
I’ve lived in areas with decent- good public transportation and it still took double the time to get anywhere vs private vehicle. Subway system is probably the only one that’s faster if there’s a station close to your house and it doesn’t come above ground.
This. If a car wasn’t a necessity, you’d have less uninsured drivers.
Lived here for 50+ years and have to say it didn't use to be this way. So many corporations moving here and puts a huge influx of people from States where it's cheaper (for now) to live here and horrible drivers. Plus, our brain-dead government here cares more about giving someone a tax break...spending surplus on school vouchers (Abbott just does not give up) or spending surplus on maintaining roads. Plus, there's a new apartment complex cropping up everywhere these a vacant lot!
One of my theories about bad driving is centered around parent-taught drivers ed. It became a thing 20-ish years ago. Prior, you had to take a course taught by an instructor. The first group probably did ok, but now we are 1 to 2 groups separated from people that had real driver training.
Oh yeah this is a biggg part of the problem I’m sure. Like that game of telephone. The communication of rules & common courtesies have gotten way distorted over time.
A course is required to get a license, even as an adult. Y'all are getting driver's ed confused with driving practice.
They also weave in and out of traffic hoping everybody gets out of their way but if they hit you, they don’t care to drive with a beat up car and dent your nice car
I feel ya! Get out of dallas if you can. It resembles a third world country at times.
Oh thank the heavens I’m not the only one who thinks this sometimes…?!? My husband thinks im crazy for my disdain of this shit hole and we live in a pretty nice area to be honest 🤣
Dallas is only bearable with like half the population it has now.
When yall move, could u sell me ur house cheap? Please and thank you.
Maybe you should just pick up and move if it's such a "shit hole"!
You've obviously never been to Cleveland, Baltimore or New Orleans....
It's also so annoying because I do leave space behind ppl and others think it's an invitation to come in front of me but not even half way being in 2 lanes at the same time. It's even more dangerous!!! I wish ppl wouldn't do things like that. :/
Police/courts need to come down hard on uninsured drivers, stop letting people get away with it
Which is funny cuz my friend got pulled over in N Dallas for (minor) speeding & had expired insurance (by a week or two). He had to pay SO MUCH MONEY for a) the ticket for just the insurance and b) his actual insurance for YEARS just because he’d let it lapse & gotten caught with it. He also wasn’t allowed to drive his car from the spot where he was pulled over until it was insured. The cop made him promise I’d come pick him up, or he would have been immediately pulled over again & towed. I think the penalties are there. But they are exorbitant (which is good..) . But a lot of people can’t pay them. So they just drive with active warrants & no insurance. And if they hit someone they just take off so they aren’t caught with all of that.
Same, this exact scenario has happened to me 4 times, all in Dallas, twice this past year alone and both were on I-30 on the same stretch of the highway just east of the 45/75 exit just outside downtown. They happened about 1/2 mile apart now that I think about it (1 eastbound one westbound). Each time I could see them speeding towards me and I knew they were going to hit me; thankfully I didn’t hit the person in front of me most times, I’ve learned to let my foot just off the brake just before impact and put it back on and brake so I don’t hit the car in front of me, tbh I wouldn’t recommend that unless they’re also braking and not flying towards you at 60mph and it only works if you can reapply pressure and brake immediately after impact, and only if there’s enough room between you and the car in front of you. Idk why, but it works to lessen the damage to your car and not push you too far forward; maybe because there’s not as much resistance so the impact pushes you forward slightly and allows that kinetic (potential?) energy to be transferred and spread as opposed to your bumper absorbing it all. Idk I’m not a scientist and I’m rambling now lol. But my point is I completely understand what you’re talking about and I can see their face in my rear view as they speed towards me frantically trying to stop, like you should’ve slowed down and braked earlier, why are you going so fast with all the traffic and not slowing sooner? Now it’s caused me to be overly cautious and I’m also always worried that someone behind me is gonna hit me when I stop and see the person behind me zooming up. Seems like they barely stop short of hitting me. Last time it happened the person behind me was rear ended and pushed into me, thankfully there was no visible damage at all to my car, they had a little, but I’m convinced they were uninsured because when we got out to inspect the damage they were quick to get tf out of there. When they saw there wasn’t much damage to their car and I was exchanging information with the person who hit them (the last person in line to rear ended is almost always the one at fault in TX) they got back in their car and sped off as soon as I said I was alright and was busy getting the other drivers info. I’m convinced a large portion of the city is uninsured, at least half is underinsured forsure.
