I took someones wing mirror off

[Itwasachristmasjoke]

They were parked on some double yellows, and as I was passing them a van sped past me and the car to my left sides mirror got hit, I absolutely lost my head for a moment and carried on driving but eventually did turn around and went back to leave my number but the car was gone. Now I'm freaking out and want to try to find out who they are to rectify. There was a gym next to where it happened so I'm wondering whether phoning them to get cctv/a reg plate is a good idea? When I went back did find some black plastic off of their mirror in the road.

Also edited to add ive only passed my test in the last few months and I'm am worried I'm going to lose my license already

You sound like a menace on the roads. It doesn’t just ‘happen’. It’s your poor driving.

Have a day off

How can OP go back and put a note on a car that isn't there anymore? It says in the post that they went back and the car had already gone

I don’t think people will really care about having wing mirror knocked, happens all the time on the school run and not once have I thought about going to my insurance, it’s not worth the premium hike!

Any of us can have an accident; but PP not only seems to have had quite a few, but also seems rather nonchalant about it.

Were you going at a very high speed, OP, if you actually took their mirror off? Normally, if you clipped it, one of the two mirrors would spring/bend in (presumably yours in this case if the parked car was pointing in the same direction as you were driving).

It would normally take a lot of speed for you to actually take their mirror clean off - especially if yours didn't bend in either.

Do you mean just bumped/slightly scraped or folded in, though, or actually taken off like in OP's case? They can cost a couple of hundred to replace - and possibly more if they have complex electrics inside them.

If it's just a case of realising that can't see anything in it and snapping it back out again to the right angle, then fair enough.

File an online police report. I did this when a cyclist sped out of a side rd into my car. The bike damaged my car but I was concerned the person was injured. They ran off. I had a witness so took their details and took photos of my car and the bike. I had to report it to my insurer also. After 6 months the insurer takes it off your record if there’s no claim from the other party. I only got a reference from the police. There was no further follow up.

they dont all fold in, mine was knocked off on christmas day, not that that is relevant but i was parked perfectly legally but the style of car i had had a jutting out wing mirror which did not collapse

I think all individual forces may be different. As I said, mine was 24 hours or so but I don’t think there’s a problem that you haven’t heard. You’ve done what the law requires, which is the important fact here.

Gosh, I think the police have far more important things to worry about than a clipped wing mirror. I'd leave my name and number at the gym incase the car owner popped in and asked them to check their CCTV. Sadly if the car wasn't there when you went back, there's not much you can do about it. Thousands of wing mirrors are getting clipped every day and I bet under half are actually resolved properly!

@AppleDumplingWithCustard

You’re totally right. All of this happened within my first year of driving when I wasn’t particularly skilled and struggled to judge spacing etc. I never hit a moving car. I am nonchalant about it and can laugh about it now. No one was hurt - just my car, someone’s wing mirror, a lamppost and a shed.

I haven’t hit anything in the last 6 years.
I’m just trying to reassure the OP that it isn’t the end of the world. These things happen when you’re new to driving!

Hi, it wasn't taken clean off, but I did find some plastic in the road when I went back, I dont think the entire mirror came off. I wasn't travelling fast at all, where it happened was on approach to a junction so I was slowing down for that

Don’t worry..you will not lose your licence! Someone took my wing mirror off and caused considerable damage to the side of my car 2 years ago. They paid for the repair and that was it.

Wow, what a stupidly backward step for the manufacturer to take! I wonder if their head designer is the same person who was responsible for the taps in public toilet sinks that force you to push it down at all times, so you can't ever properly wash your hands by rubbing them together!

No, I’m fine thanks.

Do they?

It probably shattered the outer bit which would be the debris and the actual mirror is still on the car. That happened to my car once when someone passed too close. I also had one pinched once when I was parked outside my mums house.