Why do people hit and run?

Marcusm

Am heading off on a 3 week car trip through France, Italy and Switzerland next week so decided to leave take the Mini to Dublin as need it hear this weekend and in May for my niece's communion. So today I get up at 4:30am, head to the Mini for the long slog to Holyhead (from London). Actually it was a good easy drive with a short stop in Keele services fr the best cafe breakfast I've had in a long while; i do this trip at least once a month so will be stopping there again. Stop again at Waitrose in Bangor to pick up a few (requested) bits of food for a friend who has been in hospital ths week. Pleasant ferry ride with a snooze.

Off the boat, head to my friend's house in Ranelagh (pre boom purchase), park outside and sit in the kitchen for a few hours.

Come out to find some idiot has knocked my passenger side mirror not quite to a unusable condition but to a point which would be a costly pre sale change. Lots of bright yellow paint so a weird car too. Clearly no need to leave a note of apology, twat.

colm_mcm

People panic, also some people are scumbags

Our man in Havana

Yes, I would tend to agree there. A lot of the time it is people with no insurance or other documents.

Jimbob 83

Panic mainly

CiniO

I was wondering about it few times, as even on this forum amount of people who suffered from hit-and-run or people who were in accident where other party was at fault but would try to do anything to escape liability is tremendous. The same among my friend here in Mayo.

I can only think about one conclusion - that causing accident is so horrendously expensive in Ireland, that's why people tend to do anything to avoid paying for it.

If someone doesn't have NCB protection, causing an accident especially by someone young can cause his premium to rise by few grand, and it will affect few following years.
Also people might get stock with one insurer for a while. They might have problem obtaining insurance later from anyone else, etc, etc.....

Generally so, if it costs that much people tend to escape liability.

Luckily nothing like this happened to me in Ireland, but I know good few people who suffered from accident where there was hit-and-run or just someone was lying about what happened.

For contrast I can show when I used to live in Poland. I had 2 little fender-benders. Once a guy drove off his parking space on supermarket parking and hit me while I was following the main lane. He accepted liability no problem and I got money from his insurer without any hassle. Other time the guy rear-ended me, and he also didn't do any problem, appologised, and all was sorted from his insurer within a week.

But costs are very little.
My father caused an accident some time ago, where other car was written off. All what it cost him, was 10% increase in his premium for next year, so it jumped from about €100 to €110.

Alanstrainor

I'd say it's panic tbh, well in a lot of cases at least. Have had a few incidents on my bike where people hit me and didn't stop. Never too serious, but i wasn't too impressed all the same!

zapata

CiniO wrote: »

But costs are very little.
My father caused an accident some time ago, where other car was written off. All what it cost him, was 10% increase in his premium for next year, so it jumped from about €100 to €110.

10% - Did that happen in Ireland? :eek:

CiniO

zapata wrote: »

10% - Did that happen in Ireland? :eek:

No. In Poland.

Jimbob 83

It's hardwired into us to flee a stressful situation, most people who initially leg it is from being numb and they feel because they have started down that line the may aswell continue.

Mr Benevolent

Definitely panic.

Bearcat

Panic my [email]ars@.....people[/email] run cause there's a little thing called MONEY and no one likes handing it over.

I got 6k worth of damage to a cls in the airport car park.....both doors destroyed.

Joe10000

I've never understood why people do it after knocking down someone but in your case I do. I've hit many a mirror driving and they generally pop out and back in as they are designed to do so I've never felt the need to go back.

I think getting your mirror clipped while parked on the street is just par for the course.

coylemj

Joe10000 wrote: »

I've hit many a mirror driving and they generally pop out and back in as they are designed to do so I've never felt the need to go back.

That's how you reconcile it with your flexible conscience as you drive away, perish the thought that you'd actually go back to check if you've destroyed someone's mirror!

They don't always 'pop out and back in', just ask the OP!

lau1247

Bearcat wrote: »

Panic my [email]ars@.....people[/email] run cause there's a little thing called MONEY and no one likes handing it over.

I got 6k worth of damage to a cls in the airport car park.....both doors destroyed.

i agree, those people just don't really give a **** because they did it and got away with it.. if the incident were clearly witnessed by few people, i'd say they'll probably stop..

this one time, i was in a shop where there is an on street parking, between three cars lets call it A, B and C in that order. I was A, B is front facing C and B was try to get out of the spot, it bumped into C then proceed to reverse and try again and still bumped into C before setting off.. not a care in the world and heads off.. while B didn't touch my car however five minutes later a new B arrive and tries to park.. she actually touch my bumper during reverse (Just ever so slightly).. luckily there is no dent or anything so I let it go, otherwise she would have got an ear full.. as before with the other car, she parked up and walk away pretending nothing happened..

It's unbelievable the lack of moral from some people in society.. one common thing i notice was that both cars were driven by a woman (No this is not turning into one of those 'sure women can't drive' thread) and were bangers.. it was as if driving a banger give them the right to damage other people's property :mad:

johnthemull

Nothing to do with panic. In my view it is a very Irish trait to be dishonest. Most Irish people have been shafted in this way. Who has had the experience of actually being told by someone that they hit their car in a car park or along the road, not many. My sister came back to her car with a newly dented door in a car :mad:park once, with a note on the screen. She read it, it read sorry full stop. We are so dishonest, that to do the decent thing would be idiotic, and if you did own up to hitting an empty car in a car park, you would probably end up being done for whiplash. You get the society you deserve. Thats Why.

rocky

Joe10000 wrote: »

I've never understood why people do it after knocking down someone but in your case I do. I've hit many a mirror driving and they generally pop out and back in as they are designed to do so I've never felt the need to go back.

