If you hit a parked car, will you leave your contact info on the damaged car's windshield?
If you drive on someone's soggy lawn and leave a gash in the yard, will you contact the homeowner?
If you ram into a mailbox, will you ring the doorbell to ‘fess up?
If you answered, yes, yes, and yes THANK YOU. There's no need to read the rest of this post. Please continue to be yourself and spread the goodness..
If not, think of me as the person whose car you hit, whose lawn you drove on, and whose mailbox you destroyed. These have happened to us in recent months and I can't tell you how frustrated I feel that the other person made no attempt to contact us.
I know I can't demand decency, but I can expect it, right?
Recently someone side swiped my parked car and damaged multiple panels. If there was CCTV footage that would be evidence of a misdemeanor hit-and-run. Yes, a criminal offense.
The repair is going to be costly and time consuming. We have insurance to cover this but calling in the damage, waiting for the shop to call back, taking the car in, getting and caring for a rental is work I did not need.
Nearly 60% of American vehicle owners say their vehicle has been damaged while parked. Nearly 14% of car insurance claims are for cars hit while parked. Who knew that an alarming number of fatalities occur when reversing cars hit pedestrians in parking lots.
If the person who hit my car left me his or her contact info it would have been amazing. Beyond reassuring me that decency exists, it would help show the insurance company that I didn't cause the mishap. Given that damage to a parked car is not rare, I worry that our insurance rate will rise next time I report a claim involving an unknown driver.
For this reason Tarun parks way in the corner of parking lots or a few streets over in a quiet spot, even if it means walking quite a bit. I grumble but I know he is right.
If I hit a car, I'll definitely leave a note with my contact information. Afterwards, I'll take a deep breath and let the insurance company take care of the mess. That’s why we pay them the big bucks, right? You do the same and even though you will be mad at yourself, know that this friend will be sending you many hugs!
(Image source: https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/4599952-car-crash-accident-side-impact-illustration-concept-in-cartoon-vector)