Legal Question in Traffic Law in Virginia

I was recently an innocent party in a three-car traffic accident. The at-fault driver was a teen-aged boy who was texting while driving and failed to notice that the cars in front of him had stopped. My car suffered $13,000 in damage and I'd estimate the other two cars suffered at least $10,000 in damage. Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured. A police officer arrived at the scene within minutes to investigate, but a minute after he arrived the boy's father also arrived. The two men talked. It turned out that the boy had immediately called his father, and the father was also a police officer. The investigating officer had everyone exchange insurance information, then told me I could leave. My insurance company later asked me if anyone received a traffic citation, so I called the officer to ask. He told me he did not issue a traffic citation to the boy or file a report because the boy "admitted he had made a mistake."

I understand the deterrence rationale of traffic citations and fines and feel sure that if I had caused a three-car accident I would have been cited, quite possibly for reckless driving, and would have later paid a heavy financial penalty. I believe the Virginia Code requires police officers to file accident reports with DMV for any accident that results in property damage in excess of $1,000. To me this incident is an outrageous example of "professional courtesy": one police officer failing to enforce the law against a fellow officer's family in order to protect the son's driving record.

"Professional courtesy" selective enforcement breeds contempt for the law. My repair bill was paid by the father's insurance company, but I feel the son should have been cited for his dangerous driving and a report should have been filed with DMV. What are my options for making a formal complaint? Thank you.


Asked on 8/07/15, 10:11 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

So, make your formal complaint to the chief of police in charge of the department which employs this officer who allegedly failed to charge the boy responsible for this accident (with copies

of the complaint to your local elected officials).

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Answered on 8/09/15, 7:52 am


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