Did I cause a fender bender? If so, will I get in trouble? If so, to what degree?

Q: There was construction leading to a highway coming home from work. They just recently put up a stop sign on the road where the construction was being completed on, as you merge onto the highway. I stopped at the sign and didn’t see anyone over on the freeway. I merged over to the highway quickly and hear someone honking. I look back and I assume the guy behind me had to hit the breaks to avoid me merging in the lane. We did not collide and didn’t come close. However, the woman in the car behind him must have been tailgating and slammed on the breaks and to avoid hitting the guy behind me, she steers right and drives into the lane that is blocked by traffic barriers. She hit an orange/white construction road barrier and quickly got out of her car and was giving me the finger. I don’t think much damage was done and can’t imagine anyone was hurt. I was going to pull over but there was no place to do so since the road next to me was blocked by construction barriers. I made the next exit turned around, got stuck in traffic before I could get back to the accident. By the time I got back, she was gone. I’m not totally sure if it was my fault. (Pittsburgh, PA)

A: Section 3744 of the PA Motor Vehicle Code requires a driver of a vehicle which causes damage to another vehicle or property to give, at a minimum, his or her name, address and registration number of his vehicle. If that is not possible the statute requires the driver to forthwith report the incident to the nearest police department. My advice would be to report it to the local police department where this occurred or to the state police as soon as possible. Get a record of your report from the police if you can and keep it. There is a risk that you could be cited with a Motor Vehicle Code summary violation if someone took your license plate number. Also, you may want to report this to your motor vehicle insurance carrier. If you receive a call from the police do not offer to speak to them and call an attorney.

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