Small Accident - Question of the Week

Facts:

You go to the shops and park in a designated parking bay. You get out of your vehicle, head into the shops and when you come out you notice that someone has bumped your vehicle and broken your rear taillight. The car guard comes to you and advises that a person drove into your car and the person got out, looked at the damage and then left a note on your windscreen and drove off. You go to look at the note only to see that there was nothing written on it.

Luckily the car guard took down the registration number of the vehicle. Two other witnesses also saw what happened.

Questions:

1. What should you do in such a situation? 2. What should the person, who bumped into your car, have done? 3. Has this ever happened to you and what steps did you take to try to sort it out and did it work for you?

Answer:

1. What should you do?

If you are ever unlucky enough to have this happen to you, you need to immediately enter into detective mode.

Firstly, try to grab a pen and paper and then go and get the contact details and names of the witnesses who saw the incident. Write down as much information as possible from these witnesses.

If possible, try and write down a quick statement from the witnesses and get them to sign and date the statement. This may be difficult as most people don’t want to give out their details or sign but gently persuade them if you can as this will help a lot later. Also, get out your phone and take photos of the damage and also take photos of your vehicle in the position it was in when the other car bumped it. Our phones are powerful tools and you can do so much with them, especially in instances such as this. Look to see if there are any cameras in the area that were facing your vehicle and approach the owners of the cameras to see if it is possible to get a copy of the footage showing the accident. The more evidence you gather now, the easier it will be to deal with such an incident.

Once you have gathered all the evidence, you can go and report the accident at the nearest police station. We would also recommend pushing the police not to just report an accident but also to open a criminal case against the other person that hit your car and drove away. If the police were efficient and were to do their duties they could easily obtain the necessary details of the other driver and press charges against them.

It is also then recommended to submit all the evidence you have to gather to your insurance company together with the accident report number and the case number if you were lucky enough to get it.

2. What should the person, who bumped into your car, have done?

The person who bumped into your car should not have just fled the scene of the accident. Accidents do happen and whilst they may be embarrassing and inconvenient, they are just accidents. When it happens, just make sure your vehicle is in a safe position, then exit the vehicle and inspect the damage. In this instance, you can park your vehicle in the nearest available spot where it is out of the way and then go and see if you can find the owner of the vehicle. If you cannot, it would be fair to leave a note with all your details and insurance information and even request that the guard ensure that the person whose car you bumped gets the details. You should then also go and report the incident at the nearest police station and get an accident report number. By doing so you actually protect yourself in that you complied with all the requirements of the law.

In today's age, there are so many cameras around and potential witnesses, that to just leave the scene of an accident is a very risky move and whilst you might get away with it, the chances will be good that the person whose car you bumped will get your information and will be able to find you.

The further problem is that the moment you left the scene without supplying any of your

information, you have committed a criminal offence and whilst it may seem small if there is a

the person who then comes after you who is adamant they will get you, will end up a lot worse off than if you just stayed at the scene and gave them your information.