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I may have been in an accident a few days ago. The other driver claims I caused a dent in his car, but I never felt a collision; the damage on my car (none) doesn't match the damage to his car (about 10 inches across). Anyhow, I am trying to not stress about it - the insurance companies will sort it out.
But my question - the other driver is a bit of a hot head. Young, smart ass, did a lot of yelling at the scene. The police were not called since it was in a parking lot. We traded insurance information and got each others addresses. Was it safe for me to give this strange young man my address? I know that it's part of insurance, but it kind of makes me uneasy, given the circumstances. Did I have any other options?
We live out in the country, in a somewhat secure community, but I have still been a bit creeped out by this incident and by the knowledge that this other driver could "visit" me here, especially if the insurance findings are not in his favor.
Last edited by Gabbythecat; 06-11-2015 at 08:04 AM..
The police would not have come since this was on private property. I don't think I've ever seen even private security there. Some malls have security patrols, but this one doesn't seem to.
And even at that, I think drivers are always supposed to exchange information. Contact info, insurance policy numbers, etc. Even if the police are there. Is that safe in this day and age? It's so easy to find someone via social media/the internet.
First, since there was a collision, (supposedly), there is a potential risk of injury, the police would have responded.
Are you 100% sure the hothead won't also ask for medial claims?
After the police are there, you can make sure that both your IDs and info are on the police report. That was if the hothead gives you any trouble later, threats, etc. you can use the report as a starting point with the police.
Take LOTS of pictures. Close ups, people, cars, dents, area shots. If you take 100+ it's not too much. (They don't cost you a think except memory space on your phone - unless you print them out later).
It's not up to you to determine if you are at fault. You can say you're not, but if the hothead claims you are, you need the police, or your insurance, to make the determination. Otherwise you leave yourself open to further harassment by the hothead.
Odds are, your pics will show that you actually are not at fault. Maybe your picture shows the color of scratches of paint left inside his dent from the offending car, and it doesn't match your car's color. Or your car has no damage in the only place that could have been the impact point.
This is when you start responding to the hothead's accusations with counter-lawsuits for false accusations, filing a false police report, etc. (after you see an actual lawyer, and not us Internet legal experts).
Just because it occurred on private property it is still in the jurisdiction of a local municipality, though certain rare exceptions exist. As has been mentioned, there was a potential for injury and a possibility of fraud so you should have asked for police to come and provide you with documentation of the reported incident. Well in this case, it would have been more HIS benefit to do so.
The police would not have come since this was on private property. I don't think I've ever seen even private security there. Some malls have security patrols, but this one doesn't seem to.
And even at that, I think drivers are always supposed to exchange information. Contact info, insurance policy numbers, etc. Even if the police are there. Is that safe in this day and age? It's so easy to find someone via social media/the internet.
I would of called them, and if they refused to come, tell them the other driver is being irate and you don't feel safe
The OP "never felt a collision," so it's unlikely there could have been personal injury.
I've been in a couple of minor parking lot kisses where I was at fault, or at least accepted fault. I didn't feel either one.
With the first one, I was pulling into a spot in somewhat of a hurry, was distracted for a second, then looked up and saw I was about to hit the car ahead of me. I slammed on the brakes and thought I'd avoided contact, but then I noticed a gal in the back seat of the car who jerked her head around towards me. I walked up and asked her if I'd made contact. She said yes. There was a tiny blemish on her new car's painted bumper, so I assumed I'd hit it. Turned out that I knew the owner (her husband), and when he came out of the store he looked at it and said not to worry about it. I gave him either a $20 or $50 for him to get some polish and fix it or whatever....
The second one was more damage. I'd pulled up to an "outdoor teller machine" (whatever you call those tubes that shoot a canister in and out). It was poorly designed on a curved drive, and I couldn't reach it but was too close to open the door. I immediately backed up a little, thought my tire was against the curb and gave it a little more power. Then I pulled forward again and reached out for the canister when an irate guy walked up to my window yelling at me. Apparently what felt like a curb under my tire was actually his bumper!!!
My rear bumper didn't show any contact, but he had a small dent in his front bumper. (Incidentally, we both were driving nearly identical pickups -- 2000 F250 diesel 4x4s.) He said he honked, but I didn't hear it, maybe because I had my radio on. It was winter, so my window may have been up too. Either way, I didn't feel anything and wouldn't have guessed I'd hit a vehicle, but it's unlikely that he was lying about me hitting him.
I was once sitting in my car at a light when the vehicle ahead of me, which was towing a boat, decided to back up. He was barely inching backwards, but there was a car behind me (oblivious to what was ahead of me) so I couldn't back up. I watched the keel on that boat motor as it made contact with my hood, then very slowly, inch-by-inch, crinkled my hood all the way back to the windshield. My horn was blaring the whole time, but he was listening to his stereo and didn't hear it. Turned out I knew him too.
The guy who I backed into was a hothead. (You see 'em on this board all the time.) But I'm sure he calmed down quickly. Some guys (women too) immediately react to an accident with a violent temper. I think there's a fairly large percentage of folks who are like that. They're not bad people who would come after you, just hotheads. Don't worry about him.
Put your smartphone camera on record and place it in your front pocket.... If the other driver is irate or tries to make up a story about what transpired after the accident.
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