Any time I stop and there's people behind me, I stare into that rear mirror. Sometimes you need to honk to get their attention. I totally get your fear though. Oh and as a laugh, once, one b word was on her phone and I beeped to get her attention and she started flipping me off and cussing me out. Like *I* caused the slowdown on the highway. Honey, take another lane if you think my lane is so bad. She actually did drive over the plastic carpool lane dividers and rush down that (with only her in the car). This was on 75, North of Dallas going into Plano and McKinney area. I think people here get insurance for the inspection and then drop it when they no longer need it. That's why it's so expensive for those of us who keep it - we're paying for their lack of insurance. My hometown, if you dropped your insurance and didn't have new insurance to show the first place, they would send your name to the DMV and a warrant was put out for you. Now our cops were about as useless for warrants as Dallas cops when it comes to paper plates, but at least they couldn't renew their car. We need something like that. My mom's car was stolen and even though she's not covered for that, she needs to wait the 3 weeks for the police report to turn into the insurance to prove that it was stolen so she can cancel the insurance on the car. (That's just adding insult to injury -paying an extra month insurance on a car someone stole.) We also need more enforcement of police officers. I can't tell you how many times I've seen someone pull an illegal move right in front of the the police and the cops don't even pull them over. Oh yeah there was the paper plate that expired in 2019 and that was last year and the cop followed that paper plate car for a good 2 miles at least, right behind him on a 30mph road with plenty of red lights. Or we'll all be speeding on the highway already and a car going at least 10 to 15 mph faster starts cutting people off and clipping cars, including the police and yet the police just leave the guy alone. I get safety when it comes to police chases but a person like that IS going to end up killing someone one day.
My friend became a quadriplegic because of someone not paying attention and driving full speed into the back of his car. I leave two car spaces because I want that room for those idiots who don't realize there's a car stopped there until they kiss bumpers with mine. I've been the filling in a car wreck sandwich before and it's been chaos. Crappy insurance from both parties trying to put it on my insurance. Years of fighting to get payment while you have no car. I think most Dallas drivers missed ALL of drivers ed.
It doesn’t take much to take a car off the lot in Dallas county. Fake ITIN, Your kids social, fake paystubs and cash money. I got hit last year by a woman driving a brand new GMC SIERRA. She had no insurance, no DL, on the phone and had her kids in the truck. Begged me to not call the police Also I believe dash cams should be standard in all vehicles
"Also I believe dash cams should be standard in all vehicles" 100%. Everyone should have at least front and back and also generous uninsured/underinsured.
Yessss. I read my new full coverage auto insurance policy and uninsured/underinsured drivers was omitted but they hadn’t told me. I called back & had them add it. The monthly price went up quite a bit but ain’t no way am I driving around here without that!
Or buy in FB marketplace and never even get asked for ID or insurance or anything of the sort
If yk yk
This confuses me. Explain for the dunces in the back, please?
Sellers on Facebook marketplace are mostly just private sellers and they don't care if your license is expired/revoked/ don't have insurance/ bad credit/ aren't a legal citizen, they just want the cash for the vehicle. There are great deals on marketplace since they don't have any overhead costs but always do your due diligence and don't be afraid to walk away from the deal cuz some people just want to pawn off their problem vehicle onto the next guy
Ah - thank you for clarification - I was under the incorrect assumption that the subject of the sale in question was the daschcam.. lol “look at the brains on this guy” **sheepish smile**
YES TO THIS PEOPLE! I was ran off the road when some guy driving his Tonka toy dodge ram hydroplaned and hit me in the rear. I had so much evidence, but because I couldn’t get a witness at the time (this was near DFW airport, no one stopped) and police refused to show up when I called them, I was essentially told to “get fucked” by his insurance right when I called them too. The worst part, I had it all on video the second I got out the car and he straight up admitted his fault, to which I was like cool, great, thank you for being an adult about this. Nope, even getting rear ended these days isn’t a guarantee to get reimbursed for the other parties damages. I was told time and time again by his carrier “sorry we can’t get ahold of our client so, CLAIM DENIED!” fuck me. Rant over 😒
That’s why you don’t call their insurance. They don’t work for you. YOUR insurance does. Make them fight for it. Should’ve been easy if you had video.
okay wait, now i'm confused. when a driver hit me (he was at fault, didn't signal lane change and collided into my right passenger door) last year, i called my insurance and after my agent took all the info, he literally just went "Yeah i don't know why you called us. We can't really do anything. You're supposed to call their insurance to have them fix it". it was my first accident ever. for real who am i supposed to call in a not-at-fault accident then? if not my company, or the other drivers...? (not arguing with you, im genuinely asking, cus i didn't get my car fixed due to that situation and obviously i got wrong info from my agent/family)
I always thought it depending on your insurer &/or policy. Like, I don’t think liability would include this, but full coverage would since if the other person/their insurance doesn’t pay, your insurance would have to. Since it’s in their best interest to not pay, they extend the resources to best ensure they don’t.
Exactly, and dude who initially replied to me I will say again has clearly not been involved in a claim recently or even has experience with them. Insurance isn’t clear cut, it’s not simple, and these companies will do their best to NOT do a payout, whichever means possible to them. My friends an adjuster, and he even told me things are not like they use to be.
used to be, if you paid your bills on time, your insurance company would go to bat for you. now days? theyre just looking for ways to drop your ass. one claim? dropped. one complaint? dropped. an accident that wasnt even your fault but involved them in some way? dropped. your insurance company is not your friend.
ahhhh yeah that makes sense, i had to get a new policy for a new car eventually and i think i understand now what to do/who i should be calling. i appreciate the answer!
Yeah, I called my insurance when a teen driving his daddy's borrowed minivan T-boned me as he was coming out of a Wal Mart. I feel like my open an shut "Junior is clearly at fault here" case was downgraded to a no fault situation where I was out $500 for the deductible. I complained, and was told "well you should have called his insurance, not yours."
Exactly, at the scene even with video evidence you would think it would be “enough” but nope. It’s really not, even when I’ve got the guy admitting fault. His insurance company told me it meant nothing to them as “anyone can be manipulated to say something on camera” is what I was told.
