Car Park Bump

[Bazile]

Just been asked this question by someone

Are you legally required to report a minor bump against an
unoccupied parked car in a car park, to the police ?

[Mamyalynne]

https://www.comparethemarket.com/car-insurance/content/i-hit-a-parked-car-what-should-i-do/

[jennyjoan]

Ironically my friend bumped or scraped a car in a car park last Saturday - quite a massive car park - but who comes along but the owner of the scraped car. They just exchanged insurance details.

[Buenchico]

The type of car park might be an important consideration here:

Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 applies "on a road or other public place":
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988/52/section/170

A "public place", for the purposes of the Act, includes areas to which the public generally have access (such as supermarket car parks and NCP car parks) but excludes areas which are only for use by restricted categories of people (such as a car park provided by a company only for use by its staff and visitors to the site):
http://www.counsel.direct/news/2015/11/18/what-is-a-public-place-in-the-context-of-the-road-traffic-act

Note that the requirement to report an accident to the police only cuts in when no notification of the relevant details has been provided to the driver of the other vehicle. Simply leaving a note on the windscreen of the unoccupied vehicle, bearing the required information, is likely to be all that's needed in most cases.

[THECORBYLOON]

Northants police don't need to be informed if it's only a collision and details have been exchanged.

https://www.northants.police.uk/police-forces/northamptonshire-police/areas/northamptonshire-force-content/about-us/about-us/what-happens-when-you-report-a-damage-only-road-traffic-collision-rtc/

[Bazile]

So if the driver did not leave details on the windscreen of the other car is she in hot water now ?

What should she do now and what is the likely consequences ?

[Hopkirk]

The likely consequence is absolutely nothing.

[Buenchico]

9 out of 10 people who bump into an unoccupied car probably just drive off and forget about it.

If there was CCTV on the car park, enabling the owner of the other car to obtain the registration number of he car that hit his/hers, he/she could apply to the DVLA to obtain details of the registered owner of the vehicle and then pursue them for compensation but that would only be a civil matter. The police aren't going to rush to get involved in something that happens hundreds (if not thousands) of times every day.

[Bazile]

Thanks

[Bazile]

Will the insurer be bothered that no details were left ?