You’re reversing your car into a parking spot when you all of a sudden hear a bang. You just backed into the car parked behind you! You really dented the parked car, where your car just has a scratch on it. The driver of the parked car isn’t there and no one is around. You think to yourself, “I’ll just leave and no one will be any the wiser. ”
Good plan, right? Wrong.
By walking away, you could be opening yourself up to much worse than just having an at-fault accident on your record. For starters, there could have been a witness you didn’t notice, who took down your licence plate number and may report you. As a result, you could be charged with leaving the scene of an accident. This is a seven-demerit-point conviction in the province of Ontario, as well as a fine of $200 to $2,000. Not to mention the fact that your insurance rates could skyrocket for a minimum of three years. Still sound like a good plan? Exactly.
So what should you do if you find yourself in this situation?
If you don’t know the owner of the car and he or she is not present at the time of the accident, do your best to find the car owner. Go to any homes or businesses in the area that are in direct view of the location of the accident and ask people if they know the owner of the vehicle.
If you can’t locate the owner, leave a note with your contact information as well as your insurance information under the windshield wiper of the car that you hit.
If the note is lost, you will be able to defend yourself against a potential leaving the scene of an accident (hit and run) charge, as you will have proof that you tried to find the owner by letting officials know that you canvassed homes and/or businesses in the area trying to locate the driver. Plus, you could visit one of the many collision reporting centres in Ontario as well. There police can help you track down the owner of the car. Don’t forget: all accidents must be reported to your insurance company, regardless of fault.
The lesson? Own up to your mistake and you’ll save yourself a lot of trouble in the long run! If you have gone through this situation and you now have higher insurance rates as a result, you still may be able to get a lower rate. Check out InsuranceHotline.com, where you can compare offerings from 30 competing insurers to find the lowest rate available for your driving profile.
In part three of our series on common insurance situations, we’ll look at the ins and outs of windshield damage claims.
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Common insurance situations – part one
In part one of our series, we look at the reverse scenario: another driver has hit your car in a parking lot, denting your car. What do you do? Do you report it to your insurance company? Do you report it to the police? Do you just fix it yourself?…read more.