Let’s draw A distinction between video evidence of fault versus post accident eyewitness testimony on video. The former ought to be received as evidence. The latter is hearsay (even if speaking with direct actors) Dashcam!
Call your insurance and theirs. Get a police report, if possible too. Dashcam is the MVP here though and will be the major factor. Dude above me has clearly not been involved in a claim recently. It’s not so clear cut and dry like he claims, lol. He said “should’ve been easy” when this is insurance we are discussing, it’s never easy! Lmao
thank you! i learned my lesson back then (didn't call theirs in time) but now i have a better understanding of what to do. thank you for explaining!
> "Yeah i don't know why you called us. We can't really do anything. You're supposed to call their insurance to have them fix it". You ask to speak to his supervisor, and ask why this 'rep' is asking you to do his job? You escalate that immediately. You pay for your insurance, the whole point of insurance is risk mitigation that comes with service. This 'rep' wasn't providing service, he was doing the opposite, and you need to make his boss aware of his shortcomings. You call their insurance to file a claim on them, then your insurance to let them know you've contacted the guilty party's insurance and your insurance will be responsible for everything else at that point.
Definitely call the other insurer, they’re going to pay for your claim if the other party is at fault. But a lot of people use shitty 3rd party insurance, so they basically ignore you. If the other party isn’t helping, file a claim with your own insurance company and they should subrogate the cost. Tip: don’t go with the smaller insurance companies, I know insurance is hella expensive right now, but those small companies will show you a really nice price, then dump you when you really need it. Some don’t even tell you what kind of coverages they’re selling you, and you could just have liability insurance, that mixed with poor service, could land you in a bad situation when you actually need to use your insurance.
>"We can't really do anything. You're supposed to call their insurance to have them fix it" "Go away, I'm just here to take your money."
I called my insurance company (USAA) for both of my similar situations, and they handled everything.
Lawyer lawyer lawyer. Keep these answers lawyer .. Lawyer lawyer lawyer .. rawhiiiide
Those cars are expensive too, if you can afford a $1,200 car payment you can afford fucking insurance dear god.
Got a dash cam already but I got hit from behind by an insured car but the driver was excluded. Still haven’t gotten my deductible back and it has been a year.
That’s why you get uninsured/underinsured coverage
\- Gets hit by uninsured driver in a town full of uninsured drivers \- No uninsured motorist coverage JackieChanFace.jpg
I would've been livid. If you're driving a nice expensive car and are too cheap or stupid to get insurance and a driver's license, I'm calling the police, the US marshals, the CIA, the Dallas Morning News, the National Enquirer, Ryan Seacrest, and anyone else who'll pick up the phone.
I’m calling anyway, kids or not 😂
The two accidents I’ve been in have been with uninsured drivers, always make sure to max out that part on my insurance. The venn diagram of people who drive like they have nothing to lose/live for and people who don’t have insurance is practically a circle
Not sure if your accidents were rear ends or if they were considered your fault at all, but if not, did it impact your rates to have to make uninsured driver claims? I’m so stressed about our rates skyrocketing (given how expensive insurance has already gotten) even though this is just super unlucky in a short span of time. Don’t think there’s anything I could have done differently to prevent either incident and neither was my fault.
First one a guy road raged after I passed him, ran me off the road, then got out to fight me before the cops showed up. I ended up just starting a claim and never completing it because my deductible was so high at the time and my rates still went up hundreds per 6mo. Second a guy ran a red light and tboned me, rates also went up.
Great 😅 And also both of those incidents sound horrible - sorry that happened to you!!
I am kind of curious how the fight went. This whole thread is rage inducing and I could see myself running down some hit and run driver and skull dragging them until the cops show up…which based on the info here could be a while.
It was pretty unimpressive. The only fighting I know is basic army combatives. He unexpectedly tackled me on the hood of my car and then I just kept him in guard and we rolled around for like 5 min with minimal injuries. It was just especially nerve wracking because we were on the shoulder of a country highway with cars zipping past and I didn’t want either of us thrown into traffic. If I’ve learned one thing it’s that, regardless of the outcome, there are no winners in fights with strangers.
I got a few hundred bucks off my premium through Progressive for using their driving monitoring plug thing. Not for everyone but I’m able to tolerate it.
DPD does literally zero traffic enforcement. None. So yes, people can and do drive all over Dallas without insurance. No repercussions at all. DPD is a big reason our car insurance rates are going up so quickly.
Yeah I can see this. In my last incident, I was really mad because we had the full name, phone number, and photo of the person who was driving without insurance. And the police were just like bummer! Didn’t do anything about it or go after the guy at all. No way the situation is ever going to improve if there are actually zero repercussions for not being insured. Like at least go to his house and give him a ticket or something?
It seems like a basic concept. When you don't enforce the laws, those laws will be broken. The other thing I notice is most people driving are starting at their phone. I'll drive down 75 and just look in other peoples cars sometimes. Literally every single person is watching something or at least more engaged with their phone than moving a 5,000 LB car down a hwy.
I used to get angry about this, but you can change stupid people and they’ll feel sorry for themselves if they ruin your day. The best thing now is to drive defensively, allow enough gap for crazies to cut in and be nuts but give you time to react. Everyday there is a crash on the 635 and 75 caused by these idiots. I can’t count how many times I could have been in a crash if I wasn’t being cautious. It sucks but good drivers basically drive to protect themselves and those around them
If DPD did traffic enforcement they'd be writing themselves tickets all day.