I think getting your mirror clipped while parked on the street is just par for the course.

Go back to driving lessons!

Marcusm

Quiet residential street, lots of stopping opportunities to leave a note or even to try and "pop" it back in but clearly the driver thought like you. No major harm to me, still operational (to a reasonable extent) but yet another example of the casual callousness of contemporary conurbations. (Dublin's probably not a conurbation but I like alliteration.)

Bearcat

It's actually turned into a vicious circle in Irish society, everyone has been clobbered with no return so the ethos now is, if one clobbers another and they can get away with it , well and good.

A dire indictment on our society. The one strand of good out there is there is loads of snitchs out there that will take a reg plate no. And leave a note on the damaged car re the culprit.

Gardai though have zero interest in this carry on.

gerarda

johnthemull wrote: »

Nothing to do with panic. In my view it is a very Irish trait to be dishonest. Most Irish people have been shafted in this way. Who has had the experience of actually being told by someone that they hit their car in a car park or along the road, not many. My sister came back to her car with a newly dented door in a car :mad:park once, with a note on the screen. She read it, it read sorry full stop. We are so dishonest, that to do the decent thing would be idiotic, and if you did own up to hitting an empty car in a car park, you would probably end up being done for whiplash. You get the society you deserve. Thats Why.

You forgot to add that people are selfish a**hol** too. I worked with a guy who had his car damaged in a car park and nearly killed the guy that did it! This same individual reversed into and knocked over a parked motorbike parked behind him a month previous in the same car and denied doing it despite cctv footage of him getting out of his car and picking the bike back up!

challengemaster

I think you're trying to do a very typical Irish thing and fit a single answer or stereotype as an answer for everyone.

Some people are just arseholes, some are liars, and some take pride in getting away with things like these, and won't give a crap if they damage their own or anyone elses property. We all know the type.

Some people have the very typical Irish attitude that a car is a car, it goes from A-B and sure what harm if it picks up a few scratches or scrapes or dents on the way, it's not like they'll need fixing anyway. These and the "Keep the head down, Nothing happened, It'll be grand" brigade form the group of people I'd classify as the 'door bangers'. The ones that couldn't care less if they smack your car when they open their doors in the car park.They just won't see anything wrong with the fact they've damaged another vehicle.

You also have the stingy aul fella category, where they'll be píssed off that they have to pay to fix their own car, never mind someone elses. And there'll be none of that insurance nonsense, I know a lad who knows a lad who's cousins brother has been a panel beater since he was in the womb and was born with a FAS cert.

Then you will actually have the genuinely panicked people when something like this happens, that for whatever reason, might in their current situation just can't afford for something like this to happen, or just panic because it did. That's when basic instincts kick in and you do what's natural, preserve yourself. Think about it, if you were to hit someone/thing, your first thought would be "Oh shít what do I do".

Unfortunately, the end result is the same, some poor eejit has to fork the bill for whatever repairs are needed to their own car, through no fault of their own.

And yes, I'm aware of the irony of this post regards stereotyping people

ARGINITE

It has nothing to do with Ireland or the Irish.

Since moving to the UK I have lost the driver side wing mirror three time, had the front driver side corner of the car reversed into and the rear passenger side reversed into.

Worst one yet has been a neighbour backing straight into the front of the car while my girlfriend and I were sitting in it, she then jumped out and told me I had driven into her and that we should take care of our own damage.

keithclancy

Theres just scumbags around the place.

Came out of my Apartment in Cork one day, there was a guy walking down the street just kicking the kerbside wing mirror off every car he walked past.

I called the Gardai, when they turned up he said I was the only person to call it in so would I make a statement, there were about 8-10 people watching this guy.

Made statement, was disgusted that no one else bothered, clearly its a case of if its not your stuff then turn a blind eye.

Must have been a sport, I lost 4 wing mirrors off my old ****ty astra, kept a bunch of spares in the boot that I picked up in Big Shaunies out in ovens for a fiver

pcardin

CiniO wrote: »

I can only think about one conclusion - that causing accident is so horrendously expensive in Ireland, that's why people tend to do anything to avoid paying for it.

If someone doesn't have NCB protection, causing an accident especially by someone young can cause his premium to rise by few grand, and it will affect few following years.

I tend to agreed to this. This is a result of all the false claims and "yeah, let's get rich on someone elses expense" attitude that that seems to be popular here and UK when accident happens. If the other driver would stop, come to OP with an apology of course it wouldn't be enough. Insurance claim to the guy who damaged mirror, NCB fcuked up, next insurance renewal twice as high as previous, as OP will be willing to replace damaged mirror with new golden plated D&G designed one. And be sure if OP would be in the car at that moment be you all sure there would also be all sort of neck, head and cnut injuries involved costing the accident causer even more as OP would be out of work and would neet to spend his post-traumatic period somewhere nice and sunny.
Not saying that it would be a case with OP as he might be decent guy but you got the idea. It doesn't happen outside UK&IRL that much as if one driver damages the other drivers car there is a reasonable gap of what can be claimed.