Just chiming in to say not being able to say 'Sorry' after a car accident is a very American thing. 'Sorry' means different things in different countries.

Well, in this case I feel like the only time to say "sorry" is just, "sorry this resulted in a written warning", which might be awkward for her to address with OP anyway... If I got written up I probably wouldn't want anyone reminding me, so I think it's a better approach to say something like what I suggested above.

No, it's not just an American thing not to say sorry. It's not an issue of politeness. Saying "Sorry" after an accident can be taken as an admission of fault, and this is why people try to avoid saying it.

"We all make them. Don't sweat it too much. Let me know if you're ever unsure of anything, and I'll do my best to help you." Sound condescending to my ears, but maybe that's just me.

As an aside, Canada has recently made it not an admission of guilt for someone to say 'sorry' after a car accident.

@EdmundReed, within the United States, for instance, there's the Tennessee Rule of Evidence 409.1, which addresses apologies and saying “I’m sorry.” The Rule provides that certain statements and actions reflecting sympathy for an injured person are not admissible at a trial.

@Rob For England, there's this: citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/insurance/insurance/… and for Australia, there's this: macdonnells.com.au/is-it-ok-to-say-sorry both sites show that it is not advisable to apologize after a car accident. So, it's ok to chime in if you want, but it's even better if you were making factual statements.

@D.Hutchinson Your own link for 'Australia' - do note that this is a law firm's statement, it's not set in stone - states "So most of the time, making an apology does not actually have much effect on a compensation claim". My comment had nothing to do with the portrayal of Americans, moreso pointing out that this site is very American-centric, and won't necessarily apply globally. More often than not, 'Sorry' is not an admission of guilt around the world.

@D.Hutchinson And also, from a more official source: alrc.gov.au/publications/7-fault/…

@Rob for the 'Australia' link, if you read further down, it states that, "Despite the Act, it is not uncommon for insurance policies to prohibit insured persons from admitting liability or responsibility for the accident. The insurance policy is also likely to contain a clause stating that if you admit liability or responsibility for the accident the insurer may refuse to pay your claim.

... If you make an apology at the scene of the accident, there may a question as to whether the apology made was an admission of liability or not for the purposes of insurance coverage. As such, regardless of the protection of the Act, an expression of regret may still result in voiding your policy." @Rob

@D.Hutchinson That's insurance, depending on the provider. It's not a legal precedent. In any case; this is getting far off topic. Bringing up legal comparisons for a social situation is not exactly constructive.

Is this what directly inspired Does saying “sorry” after an accident count as legal admission of fault? on Skeptics?

Regardless of what "sorry" means, is the first paragraph implying you shouldn't take responsibility of a car accident if it's your fault?