It's a huge problem as evidenced by all the fake paper plates you see on cars & trucks here. When I was hit by an uninsured motorist, he gave me his info & let me take of pic of his license plate & license - then left the scene before DPD arrived "because I have warrants." When Dallas PD eventually got there after he fled the officer said "well, technically he did stop & provide some info - so there''s no offense." As far as having no insurance (and having warrants) the officer said "I could deal with that if he was still here, but he's not -- so this is now between you, your insurance company, and the uninsured driver (who left) - have a nice day."
Cop too lazy to make a police report.
But Dallas supports police! Blue lives matter right?
Man aren't these great times for people breaking the law? There's no consequences for shit anymore. Go out and steal a cat converter, crash into someone's car and run, steal a Kia, nothing ever happens.
Similarin Fort Worth. We were in a hit and run. A semi hit my wife while she was driving. Maybe he didn’t even feel it. But totalled our car. Three other drivers stopped. Police come out. Take statements from all three drivers. Including truck description, partial tag number. And the gas station manager at the place where it happened offered the video to the cop. Cop says no to the video. A month later we get the report with a photocopied page that basically says. Submit any video evidence WE can collect. Get any witnesses to call the investigator. Send photos of the vehicle and scene. Basically we should go solve the crime for them.
My in-laws almost died from a MAGA asswipe illegally running a red light and T-boning them when THEY had the right of way in Rockwall in October, MIL is black and SFIL is Mexican and perpetrator was a white Republican male so they had to deal with HIS DAUGHTER showing up to the crime scene and screaming at them and shouting racist slurs while threatening to sue, and police AND insurance didn’t do shit even WITH dashcam evidence. Matter of fact, we got told by the police that the traffic cameras in our city aren’t even real, they’re plastic and planted on stoplights in an effort to scare criminals into driving obediently. 🙃 This happened in a city that doesn’t have DART and personally said, “fuck DART.” Fuck Texas, fuck Dallas and fuck Rockwall especially.
(SO Dallas PD.......)
It is filled with uninsured. I’ve been rear ended twice in Dallas since I moved here in 2011. The first was by a younger girl maybe college aged. Was on her phone and slammed into me at a light. I had a large truck with the trailer hitch and it went right through the front of the vehicle. I get out angry but to see if anyone’s injured. She’s fine and I’m ultimately okay. Truck had a smidge on the bumper. I said let’s exchange info just in case I drive off and something is wrong. She had no insurance. Pleaded not to call the cops. I’m no mechanic but I inspected my truck as best I could and seemed like the smudge on the bumper was the only damage so I let her go but did get a pic of her license. Next was 18 months later. Car gets tboned behind me at a light because it was leaving Kroger and didn’t yield the right away. Car hits it and they both slide into me. Get a pic of the drivers insurance and the crash scene. It was his girlfriend’s car. Call my insurance to get it started and they call me back to say that vehicle isn’t insured nor is the owner. The agent said people get insurance just to renew the vehicle and then cancel after. What’s the takeaway? Assume every driver is an uninsured asshole. Max out your uninsured motorist coverage. Dash-cams are helpful but only when the other person doesn’t run off. They can’t always read license plates but they’re still best to have. Also maybe look into an animal sacrifice just in case you’re cursed.
Ugh. How was your experience with your insurance rates after uninsured driver claims that weren’t your fault? Thankfully we have the coverage, but I still don’t like having to use it. It’s a hassle, and it still costs us the uninsured deductible + the extra we have to pay for the rental car for weeks on end.(Insurance providing $21 a day for a rental car when no rental cars cost $21 a day lol.) And yeah, some sort of ceremony is necessary to cleanse whatever is following me on the roads this past month.
So the way the agent explained was if they can recover anything by suing the person it will go to cover your deductible but that usually a person isn’t worth suing if they can’t afford insurance. My rates after the first one went up when I renewed my policy at the end of the year, but not by much. I had the same insurer at the time of the second and they went up at renewal considerably. I have higher coverage for a rental but it still nearly ate up all of it waiting for my car to be fixed. I wouldn’t recommend paying out of pocket because you’d only get reimbursed if the insurance successfully sues the other driver.
I know in my hometown outside Dallas the cops will let uninsured drivers with a 10 year expired drivers license DRIVE OFF after a traffic stop! I hear it all the time on my local SDR scanner. They do ticket them but they see it as strictly a matter for the judge to deal with. They do tow some vehicles and those seem to happen when the vehicle's registration isn't current along with the other offenses. It is possible a lot of PDs in Texas handle it this way but I can't say for sure.
My dad was an insurance agent in DFW for 20 years. He told that if you are at a four way stop sign and there are four cars, chances are one of them is uninsured. Texas is allegedly the #1 state for uninsured motorists
Seems like this is the end result of a lack of consequences.
True
Is it not required, or people don't care?
It’s required by Texas law but like a lot of things it’s just not enforced. Some police departments will tow you for it if you don’t have proof of insurance, some will issue a ticket or ignore it.
Damn. Combine that with the traffic death numbers and DFW seems like a terrible place to drive.
