To have reported myself to the police?

[foreverananxiousmess]

I'll start with I'm a massive anxiety sufferer and get myself into a panic over nothing, so when an actual issue arises I'm always close to crumbling.

On my way home I clipped a car's wing mirror, it pushed my wing mirror in but no damage/scrape. It was a very busy road with cars parked on either side, I clearly misjudged the room I had. It took me a few seconds to realise what the little thump was but I looked in my mirror and I could see the make of the car and that the wing mirror appeared intact. Because it was such a busy road I couldn't pull over, by the time there was space to park, I was already well out of sight of the car and a good walk away. I also had my baby in the car and worried about getting into confrontation with her present (I know I'm a wimp and I made a very poor decision).

I rang 101 as soon as I got home in the hopes that I could pass my details along if anyone reported it, so that it wouldn't be a hit and run. However because I didn't have the reg of the car, they wouldn't take a report and said it wasn't reportable anyway. They advised going back to the scene and leaving a note. The car was pulled over and I think there was someone in it so not likely to still be there, and I can't go back until DH gets home anyway as DD is having her food.

Bottom line is I thought I was doing the right thing by reporting myself but wasn't able to and I'm now panicking that I'll be reported for a hit and run. I know I should have stopped but with the circumstances I just panicked. Any help or advice appreciated, please be kind, I'm already so ashamed and fee guilty.

I’m surprised they wouldn’t take a report. I did this once before myself, clipped a wing mirror on a busy, one way road and couldn’t put up.

I just told them the car type, the time and the road it happened.

I suspect you’ll know within a few days if they have made a report but I would be tempted to either make a post on social media or go back to the area alone and see if the car belongs to a protege and is still there. Or wait it out.

@Tunnocks34 that's exactly what I was hoping to do, I gave the agent the make of the car and colour but she said as I didn't know the registration, she couldn't log it on the system. I did say I was hoping to give my details in the event someone reported it. I'll try going back once DH gets home but I'm not holding out much hope as the car was pulled over at the time, seemingly waiting to leave.

There’s no damage so it’s not a reportable accident. The wing mirror looked intact to you and you didn’t see any damage so even if there was a scuff mark on there who says you caused it?
Send DH to have a look later if it put your mind at ease?
I had anxiety like this when my DD was a little one. It’s quite debilitating so maybe use this as a trigger to get help for it?

Calm down. You won’t be reported for a hit and run.

Our car got clipped when parked, picked up by the dash cam, because it left quite a scratch we did report it and they just contacted the owner and said we had reported it. They then passed her insurance details onto us. As it happened she lived the next town over. The insurance claim for our car was pretty huge & far exceeded what we had paid for the car so we popped our number through her door & asked if she just wanted to pay the local garage to respray it. She rang us and we sorted it, & police took no action against her. It will be fine.

There's alot of excuses there.

In future if you hit someone's car, pull over and leave a note with your details on.

I wish there were more people like you where I live OP - we live on a rat run and I've lost count of the scrapes my car has received by selfish, impatient drivers trying to 'ease past' each other, who then don't stop. One kind person did over £1000 of damage to our previous car and didn't even stop - it happened overnight so I didn't see it until the morning.

It's all okay.
Have a cup of tea and take some deep breaths.

It all happened really fast. You are a responsible person who was in a tricky situation with how fast the road was. The main priority in any situation is safety and it wasn't safe for you to immediately stop. If you can go back and put a note on the car then you could do that.
If it's not there, then at least you tried. Other than that you have done everything you can.

It's just a blip - its annoying for the person but its no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

101 are not an admin service. This is the kind of thing you are expected to be able to deal with yourself.

You did the right thing for reporting it. If they'd had dash cam footage and you'd just driven off and done nothing, you could be prosecuted, so don't worry about wasting 101's time.

@premiumshoes

101 are not an admin service. This is the kind of thing you are expected to be able to deal with yourself.

This just isn't true.

If you are involved in an accident that involves vehicle damage and don't swap details with the driver, you have to report it to the police within 24h hours.

"If you have an accident causing damage or injury you must give the following to anyone with ‘reasonable grounds for requiring them’, for example an insurance company:

your name and address
the vehicle registration number
You also need to give the owner’s name and address if the vehicle is not yours.

You must report the accident to the police within 24 hours if you do not give your details at the time of the accident."

www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/if-youre-in-an-accident

You should have pulled over straight away as soon as there was a space. Broken wing mirrors can cost £400. I have had numerous ones knocked off and broken due to living on a main road. Your excuses don't wash.

If you are involved in an accident that involves vehicle damage and don't swap details with the driver, you have to report it to the police within 24h hours.

