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Today I was accused of hitting a parked car with a driver sat inside. (Front bumper to front bumper). I know I was very close to the car but deny hitting the vehicle. As there was no damage to either vehicle, to which the accuser agreed, I refused to give my details. However they said I could have damaged the vehicle on the 'inside'. I have taken a photo of both cars. Should I have done/do I need to do anything else? Never had any experience of this sort of thing and now I'm thinking of mulltiple scenarios!
Edited by sunshine24 on 24/04/2018 at 15:01
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Well you would cover yourself against any comeback from the other party if you reported the matter to Police.
Since there is no damage and you deny an accident you dont have to inform your insurers.
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If the car park was on private land then the police will not be interested, especially as no injury occured. If a public car park controlled by the local authority then the police will take a report, but again because of lack of injury they are very unlikely to show interest.
Sounds like the person who accuses you may be a touch paranoid. If there is no visible damage then I would put my mortgage on there being no 'hidden' damage. If effect if you did not even hit the vehicle, how could there be?? For peace of mind I would make a report to your nearest police station, but do not be surprised if they show no interest at all. Your accuser would have to take out a private prosecution against you, in the Small Claims Court. he would have to show any damage and have it confirmed by an expert. So I think we can safely say you have more chance of a ride on Flipper than being prosecuted. Sleep well. Cheers Concrete
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A similar thing happened to me, late at night, in a car park. I was just about to set off but checked my phone before starting the engine. There was a sudden slight bump caused by a lady who continued to drive away. I stopped her and asked her to look for damage to either car. There was nothing visible but I still demanded her contact details. The following morning, it transpired that, although there was no external damage, the bump had ruptured the windscreen washer bottler. I bought a replacement from the dealers and fitted it myself. It was only about £40 but it was money that otherwise would have come from my pocket.
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What I find hard to accept is; if there is no external damage, therefore no force trauma to the bumper, bodywork etc how can there be damage to components inside the car. Surely the damage to internal components is caused by the force being transferred, therefore there would be visible damage to the exterior. Am I wrong in this assumption? Years ago when my children were at home and had cars, it was not uncommon for me gently touch their cars, bumper to bumper and move them along a bit so I could squeeze in. No damage was ever recorded.
Cheers Concrete
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Seems to be the usual method of delicately negotiating one's vehicle into a parking slot in Paris!
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What I find hard to accept is; if there is no external damage, therefore no force trauma to the bumper, bodywork etc how can there be damage to components inside the car. Surely the damage to internal components is caused by the force being transferred, therefore there would be visible damage to the exterior. Am I wrong in this assumption? Years ago when my children were at home and had cars, it was not uncommon for me gently touch their cars, bumper to bumper and move them along a bit so I could squeeze in. No damage was ever recorded.
Cheers Concrete
Years ago bumpers were made of steel, now they (and often adjoining bodywork) are plastic, which will deform and spring back. Fragile parts behind the bumper/front valance can be damaged with nothing visible externally.
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What I find hard to accept is; if there is no external damage, therefore no force trauma to the bumper, bodywork etc how can there be damage to components inside the car. Surely the damage to internal components is caused by the force being transferred, therefore there would be visible damage to the exterior. Am I wrong in this assumption? Years ago when my children were at home and had cars, it was not uncommon for me gently touch their cars, bumper to bumper and move them along a bit so I could squeeze in. No damage was ever recorded.
Cheers Concrete
Years ago bumpers were made of steel, now they (and often adjoining bodywork) are plastic, which will deform and spring back. Fragile parts behind the bumper/front valance can be damaged with nothing visible externally.
While you are correct about the flexibility of plastic, often, behind the plastic bumper is a large foam-type pad, and this absorbs some of the energy in a bumper to bumper impact. As not all energy will be absorbed, depending on impact speed, hidden body damage could occur, and some years ago was in a Mondeo that was rear ended at around 5-10mph, and there was a small deformation crease in the boot floot. It is this hidden damage that is of concern so always look under the boot floor when buying a used car.
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As not all energy will be absorbed, depending on impact speed, hidden body damage could occur, and some years ago was in a Mondeo that was rear ended at around 5-10mph, and there was a small deformation crease in the boot floot. It is this hidden damage that is of concern so always look under the boot floor when buying a used car.
Great piece of advice! That is something people forget to recommend when I see the list of things to check on a used car.
But this whole story is troubling. I often wonder about false allegations of hit and run.
I have never had to go to court for a civil case, but it seems like things could get messy.
Everything should be alright though if you grabbed pictures and there is no visible damage.
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I would report it to the police to cover yourself, make a note of the time and officer you reported it to, if it turns out that there was a light touch then you may very well be accused of failing to report, so just cover yourself.
he might say he had the handbrake of and the vehicle moved slightly after the alleged collision, so again cover yourself.
I cant see any hidden damage if there was no scratch on the bumper/
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