Correct procedure after hit and run :(

dingus12

Long story short here, on Saturday I ran out of petrol in my car coming down my estate entrance road, So I rolled the car on to the foot path, on a bend/hill and left it there as I was heading away and had another car to get there.



I returned this evening and discovered sometime today(in the morning), Some one has slid on the ice and banged into my car causing considerable damage, and drove off.

The damage consists of, a broken rear fog light, a broken bumper, a bent wheel, a scratched 1/4 panel/bent and a mudgaurd ripped of,

Now for the clinker, a fog light cover and bulb from their car had fallen off and they did not lift it, so I now know it was a SEAT car (with silver paint) that hit mine, I have drove around the estate today and have identify'd 3 seat cars, however I could not see if they had front passenger side damage as the cars where in the drive ways facing forward.

I will have a walk around tomorrow and have a better look,

If I identify a car with matching front end damage, and a missing fog light cover (which I have)

Should I approach the owner and see if we can come to a solution?

Or should I report it to the gaurds first, since the driver left the scene of an accident etc,

The thing is, my car was parked on a foot path, on a bend, not great parking by any means, but shouldn't people be able to avoid smashing into a parked car on an estate road at any rate,

The ice was the cause of the slid no doubt.

My car is an 02 corsa, rough around the edges and worth 1000 euro at the most, I would have taken a couple of hundred quid if the owner had left a note with his/her number and was wishing to settle it between me and him/her,

But since they have ran off, and I might never find them. I'm a little annoyed, If I do find the car, would I be in my rights to get the car fixed by their insurance company at a much higher cost using all new parts etc?

endacl

From the sound if it, you'd likely only get scrappage value if you went through insurance.

Been there. Get a quote. Find the hitandrunner. Present the bill. If you can't find the skidder, maybe fix the bits you can yourself from scrap parts, and try your own insurance for the big job.

A bent wheel sounds like you'll be pi55ing into the wind though...

Noccy_Mondy

Is there any cctv around the area?

Without being able to identify the culprit car, and seeing as it's none in the estate, then it's going to be difficult to get anything done about it. Could be someone visiting the estate. Still a scummy thing to do nonetheless.

In the event that you do find them, then yes it would be their responsibility to pay for your car, be it through insurance or between yourselves.

Best of luck.

dingus12

When I say a bent wheel, the outer lip of the steel wheel has been peeled around , still holding air and it will straighten with a few slaps of a sledge hammer, A fog light is around 20 quid, the bumper can be patched up for around 60 and look "ok",

I could fix it all myself for 100 euro, so long as the rear axel or hub has not been bent or damaged.

If it is then this is a lot more serious and I will be furious if I don't find the culprit.

I'm literally only after putting a brand new steering rack, track rod ends, 2 wheel bearings, 2 new rear fog lights, 4 new tyres, full service, new thermostat and a 4 wheel alignment on the car, and I did all the work myself mostly so a lot of time and effort and money has went into getting the little car road worthy, If the insurance company write it off, I'll be faced with buying another corsa with little money which may need work done aswel.

no cctv unfortunately, I do hope it was not someone visiting the estate, I will be keeping my eyes peeled for a damaged SEAT tomorrow thats for sure.

ironclaw

Just becareful OP if you involve the Gardai. If you were parked dangerously, or on a bend, you could be facing some news from them too. I could be thinking of the UK but I'm fairly sure legislation exists here too, but you can't park within 15m of a bend in the road (Obviously thats wholly dependant on the road in your estate etc)

visual

Report it to garda

worse case is garda give you parking fine if it's still there. The real crime is hint and run.
They are obliged to also report accident they may or may not have done this.

If you do find the car with damage they will probably denie it was them. Then your only option is garda

good luck with your search

ironclaw

ironclaw wrote: »

Just becareful OP if you involve the Gardai. If you were parked dangerously, or on a bend, you could be facing some news from them too. I could be thinking of the UK but I'm fairly sure legislation exists here too, but you can't park within 15m of a bend in the road (Obviously thats wholly dependant on the road in your estate etc)

He was broken down though not parked.

MarkR

Would still have a duty to get it moved as soon as possible, if it was parked in a dangerous position. Moot point now anyway, as the car has been moved now I presume. No harm reporting it to the gardai, and check out the front of those silver seats also. If you do find the matching car, a knock on the door advising that they were seen hitting your car. I know it's not true, but we're not talking about court here. Tell them you want reasonable repair cost or you'll be contacting the gardai.