That was my point. OP is responsible for giving her details to the other car owner.

@premiumshoes

If you are involved in an accident that involves vehicle damage and don't swap details with the driver, you have to report it to the police within 24h hours.

That was my point. OP is responsible for giving her details to the other car owner.

Yes, ideally she should have done, but it's not always possible or safe to stop. Nobody was injured and it sounds unlikely that any major damage occurred.

If you don't pull over or get the other drivers' details (not always possible depending on the road and situation at the time) you have to report it to the police within 24 hours. If you don't do either of those things, you ca be prosecuted for fleeing the scene.

I once got involved in a wing mirror crash - on a dark, windy road in the pissing down rain. I pulled over when safe but the other driver was long gone. I couldn't walk back along the road to find him or swap details - there was no pavement or street lighting and it would have been extremely dangerous. I rang the police and reported it and she basically said "there's nothing we can do unless the other driver comes forward but you did the right thing in reporting it". I never heard anything else and just paid for the repair myself.

If it's not safe or practical to stop, or if the other driver doesn't stop, reporting it to the police is the right thing to do.

Oddly enough exactly this same thing happened to my friend a few days ago.

She stopped, put her hazard lights on, the traffic drove around her and she and the other driver swapped details in minutes.

I don't drive but I thought that's the sort of thing you have to do?

@vanillandhoney

The OP is littered with excuses. There is always a way to stop and deal with hitting someone else's car. Absolute bollocks to call the police in the expectation they will 'pass on your details'

[quote premiumshoes]@vanillandhoney

The OP is littered with excuses. There is always a way to stop and deal with hitting someone else's car. Absolute bollocks to call the police in the expectation they will 'pass on your details'[/quote]
You might think it's bollocks but it's the law!

You won't get done for hit and run over a smashed wing mirror. It's anti social though.
If there was damage you need to stop. If not then no need (but can you be certain unless you stop and check?)

@vanillandhoney

I'm not disputing the law.

What I am saying, clearly, is that it was unnecessary for OP to do what she did as she could have dealt with it herself. No police involvement necessary.

[quote premiumshoes]@vanillandhoney

I'm not disputing the law.

What I am saying, clearly, is that it was unnecessary for OP to do what she did as she could have dealt with it herself. No police involvement necessary. [/quote]
Yeah, I don't disagree with you. But as she didn't, she's doing the right thing now by reporting it to the police.

When I was involved in my accident and the other driver drove off, I had no choice but to go straight to the police. There were no witnesses and I had no dash cam, so no way to contact them any other way. In most cases there's no excuse for not stopping but there are occasions when you have no choice (like when the other driver doesn't stop, mainly!).

I once had something similar, only was the victim. I was parked in a road notorious for a rat run and was just coming out of my friend's house, where I'd picked up my DC. This car clipped and broke my wing mirror but didn't stop. I ran after it and found it stopped outside the shops round the corner. When I explained what he'd done, presuming that he hadn't noticed, he came over all aggressive, denied it and said there were no witnesses so it was my word against his and he wouldn't pay. I wasn't thinking straight or would have taken his licence and reported him. So IMO the OP should not be getting stick for trying to do the right thing.

So IMO the OP should not be getting stick for trying to do the right thing.

OP is not getting stick for trying to do the right thing though. The right this is to stop and leave details, not to drive off and get the police to pass them on for you.

Thank you for all of the replies.

@premiumshoes I understand your point, truly I do. I wanted to stop at the time but it was impossible on such a busy road. I suppose I should have parked up as soon as I could however the closest spot was still far from the scene. As I had my baby with me, I didn't particularly want to drag her around in the rain on a solid 10 minute walk searching for a car that may not even still be there. Hence why I hoped I could redeem myself by giving my details to the police, purely in the hope that if the owner of the car I hit reported it, they knew who to contact. It was the best I could do at the time.

I didn’t even know it was a thing to call the police after if you hit a wing mirror.

Most people just carry on driving 🤷🏼‍♀️

It’s just one of those things.

You should have stopped but then you know that.

I was rear ended at a set of traffic lights the other day. It wasn’t a big impact but the man behind had to make an emergency stop (and didn’t make it).

I signalled to him out of the open window to pull over to the side of the road, he gave me a thumbs up, waited for me to pull over and then proceeded to screech past me. With hindsight I should have just blocked the road until I at least had his reg.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the person in the car you hit got out to see where you would stop and instead saw you zoom off. Imagine how they feel.

I think the police have better things to deal with than clipped wing mirrors , “hit and run” 😂 what drama!!
My wing mirror was ripped off on a country lane and the other driver didn’t stop - what a wanker - but I lived to fight another day Did cost me £400 though !!