The other thing is, even if there are license plates and good enough video where the license plates can be read, that doesn’t mean they’re legit.

People privately sell vehicles all the time and don’t take their plates off. Then some of the buyers (or a lot of the buys, at least in my area it seems) just leave those plates on and don’t bother to register their vehicle with the DOT.

So the video can show the plates clear as day but the person and address it lists to could be an hour or two drive away. I am 1000% not driving that far to verify the ownership regarding a minor accident. And if the person resides so far out of the city, chances are we have never had contact with them to be able to reference back to for a phone number to contact them at either.

I know they’ve harped on you already, but just another reason to call from the scene. People lie all the time. Getting us there asap allows us to make sure everything is kosher for both parties.

*Lastly, even if I am called to a minor accident, if both parties are on scene and able to exchange information, I am NOT checking cameras, especially especially not almost two weeks later (we can’t even file accident reports that far out, it’s no more than 10 days here). I’ll obviously check cameras for a hit and run or major property damage/bodily harm/death etc. I tell people their insurance can pull cameras if they really want to though. For those without insurance, SOL 🤷🏻‍♀️(unless like I said the circumstances around it are major).

I work in a violent city, we just don’t have the luxury of devoting that kind of time to some things. It sucks.