Got cited after the other driver fled — now I can't contest it online??

Ugh, I went through almost this exact situation last year. The other driver gave a completely different version of events to his insurer and suddenly I was the bad guy. One thing I learned the hard way: show up IN PERSON to the clerk's office. Don't rely on the website or the phone. Bring everything — your photos, your texts, all of it — and ask them to manually enter your not-guilty plea and stamp something showing you did it before the deadline. It's tedious but it worked for me.

That traffic citation is going to be the first thing the other driver's insurance latches onto if it goes unanswered. Adjusters are trained to look for any official document that implies fault, even a default judgment on a traffic ticket. Don't let that deadline slip no matter what. The system 'not working' is not an excuse they'll accept when they're trying to deny your claim.

So the online portal errors are more common than you'd think — courts run on ancient software. Here's the practical move: go to the courthouse in person before your deadline and ask specifically for the traffic division clerk. Bring a written statement of your not-guilty plea just in case they need something on paper. Get a receipt or a file-stamped copy of anything you hand them. Also, to your question about the civil claim — a traffic citation outcome and an insurance liability determination are technically separate processes, but insurers absolutely factor them in. Having a not-guilty plea on record at minimum shows you're contesting it.

Not legal advice, but your instinct to protect yourself here is correct. A default on a traffic citation can create a paper trail that complicates an injury claim, even if the two proceedings are legally distinct. The texts you described — where he acknowledges the situation and agrees no police are needed — could be genuinely useful. I'd suggest at least a free consultation with a PI attorney before responding to any insurance correspondence. Many will look at the full picture, not just the injury piece.

I used to work claims and I'll be honest with you: if a traffic citation comes back as a default guilty finding, a lot of adjusters will treat that as a closed question on liability and move on. It doesn't legally bind them, but in practice it does a lot of heavy lifting for them internally when they're writing their notes. The texts you have are actually really valuable because they show a mutual understanding at the scene. Hold onto those and don't share them with the other driver's insurer without thinking it through first.

Just want to flag — if you have any soreness, stiffness, or headaches from the impact that you've been brushing off, please get checked out now. Rear-end collisions can cause soft tissue stuff that doesn't fully announce itself for days or weeks. You don't want to be dealing with symptoms months later and have no medical record connecting it to the accident.

This sounds incredibly stressful and I'm sorry you're dealing with it. The fact that you have texts from him basically agreeing to handle it privately feels like it should matter a lot. Please don't let that deadline pass — even if you have to take a half day off work to go stand in line at the courthouse, it's worth it.