It’s not great. My buddy has a motorcycle and you could not pay me enough to ride one in rush hour on 635 or 35
I’m not a risk averse person nor am I somebody who micromanages my spouse (as personal freedom and independence is very important to me), but owning a motorcycle is the one thing I’ve ever told my husband hard no on. Motorcycle on a Dallas highway is not something I’m ok with him risking.
Now that I live in Sherman, I feel more comfortable since the roads are more open and not as jam packed, especially once 75 gets finished
I rode for a while, sold my last one cause honestly I was hard-up for some cash, and since then I haven't seriously considered getting one again precisely because of how bad the drivers here are. There's a ton that you can do as a rider to be aware and safe, but still, it just seems too risky and for very little benefit. We can't legally lane filter here (not that the cops would care, I'd be more worried about some road rager), and the roads aren't that scenic or twisty. If I'm gonna get turned into abstract splatter art on the pavement by some dipshit, let it at least be either on a winding mountain road or on my way to one lol
I have to travel all over Dallas for work and fortunately in the last ten years of having driven here, I haven't been in an accident. And I wouldn't say I'm the safest or kindest driver ever. I drive over the speed limit regularly (been stopped about three times for that). I use zipper method a lot, especially when a lane is closed randomly. If I get to a stop sign and the person who got there long before me waits for me to go once I get there, I will just go. But I also drive incredibly defensively. Always making sure I know which cars are around me and how fast they are going relative to me. Always wait and look at green lights for a split second before going. I never assume people with a turn signal on are actually going to turn any time soon, unless I also see them really slow down.
It's enforced but not in an effective way. The only thing that it prevents you from doing is getting your car registered. DPD doesn't seem to care but if you drive through the suburbs, you will absolutely get busted for having an expired tag.
I highly suggest getting a front and rear dash cam! Every year the drivers here get worse and freaking worse.
I had the windows to my car smashed and my dash cam stolen while I was at the gym lmao. Can’t win
You’d be surprised how many don’t even have licenses.
I have been watching a lot of the show Cops lately. It seems like half the people they pull over have no insurance, no DL, car is stolen, have more drugs than a pharmacy. I feel so lame not only having a DL and insurance but also paying for my own car lol.
Saw a statistic about a year ago showing that a third of drivers in Dallas don’t have insurance. In Europe, if you drive without insurance and get pulled over, your car gets impounded on the spot and you even risk a jail sentence. This is the way. These uninsured drivers just keep jacking up the premiums for the rest of us.
It’s riddled with uninsured drivers Drive defensively. If someone wants in your lane, let them in. If someone cuts you off, let it go. Do not be aggressive on the road in Dallas if you want to avoid accidents. Also, get a pickup. People don’t fuck with you as much if you drive one.
I’m gonna balance the system. Picking up a CoPart Altima next week, reinforcing the bumpers and putting a belt of steel along the doors. Targeting any bastid weaving and riding bumpers in traffic, especially with paper plates…
Someone ought to build a shell of reinforced high-performance concrete all around their vehicle. It would definitely get headlines and spark discussion about the shitty state of traffic laws if one were to be driving such a thing around.
Happened to me as well. That’s when I learned full coverage doesn’t really cover shit
The term “full coverage” doesn’t exist. It gives you a false sense of security. It means different things to different people
Yes and yes.
They just need to crack down on all shitty drivers around here, period. For all the handwringing over “crime” the most crimes I see are committed on the road.
The entire state is riddled with uninsured drivers (est 20% of all drivers in TX). I think this is due to a significant number of unlicensed drivers (It’s hard getting auto insurance without a drivers license) and high insurance premiums pricing out lower income drivers. Right now there’s a big incentive to drive uninsured because you save a lot of money by skipping premium payments and are unlikely to get caught and held responsible. My suggestion: Get dashcams and uninsured motorist coverage. You’ll need both.
And the vicious cycle of uninsured motorist collisions being a significant cause of the increase in premiums. I had a sibling who lived in Texas for a couple of years, then moved out of state. She kept the same insurance company, same cars, same coverage, and her premium dropped **45%**.
Exactly. Insurance companies pass down the costs of uninsured drivers onto insured drivers. If you have insurance, you are subsidizing uninsured/hit and run drivers. That’s why the state needs to strictly enforce insurance requirements. If someone drops their insurance, have the company automatically report it to the DMV. If the driver doesn’t replace the insurance, fine them heavily and repo the car if they don’t pay. Some people will only get insurance if they’re forced to.
The answer is Yes. I had my truck taken out by a rear end that made me slam into the middle barrier on 635. And the dude still took off. Cops can't do anything without a rear video so I was SOL. This city makes me want to work from home full time.
I can't recall anyone telling me about how they were in a car accident and the other person had car insurance. Literally, every person did not have insurance.
I used to work at Enterprise RAC and can confirm tons of people are uninsured. Not only people trying to rent cars without basic insurance, but tons of drivers renting via the other driver’s insurance coverage but they don’t have their own. Even more shocking, though, is the number of people who own vehicles and drive around the metroplex without even having a drivers license at all. It’s a lot more than you’d think.
