Research by the RAC has revealed that almost 15% of drivers would not own up to damaging another person’s car if they thought they could get away with it. If the saying of ‘90% of people are generally good’, then this statistic may be about right.
But what does the law say about your obligations, and what practical steps can you take?
If any damage is caused to any car, then the driver at fault has to leave their contact details. Technically, it should be details of the vehicle’s owner, their registration number and insurance details. Normally, the honest person will leave their name and contact details or they will wait for the driver to return to their car.
If they don’t and are caught, then they face being charged with driving without due care and attention, failing to stop (after an incident) and failing to report (an accident).
Sometimes witnesses will leave a note on the windscreen (‘I’ve just seen someone hit your car – call me, I’ll be a witness’. If so, you should call them and then contact the police to log an incident report.
Always ask the owner of the premises if there is CCTV and ask them to preserve it (as it can be overwritten in as little as 24 hours). They may not let you have or view it (under Data Protection), but if you tell them that you have contacted the police it generally tends to have a positive effect – miraculously they may provide it or will have been told not to ‘destroy the evidence’ by their employer.
What you have then done is gather as much evidence as you can to provide to the police and/or your insurers. You then have your best chance at dealing with the 10-15% of people who are not as honest as you are.
The last question I am often asked is ‘should I tell my insurers?’. The answer is YES (if you look at your terms and conditions, which I know you all read…)