What would you do in this situation?

[Atkins joinery]

Last night someone who lives further down the road bumped into a car parked on the opposite side of the road from his house. He looked like he was swinging left before turning right into his drive but he basically turned into the parked car. He has damaged the bumper and his own car as he left some of his car on tne road.

He stalled his car, then rolled into it again, then parked on his drive and buggered of inside. I kept checking but he didnt seem to come out again. This morning the plastic bit of his car was still there.

I dont know the owner of the parked car but it visits somewhere down the road regularly.

Would you tell them who did it just in case he hasnt owned up?

If it was my car id be bloody annoyed and gratefull some one told me obviously.

Dont like being a grass though and ive got some work to do at his house shortly.

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[Graham Orm]

No brainer for me. Tell the owner of the damaged car. I've had it done to me its infuriating, and something I'd never do. If I did the damage I'd own up. You could do it anonymously but if the offender denies it the victim then has no witness.

 

[Atkins joinery]

Yes i thought about doing it anon. But if he found out i cant be bothered with the hassle as its on my street. I dont suppose he can argue but its a terrible thing to do. Very cowardly.

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[Graham Orm]

Yes i thought about doing it anon. But if he found out i cant be bothered with the hassle as its on my street. I dont suppose he can argue but its a terrible thing to do. Very cowardly.

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If it was your car damaged would you want a witness to let you know who did it? Of course you would.

 

[Nigel]

From my recent experience where my car was damaged in a supermarket car park while I was shopping and I saw the damage on my return my heart sank,
A note was left on my car from a witness saying they had seen a lady reverse into my car twice and this witness left the reg No of the car that hit mine and a mobile number to contact if I needed a witness,
When contacting my insurance company this was invaluable as it was treated as a no fault claim and the excess and hire car were all billed direct to her insurance company,
I was told the claim was handled by the Insurance association because the other driver failed to stop and exchange details,
From your point of view you have to consider being a witness against someone you intend to do work for
But I would not trust someone who did not own up,

Cheers Nigel

 

[Chems]

Is there the possibility of going to speak to the guy under the pretence of checking he was ok as you'd see the "accident" he'd know you'd seen it and would be forced to do the right thing, hopefully. You wouldn't need to tell the third party and there would be no secrets between the two of you.

Either way as Nigel says, gotta let the other car owner know because with out a number plate to ref the claim against they will loose either half or all their NCB.

 

[andersonec]

Tell 'em, don't do it anon, you may be needed as a witness (sounds like he had been on the sauce)
Or you could confront the culprit and ask if he knows he had done it, that would embarrass him into fessing up because he would then know there was a witness.

Someone did it to my son's little car in a car park some years ago when he was at uni and someone told him and gave him the car number, my son was very grateful and got the car repaired through the culprits insurance and did not have to cough up with money he didn't have, there are some decent folk around.

Andy

 

[Fishandchips]

I would speak to the guy that did the damage. If you go to the other person you could start a street war.

 

[Steve Maskery]

You can't keep quiet. I've been glad of witnesses in the past and you may be in the future.
S

 

[dickm]

Tricky one; can see the problems either way, but probably best at least to tell the owner of the damaged car that you were a witness. Then it's up to them to ask the questions, rather than you just telling him/her.

On a lighter note, we had incredible black ice one night a couple of weeks back, and in the morning, there was a very neat skid mark across the road ending in the drystane dyke on our roadside boundary. Demolished a couple of metres of it, and left various bits of silver plastic bodywork among the stones. No message, though. Then that evening, doorbell rang and on the doorstep was a very embarrassed looking lady who had come to confess to having collided with our dyke and offering to help rebuild it. Only problem is that she drives a dark blue Skoda, without any silver trim, and only had a few minor scratches on it, not the damage that must have been suffered by the real offender.

Still, the lady involved was a rather glamorous member of our local vet group - according to my daughter, if she does come to help rebuild the dyke, the entire local male farming population will be volunteering as well

 

[Atkins joinery]

I think ill just pop a note though the house they were visiting with reg, time etc and leave a mobile number. That way they wont know im from up the street but can contact me if needed as their insurance might need to talk to me if he disputes it. If he does dispute ill say its me who saw him. As then he is not just not owning up but is actively lying even after he's been busted.

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[Steve Maskery]

That's probably a reasonable compromise.
S

 

[Atkins joinery]

Thanks i think id like some one to do it if it was me.

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[Steve Maskery]

Quite.
S

 

[MARK.B.]

I would tell the owner of the damaged car,far far to many incidents occur where poor joe public ends up having to pay the price for some silly person that does not have the balls to man up when they are at fault, it is a damn shame that we have to think twice about doing the right thing for fear of real or imaginary reprisal.
Sorry for the rant Atkins Joinery but in the last three years these gutless wonders have cost me over £700 in repairs to my car and my daughters car,money I could ill afford to lose, yes we could have gone through our insurance but the overall cost of lost NCB and the insurance excess and the inevitable increase in policy premium would end up costing much more.
If only someone had dropped me note with the offenders details !!!.

Regards

Mark

 

[MickCheese]

You are OK to tell the owner now. The other driver will no longer be drunk so has nothing to worry about!

If not drunk then what was the reason for not owning up? Surely you would be concerned someone may have seen you and that would be a major embarrassment.

This person does not deserve anonymity.

Mick

 

[Lons]

I think ill just pop a note though the house they were visiting with reg, time etc and leave a mobile number. That way they wont know im from up the street but can contact me if needed as their insurance might need to talk to me if he disputes it. If he does dispute ill say its me who saw him. As then he is not just not owning up but is actively lying even after he's been busted.
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You're doing the right thing. Doing nothing isn't really an option which I think you knew from the start.
Sounds as if he might have been drinking or he'd have picked up the broken bits. If the guy does lie about it, would you be happy working for such a pratt? i wouldn't, no matter how much I needed the work. If he can do that, he could just as easy default on your payment.

cheers

Bob

 

[marcros]

On a lighter note, we had incredible black ice one night a couple of weeks back, and in the morning, there was a very neat skid mark across the road ending in the drystane dyke on our roadside boundary.

Dick,

what is a dyke up your way- down where I was bought up in lincolnshire it was a drainage ditch?

Mark

 

[deserter]

Drainage ditch or small man made stream in Sheffield also.


~Nil carborundum illegitemi~

 

[mind_the_goat]

Seems a fairly fundamental driving error, do you think the driver may have been retuning from the pub? If that was the case then you could do him (and others) a big favour by letting him know he didn't get away with it scot free as h may think twice before doing it again.