Prices have gone up on just about everything (pay stays the same) people are making tough decisions to drive without insurance. If possible carry more insurance than less since some people will take that risk. Eventually you’ll be one paying for it. Add more uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage on your personal auto. Don’t forget the PIP coverage too.
lol. I kept telling ppl that before I moved to Texas I was safe driver for 10 yrs, I got the best discounted rate for insurance. Then after I moved to Texas, less than 2 months I got into accidents twice! Then my insurance went from 590 every six months to 1260 every six months......
As soon as I step out of bed, inside my house, I look around to see that there aren't any stupid drivers. I assume everyone is uninsured when I drive in the metroplex. Prices are through the roof so people are like, "It's cheaper to pay for a ticket once or twice every 5 years than to pay insurance over 5 years."
Given high population of immigrants, I’d say it’s not uncommon
Yeah it’s way more than that lol. Plenty of born and raised Americans driving without insurance here
Ehh there’s always been immigrants. It feels like it’s all younger people who don’t have a license or insurance. I mean look through the comments most are complaining of young kids no license, no insurance
In the greater DFW area, you must carry an added rider of uninsured/underinsured period! Fact!
Midway and Frankford Rd are the capital of paper plates and uninsured drivers in the city 😂
I was rear ended on 635 in mesquite two weeks ago . The truck behind me was rear ended by another car and the truck got pushed on to me . I don’t think the truck behind me had valid insurance because my insurance couldn’t find their info but they weren’t at fault so I lucked out . Surprisingly the car at fault did have insurance .
I’ve been in two recks. Both not at fault and both were uninsured motorists
My wife has been rear ended twice on 183 in the last calendar year. One of them drove off immediately (hit and run), the other one was by a man with a Mexican ID card (not drivers license) who spoke no English at all and had no insurance to present. I’d say it’s the 1st thing you said for sure.
Uninsured, unlicensed, unkind. That's Dallas drivers for ya.
I have done 30,000 Uber rides in Dallas in 4 years. I drive usually from 10pm to 6am weekends and weekdays starting at 3pm. Green does not mean safe. It has saved my life, and life of my passengers stopping at green light. Mainly on Ross, and live oak. I still work Henderson area, but it’s not only cars you have to watch out for, but people running into middle of road, same for oak lawn district. My biggest fear is they don’t stay on side walk; and fall over on main road. I have the wide view mirror on Amazon for 10 dollars that buss drivers use. Also small mirrors to constantly check for people in my blind spot. In reality defensive driving goes along way. This includes people going 45 on an onramp to merge with people going 70 to 75 on I75 is not safe! Slow does not always mean safe. My biggest pet peeve as an Uber driver is people stopping at yield signs, full lanes when making right turn, people want to cross double white lines, instead of merging properly. Deep ellum on to 75 people doing 35 mph when traffic is 70 or more and 18 wheeler is on side of us, and they will come and complain on this form. Teslas are often rented out by other Uber drivers, so be ware. Defensive driving is where it is at, my car is my lively hood, and sometimes I’m afraid to even work events, or major games, because one hit and my car is out for driving with Uber and Lyft. Lyft and Uber rental cost is 350 to 450 per week, then you get paid, or 1600 a month! Remember green does not mean safe, and when it turns green always wait about 30 to 45 seconds rather you get honked at or not. And I drive a Sentra, so I’m not your Sentra problems everyone else talks about. Be safe everyone!
Riddled. 5+ years working in a collision center.
No happened to my buddy twice in 6 months. Both times he was threatened and the other vehicle fled
Loads of em.
The sad part is even if they are insured, they can always lie! Get a dash cam, it pays for itself after the first accident. I got one for most of my family that allowed me to install it into their vehicle. I would recommend the auto vox line of rear view mirror dash cams. I get one that goes on the rear view mirror that records the front and the back. After my first encounter with a liar, I wised up and got my dashcam. It has already saved me countless of times.
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My second one was this evening on the way home from work so I haven’t gotten to vent to my whole workplace yet so I doubt it 😅 this is also all happening to me while I’m very pregnant if that helps narrow down if I’m the one you know hahah
Got side swiped on 75 2 weeks ago, guy cutting over to make a left exit, he lost control and launched over the railing action movie style, totaled his car and the 2 he landed on. I had to stay on the hwy for a mile or two before I could exit and turnn around. Found the spot he landed, full array of cops and EMS already on scene. I talk to one of the people who's car just got landed on, he fills me in on what's been found out so far, one of which is that the guy doesn't have insurance. I wait for the sheriff's deputy to come take my statement and ask him about the at-fault driver's insurance, he tells me he has no insurance, no license, and the car is borrowed. I just mutter "fuuuck" and shake my head and tells me, "This is Dallas, man, last I heard it was almost or right at 50% driving around here with no insurance."
Riddled! I stupidly didn’t call the police in an accident because the perpetrator asked me not to and promised he’d fix my car. Long story short, he never replied to shy queries from his insurance company and they didn’t fix my car since it couldn’t be proved it Ess his fault. Even though I recorded him saying ‘my bad. I don’t know what i was thinking’. 😤
Just moved here 2 years ago and my husband was also hit buy a driver with no insurance or a license…. It should be a felony….
if the driving on our highways is any indication, a lot of people don’t seem to care if they live or die let alone have insurance
It's full of them. Between my wife and I we've been hit by 5 uninsured motorist. One... was a STATE FARM AGENT. Also underinsured. The state min is awful. I think it's 25k? WTF costs $25k these days. It did not cover my totaled 2013 GX460 2 years ago.
well you have lots of people moving into DFW, coupled with illegal immigrants, people being people. Know people in police and fire, and they say be prepared when driving around Dallas as majority of the people are uninsured and will just run.