Bear in mind, you won't be endearing yourself to this neighbour.

ironclaw

MarkR wrote: »

If you do find the matching car, a knock on the door advising that they were seen hitting your car. I know it's not true, but we're not talking about court here. .

You should never make a statement that you could potential later rely on in court or in a settlement. The person could just ask for your witness and call your bluff. You are then snookered and look like a right plonker, and also a liar. False accusations is libelous especially if you involve the Gardai.

I'd just approach them with the fog light pieces and ask are they theirs, watch the reaction and hope for the best. Seeing as they didn't leave a note or offer an explanation later that day, I wouldn't hope for the best and it sheds a good deal of light on their character going forward.

Also bear in mind that SEAT, VW and Audi all share parts. It might just be a massive coincidence.

deathtocaptcha

Has happened to me a number of times unfortunately... in fact it's one of the reasons why i refuse to buy a new or nearly new car... because you've got no peace of mind parking it anywhere.. liable to get smacked by a trolley or reversed in to... loads of these little hit and run incidents which people don't seem to think are any big deal...

First thing you should have done was take photos of the car's location and damage and any tyre marks / skid marks etc.. on the road. Then find the car that did the damage ASAP (before they get it fixed) and take photos of it too.

If you can produce those photos, only an idiot would fight you on it. Because it's a neighbor and you don't seem to be overly pedantic about things, i'd try to be cool about it and say that you seen the damage to their car and found the bulb. Explain you were broken down and car was only there temporarily (not parked).. you know it's unfortunate for all involved but there's quite a bit of damage to your car that you can't afford to fix yourself (having just put it right for NCT), however you'd be prepared to patch it up yourself rather than go through a garage as you know it'd be much cheaper for neighbor that way.

If you can get a quote from a garage for 'x' and you go neighbor and say you'll accept x divided by 2 or something along those lines, then i'd imagine most reasonable people would accept that (provided it's an amount under the insurance excess).

Del2005

Is this not why we all have to pay to the MIBI? Report it to the Gardai and let the insurance deal with it. I doubt they'll scrap the car for a bit of bumper work and a few lenses. Even if they do say it's not economical to repair the OP can still buy the wreck and fix it easy enough.

Calling in on someone who lives in your estate who hit a car in the estate and didn't leave contact details sounds like the type of person you don't want to be accusing of damaging it.

To Elland Back

MIBI will only get involved for property damage if you can can identify an uninsured driver/vehicle.

BreadnBuddha

When did common sense go out the window? OP, your car broke down on a bend, on a hill, partly on the footpath but you just fecked off and left it there for 4 days because you had another car to use and you were going away.

It changed from being a broken down car to being a parked car when you decided to leave it where it stopped, instead of doing the right thing and organising a recovery ASAP. You could have called to a neighbour, a friend or a family member and asked them to organise the keys for the AA/recovery driver if you simply HAD to leave, but you though 'sure it'll be grand', didn't you?

Now some poor bastard ends up smacking your obstacle where it shouldn't have been and you're crying off about it here as a hit and run!!!! I'll bet you didn't leave a note with your phone number on the dash, did you? No, sure it'll be grand where it is and sure what could you do, you were going away after all.

What planet are the rest of you living on? The guy was inconsiderate and suffers the consequences only because he didn't give a crap and just left the thing there instead of dealing with it properly and getting his broken down banger taken out of the way. He's lucky the fire brigade or ambulance didn't have to move it. There'd be a lot more than €100 worth of damage done to it.

Suck it up.

Alanstrainor

BreadnBuddha wrote: »

When did common sense go out the window? OP, your car broke down on a bend, on a hill, partly on the footpath but you just fecked off and left it there for 4 days because you had another car to use and you were going away.

It changed from being a broken down car to being a parked car when you decided to leave it where it stopped, instead of doing the right thing and organising a recovery ASAP. You could have called to a neighbour, a friend or a family member and asked them to organise the keys for the AA/recovery driver if you simply HAD to leave, but you though 'sure it'll be grand', didn't you?

Now some poor bastard ends up smacking your obstacle where it shouldn't have been and you're crying off about it here as a hit and run!!!! I'll bet you didn't leave a note with your phone number on the dash, did you? No, sure it'll be grand where it is and sure what could you do, you were going away after all.

