Stupidly stupidly drove away from the scene of an accident

your car doesn't sound in awful shape therefore i'm presuming the child wasn't super badly hurt? did it get up or what?

What you have done is wrong completely and I am sure you know this - you better hope you don't get caught as your insurance could refuse to pay out and you will not only be out of pocket, but face prosecution. In all honesty though, no offence to you about this I am sure it was in the heat of the moment, but people like you who shouldn't be on the road, I have had someone hit my car twice and not leave any details, I have a girlfriend and daughter to support and its not cheap to get it all repaired.

I should say go to the police, but that is your choice. I doubt you have ruined someones holiday, its just a car at the end of the day, the best thing you can do is see if the car is still around where you hit it and offer to pay for the damage if you can locate the owner? If not leave a note.

Unless you have the registration of the car you hit, there is nothing more you can do. Move on i guess.

And in all fairness, without sounding like a ****, i would have probably done the same on spur of the moment situation like that.

your car doesn't sound in awful shape therefore i'm presuming the child wasn't super badly hurt? did it get up or what?

It's people like you that made me get rid of my first car can you return to where the car was and have a quick browse to see if you can spot it. Like someone else said, it may have only been a scuff but even £30 can be a lot if you've got a family & bills on a tight budget.

Read. He/she didn't hit a child. He/she implied that what he did was not near as bad as hitting a child.

I'm sorry you had that experience. I most certainly know better now. I doubt the car will still be there - it was in a short stay drop off/pick up bay.



I probably would have stopped if I'd not been pulling out onto a fairly main road. I was half out and panicking. I just burst into tears and drove off. (Also I'm a she)

I believe (no research into this) that you have 24 hours to report a hit and run. It might be better that you do report it so if they know who did it the police won't be knocking down your door. Or you can drive pass again and see how much damage you caused. If it is a huge dent expect an insurance claim if caught upping your insurance (I would risk it with the police), or is its a little scuff then write a note apologise and ask the owner to ring you and you will sort out the cost of the repay (still not cheap but at least you can sleep tonight).

your car doesn't sound in awful shape therefore i'm presuming the child wasn't super badly hurt? did it get up or what?


sorry, skimmed I do apologise and have now read it

Ok, that makes it seem really bad, like I hit a child and drove off, but essentially I was too far forward and dinked someone's right rear wing as I was pulling out of a parallel parking scenario.

My car just has aesthetic damage, scuffs and a dent (though I've managed to push that out), so I imagine the other car is just scuffed, as I would have hit the corner bit, hence my dent. But I panicked, had no idea what 'details' to leave and drove off. It doesn't help the car was Italian so I've probably just ruined someone's holiday.

Should I do anything? Or just accept I've been a total moron and one of those people everyone hates and hope I don't get caught? My friend mentioned contacting the police, but that would kinda involve me admitting I drove away.

I honestly realise what I should have done now - I am aware how much of a moron I've been. It was just the first time it's happened and I sort of panicked. Not an excuse at all, but it's what happened. Please, I'd really appreciate it if I just had advice. I feel awful enough as it is.

Really? Might ask my Dad - no offence to you lovely people, but I trust him slightly more than randoms on the internet.
edit; Dad said don't bother. He reckons the police have got better things to do with their time, especially as no-one was injured.
edit2; Just googled and apparently it's another offence if you don't call the police in 24hrs. Argh. So torn. http://www.driverdefenceservice.co.uk/Failing-to-stop-and-failing-to-report-an-accident.php

I don't think it's as bad as you think it is, unless you've massively underestimated the damage caused to the other vehicle. I'm not completely sure, but I don't think that the police even have to be involved.

What's the other driver going to tell the police? Erm, yeah, hi there - could you please send out a nation-wide alert for a red car with scratches on the side?

The next time you go back to that spot, look around to see if the car is still there. If it is, leave a post-it or something on the windscreen explaining the situation and that you're willing to compensate him/her for the damage.

When I went to the Police about mine, they wouldn't do nothing apart from give me a Crime reference number so I can claim off my own insurance! The Police don't really care about minor stuff like this, which annoyed me, but I have not been at the opposite end. Failing to stop and report is a serious offence, you can actually lose your licence if you passed your test less than 2 years ago

I'm more worried if there's CCTV! The car won't be there. Short stay parking...


I only passed my test a year ago so...

I'm probably making a bigger deal of this than I need to. People probably do this every day and don't even think about it. And here I am, genuinely losing sleep over it.