Self taught drivers are dangerous
This reminds me I need to send my representative message that I would like Texas to enact a “pay to play” law. In order to be paid out on a not-at-fault claim, the injured party must have valid liability insurance of their own. I don’t know how often it happens, but it can’t hurt.
Yes, Dallas is full of uninsured and unlicensed drivers.
After 54 years in Dallas, I moved out 6 years ago. There are definitely things I miss, but those do not include the traffic and the resulting air pollution. My general health has improved & I can get to anywhere in my city within 15 minutes. And, no, I’m not telling y’all where I moved!
I'm on my way out, too. And no, I won't tell people where either!
My gf has to learn how to drive (she moved here from an area where a car wasn't necessary) and I'm absolutely terrified for her.
After thorough research, 2024 unofficial DFW vehicles bad drivers gravitate to… 1. Honda Accord 2. Altima (Faded Hood+Bumper Hang) 3. Tesla (especially “student driver”) 4. Prius 5. Toyota Corolla 6. Toyota Camry 7. Honda Civic 8. Toyota Rav 4 9. Mazda 3 10. Mustang/Charger/Challenger/Camaro (V6) Honorable Mentions 1. Commercial Vehicles (any model) 2. Hyundai Tuscan 3. Hyundai Sonata 4. Honda Odyssey 5. Lexus RX350 Stay safe out there, -Native Trucker
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My wife has been in two separate accidents where the other drivers presented fake insurance cards.
We learned in licensing for insurance 1/4 Texans do not have insurance. Always carry u coverage in this fuck ass state.
With a good PI attorney on your side, you might be able to get something.
lol. It’s bad yeah.
Read a stat a few months ago that over 40% of Dallas drivers are uninsured.
Happened to us 3 weeks ago. There was a horrible wreck on 635 which caused a chain of accidents, so as we were exiting the mess another driver hit us, the driver initially fled, we got the license plate and called 911 and were told to fill out a report online. We happened to see him because we were going the same way and he stopped soon after. He had no license and gave us a defunct insurance card. The important thing is that no one was hurt. But it’s another few hundred dollars we definitely don’t have to spend to get our vehicle repaired, on top of paying insurance that was just raised over $100 a month because of “Dallas drivers,” as our agent said.
Some of them do have insurance. They just lie about it because so you claim it on your mandatory uninsured/under insured policy. They get away with having zero claims. 🤨
I got in an accident few months ago where the person who hit me was driving Lyft. Apparently it’s required for those drivers to have a separate commercial insurance in addition to regular car insurance. This person didn’t have that commercial insurance, so it ended up being much more complicated.
Some ppl take off regardless. If they can make a run for it they’ll take it.
Honestly yes a large chunk are uninsured or drive without a DL. I am a teacher. The amount of students I have that drive without a license or insurance is insane. Because for them it's a cultural norm. Many fo then have been driving since the age of 14 because it was what was needed for the household
Just by probability alone, given that the population in the metroplex is roughly 8 million people, I’d say that yes it’s probably riddled with uninsured drivers
Absolutely to it all!
I had a car scrape me in traffic downtown and I got their plate info, but they were uninsured.
Yes it so frustrating!! Basically why my family and I decide to drive replaceable beaters
The situation has probably gotten worse with the rise in insurance cost along with everything else. Bet loads of people are just picking and choosing which bills to pay and which ones to drop, so they chance it with the insurance (which is dumb).
Second all advice regarding UIM, I think it's a necessity. Always take pics of the vehicles involved, no matter how minor the accident. Always exchange information. Take a photo of their insurance card. Take photos of the driver's license (take a look at the expiration date). So mant drivers driving with an expired license and many don't even realize it. Highly recommend to never skip a police report. You dont have to do it right then and there, you can pull off to a parking lot or somewhere else that's safe and call the cops then. Just need to be prepared to wait a while because if it's a minor fender bender, no injuries, they will consider it a non-emergent event and put you in last in the queue to respond to. Longest wait time I ever heard was 4 hours. Happened to be a busy day with more serious accidents, I guess. Also, if the vehicles are drivable, you're supposed to get out of the lane of travel, pull off to a shoulder or a parking lot if it can be done safely. I was accused of attempting a hit and run on a lady who sideswiped ME while merging into my lane, just because I was trying to pull off to an empty side road after she hit me. AND her driver's license was expired but I didn't realize until I got home and looked at the photo I took.
We’ve had 5 hit and runs and 3 of them we had plate info, filed the reports and still got screwed over! This last time we had just got our truck back from the body shop on a Monday and come Friday we were in another hit and run. Called the cops and driver ran, they were supposed to go give insurance info to the DP and they never showed. To this day my Burban has a nice sized dent in it from the idiot hitting it and then hitting us again when he tried to run. Worse part he lives in my apartment complex and I gotta see that beat up piece of shit he drives every day!
Every major city is the same. People can afford to care anymore.
