What to Do If You Hit a Parked Car

So you’re backing up in a busy parking lot when you hear and feel a strong thud. Guess what, you just hit a parked car. This is a nightmare of many car owners since it means having to deal with their insurer or and an irate driver. But whatever the situation is, you should always be a responsible individual. Own your mistake and follow these steps:

Don’t hit and run

It’s illegal to hit a car and leave it like nothing happened. Take note that once the car owner tracked you, your driver’s license will be charged with several points. Even if someone isn’t around, the other car may have a dashcam, or CCTVs in the surrounding establishments would have recorded the incident.

So don’t be that guy who hits and runs. Instead, stay and do the next steps.

Leave a note 

If you can’t find the owner, leave a note on the windshield wiper. Although it’s quite frightening, leave a note stating your full name, your address, contact number, and details of the accident. This way, the car owner can contact you and work out the repairs.

It will also help if you include your insurer’s info on the note. However, don’t give too much information.

Take photos

Don’t forget to take photos and videos of the incident. This way, you can also record the license plate of the car and the extent of the damage. You can use this as proof to your insurance company, plus the other driver can’t inflate the damages to milk money from you.

If you don’t have your phone handy, take notes and make sure that you know the details of the incident.

Find witnesses

For added evidence, look for eyewitness who saw you bumped or hit the parked car. Ask their permission if you can record their description so you can present it to the authorities and your insurance company. By doing so, you’re speeding up the process and you’re also doing the other driver a big favor. If possible, get the witness’ name for added proof.

Try to locate the owner

If you’re not comfortable leaving a note, try to locate the owner of the car. You can have them paged over an establishment if you’re sure that there’s only one place where the owner could be. If you have time, you can wait over until the driver comes back.

However, if the owner doesn’t appear in 15 minutes, you’re better off leaving a note on the windshield.

Report it to your insurance company 

After you have left a note or talked to the owner of the car, contact your insurer right away. This way, they can speed up the process so both the vehicles will be repaired. Make sure that you have your pieces of evidence ready once your insurance company starts investigating the claim.

Although these steps can ruin your day, be responsible enough to do the right thing. Leave a note and make sure that you will communicate with the driver to have the vehicle fixed.