What planet are the rest of you living on? The guy was inconsiderate and suffers the consequences only because he didn't give a crap and just left the thing there instead of dealing with it properly and getting his broken down banger taken out of the way. He's lucky the fire brigade or ambulance didn't have to move it. There'd be a lot more than €100 worth of damage done to it.

Suck it up.

That's some rant...still doesn't stop it from being a hit and run...that is exactly what it is.

BreadnBuddha

Alanstrainor wrote: »

That's some rant...still doesn't stop it from being a hit and run...that is exactly what it is.

It's not a rant. I'm asking where the hell did common sense go here?

And until the OP speaks with the Gardai and his insurer who's to say it's actually a hit and run anyway?

The Seat driver may already have spoken with both of those parties while the OP 'was going away'.

meathstevie

The comment about accusations and all being libel is not quite correct. One can have reasonable suspicions and voice these. As long as they're not dressed up as statements of fact but clearly voiced as suspicions you're not blackening anyone's name. If the OP sees a Seat with matching damage in the estate and makes a statement including the known facts and given the debris left behind that he reasonably suspects that the driver of the Seat was responsible for the collision all should be fine. Convincing a District Judge beyond all reasonable doubt will be a different kettle of fish.

TallGlass

BreadnBuddha wrote: »

When did common sense go out the window? OP, your car broke down on a bend, on a hill, partly on the footpath but you just fecked off and left it there for 4 days because you had another car to use and you were going away.

It changed from being a broken down car to being a parked car when you decided to leave it where it stopped, instead of doing the right thing and organising a recovery ASAP. You could have called to a neighbour, a friend or a family member and asked them to organise the keys for the AA/recovery driver if you simply HAD to leave, but you though 'sure it'll be grand', didn't you?

Now some poor bastard ends up smacking your obstacle where it shouldn't have been and you're crying off about it here as a hit and run!!!! I'll bet you didn't leave a note with your phone number on the dash, did you? No, sure it'll be grand where it is and sure what could you do, you were going away after all.

What planet are the rest of you living on? The guy was inconsiderate and suffers the consequences only because he didn't give a crap and just left the thing there instead of dealing with it properly and getting his broken down banger taken out of the way. He's lucky the fire brigade or ambulance didn't have to move it. There'd be a lot more than €100 worth of damage done to it.

Suck it up.

Calm down there chap, just because you calm this driver broke the law dose not negate another law been broken, someone crashed into his car and drove off which is against the law in fact it's quite serious to leave the scene of any accident.

OP contact the Garda ASAP and report it too them before you start knocking on peoples doors also report it too your insurance even if you want to act on it or not. Too many times have I seen threads on here about people getting messed around fixing up there own claims, you can still notify the insurance company and settle the claim yourself same with the Garda.

ironclaw

meathstevie wrote: »

The comment about accusations and all being libel is not quite correct. One can have reasonable suspicions and voice these. As long as they're not dressed up as statements of fact but clearly voiced as suspicions you're not blackening anyone's name. If the OP sees a Seat with matching damage in the estate and makes a statement including the known facts and given the debris left behind that he reasonably suspects that the driver of the Seat was responsible for the collision all should be fine. Convincing a District Judge beyond all reasonable doubt will be a different kettle of fish.

If you made a statement to anyone saying you had a witness that says they saw the neighbour's car hit your car, then you'd be in a serious bit of bother if you had made the whole thing up about said witness. More so if the statement was written.

Its entirely different to taking a few photographs and saying the damage to the neighbour's car is consistent with the damage to mine, plus the light. Thats perfectly reasonable. But then again, reasonable doubt exists.

Del2005

ironclaw wrote: »

If you made a statement to anyone saying you had a witness that says they saw the neighbour's car hit your car, then you'd be in a serious bit of bother if you had made the whole thing up about said witness. More so if the statement was written.

Its entirely different to taking a few photographs and saying the damage to the neighbour's car is consistent with the damage to mine, plus the light. Thats perfectly reasonable. But then again, reasonable doubt exists.

Reasonable doubt is only in criminal cases not civil. Civil cases are on the balance of probabilities.

http://www.courts.ie/Courts.ie/library3.nsf/%28WebFiles%29/A686DBF78143D5C7802577D10037088C/$FILE/Explaining%20the%20Courts%20-%20ENG%20-%20for%20web.pdf

So the OP has a damaged car with silver paint on it and finds a silver car with damage matching theirs they'd have a good chance of winning and getting a judgement, getting compensation is different ball game though.