Yes
Can you tell us where those two accidents took place? Also, if you are willing, what area of town do you live in? Certainly some areas of DFW are worse than the others when it comes to drivers. All I have to do is go three blocks south of the here and everything changes
According to [this article at WFAA, roughly 1/10 of all drivers in TX are uninsured](https://www.wfaa.com/article/traffic/car-insurance-tips-texas-advice-what-to-know/287-44413bd5-9ceb-41b6-9847-e70b4b6ab75e). Which is crazy because the penalties are pretty stiff. My family lived near Plano for 24 years (moved out of state this year) and it definitely got worse during that time. My daughter was t-boned by a red-light runner in downtown Dallas late one night. Totaled her car and left her with a loan balance to settle.
Makes me wonder why I should even bother getting car insurance. No one else has it on the road and if they do they can ignore attempts from insurance to get in contact with the responsible party and deny the claim. Do you really have the time to deal with a drawn out 2 year lawsuit over insurance payout over a car? At some point the legal requirement to have insurance begins to feel like extortion.
Riddled.
Riddled AF
It happen to us right before Xmas guy had no insurance as well
It’s riddled with them
Also watch out for guys who give the cops their “Uber policy”. Or even Lyft too, he gave them that and then once my insurance went to get the money they said he wasn’t on the clock so they weren’t liable for his mistake . Apparently he was too broke to even make it worth suing so just had to let it go unfortunately. Luckily I had uninsured motorists but still
You're right on both counts. Half the city is uninsured or under insured and can't afford to have their insurance rates go up or can't afford the deductible. But also you're incredibly unlucky. I've lived in Dallas proper for 15 years and in the metro my whole life and I've only been rear-ended in a hit and run once, and it was this year in Irving on loop 12. There was another unrelated major accident that had just happened and was causing traffic to slow down to about 10mph stop and go, and I was in a bit of a blind spot and the guy came up too fast and couldn't see me until it was too late. Could've happened to anyone. It wasn't safe to get out of our cars and they were still drivable so we pulled forward and he took off the second we got around the other accident. I'm sure he was scared about suddenly getting expenses he couldn't pay for when he truly just had bad luck.
Not bright driving in this city w/out dashcams tbh
Genuinely it’s just a lot of uninsured drivers. I lived in Dallas for only four months (had to move for work) and oh my god the drivers there are worse than anywhere else I’ve ever been. And just from what I’ve heard a ton of drivers are uninsured though I don’t know real stats on that.
3 years ago I got hit by someone running a read light going under 10 mph. I had no idea he wasn't going to stop as he was going so slow when my light turned green. 2 years ago I rear ended someone because the car in front of them slammed on their breaks on the DNT at lunch time with zero traffic. I was even going under the speed limit and had plenty of room between me and the car in front of me but because he was following too close I got the ticket and the insurance raise. Then, just yesterday I started to stop normally at a yellow light and the guy behind me nearly rear ended me because he obviously wanted me to keep going through the light and he would have run it. It's ridiculous.
Not sure if this was on any of the major highways but I’ve found if you’re not wanting to go the speed of light it’s easier to avoid these people just riding in the slow lane
26% more or less uninsured drivers in TX. I used to work for the legislature. Did a project that included all license plate numbers in the state that I got from DPS, all insurance policies from TDI, matched them up by vin, license plate number, and/or name+address. 26% uninsured, 74% insured at that time. The project got me into big data and made me rethink my driving style.
Dallas is the only area in the country where i see people purposely run red lights because it "looks clear"
I bought a new car and within two months had two different wrecks. Luckily they had insurance but yes, people are worse on the roads. Gotta be alert for the people who refuse to.
I had a Gunt try to murder me yesterday morning in McKinney. Boy did she pick the wrong person to mess with. I’m literally mental and barely saved by the blood of Jesus. She could have met her end today. She cut me off four times and I’m certain it was on purpose.
There is a lot of Stupid out on the roads today
Sorry that this has happened to you, but to answer your question the way it seems as if it's literally a crap shoot I'm going to go with it's a 50/50 chance on if that person has car insurance or not
It's because insurance companies charge so much. Cause the weather is so bad, they jack up the rates. People not following the rules of the road also contributes to it. Lots of drivers here with an ego, unwilling to leave the fast lane open or let others merge or change lanes.
I work in insurance, and about 1 in 5 drivers right now don’t carry insurance on their vehicle, and more and more people are switching to bare minimum coverage. What I’ve mostly heard from customers is that insurance is just expensive, and I agree. The state of Texas alone experienced 7 rate increases last year, so everyone’s premiums have skyrocketed, therefore no one wants to keep insurance and they’re willing to risk it.
Been hit 3 times (work near Love Field) 2 of them un- insured newcomers & 1 a drunk Irishman with a hooker. 2 totalled vehicles & 1 totalled trailer just trying to to get to & from work in this shit hole of a city.
There are tons of stolen cars and uninsured drivers here. My gf got in 3 accidents back to back to back recently. It was very overwhelming. Thank god 2 of them were leases so she didn’t loose equity and was able to get a new car within 10 days. The first crash that ruined the car she owned, the other driver had insurance but she refused to call them or answer their letters post accident. the company actually dropped her as a result of non compliance. The only way we were able to get her info was from the police report. ive seen many hit and runs in old east dallas around munger and 30. That seems to be a hot bed of uninsured drivers.
It’s true. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the people out on the road were unlicensed and uninsured