To think it was not an overreaction to call the police?

[hottubwhocares]

We were out today at a family event. We were parked up in the car park of the venue and were getting in our cars to travel home. There was a man parked next to us in the (relatively narrow) bays, window down, chatting to his girlfriend. He was there when we came out and approached our car.

DD age 8 was getting into the back passenger side of our car, so on the same side as his car. I was on the other/driver’s side. As I was getting in, I heard DD start to scream. Basically the man next to us had started to move his car forward and his back wheel had run over the back of her ankle/foot.

I immediately ran round the back of the car, picked her up, helped her into the back seat and took her shoe and sock off to have a look. The top layer of skin had come off and it looked bruised so I went round to his car, said sorry, I think you have hurt her so I am going to need your details.

He and his girlfriend then said ‘Why? I haven’t done anything wrong’. I asked if he was refusing and he said he ‘didn’t even know what happened’ and started mouthing off.

So, I called 999 and of course the second he heard I was on the phone to the police, he started offering his details.

Two police cars then attended. DH is furious with me and says I completely overreacted as DD’s injury was minor (scrapes and bruises) and I ‘see the worst in everyone’. I am very upset about his lack of support when our child was hurt and upset.

FWIW I would never move my own car when a child was down the side and if I had ever done anything like this I certainly wouldn’t be mouthing off at the parent of the injured child!

So, was it an overreaction to call the police?

If the driver had been drinking? You could say that 'if' about anyone on the road! Talk about dramatising.

Of course the police attended. They have a hysterical mum on the phone saying her child's been run over and the man's driving off! How could they not attend?

But the way it's described it was an accident and the guy didn't realise his tyre had scraped her foot.

Yes it was bad (on the driver and on the mum), yes report it by all means, but it is not an emergency.

So reflect on what 999 is for, when 101 should be used, and when a similar situation in a carpark arising again keep the young child with you.

No you haven't overreacted,because people that don't provide their details usually have something to hide although it can work both ways people say there's an incident when it has either not happened or it's been caused by the person wanting to make a claim. I work in fraud specifically road traffic incidents and I kid you not the amount of fake number plates are unreal and fake identity. Although 999 is for serious emergency if he was driving off then yes definitely call no chance with 111 and this is a child. I advise everyone to get front and rear dash cams due to the volume of induced collisions we see, although in this case it wouldn't have caught it. Wherever you were parked check for cameras in the area there's usually highways cameras if you call the highways England they can hold the footage for the police and police can request it but it's only held for 30 days if you don't make a request so be quick. I hope your child is ok and foot ok

I love how you are letting your imagine run havoc and adding a whole load of unlikely scenerios!

There was no mention by the OP of any drinking.

She said she asked for his details and he said he didn't even know what he had done.

Yes, report it. But on 101 not 999.

Imagine if everytime someone saw someone speeding, cutting someone up, road rage, all the things people driving sadly see every day, 999 would be inundated with non emergency calls. All of those situations could be someone whose been drinking / drugs / loud music / distracted in any way your imagination allows and could, could, potentially lead to an accident.

And yes, it is the drivers responsibility, and he is the one at fault. However, we all know how many accidents happen. If the space is narrow, the cars occupied, just stay a minute or use the other door.

I think it’s understandable that this was your reaction and also the guy needed to be taught a lesson. Non emergency may not have responded and what if the car didn’t belong to him? The reg would have been useless. Your DH should be more understanding about your reaction. I agree with others that services are stretched etc but it really is understandable that you reacted in this way and that you didn’t want him to get away with it. So many people these days are not held accountable for their actions. I hope your DD is ok

No, not an overreaction at all IMO. Your child had been injured, and if he's stupid enough to move a vehicle with a person in that close proximity, he might also be stupid enough to not have insurance l, be driving without MOT etc.

Either there's a lot of men on here or a lot of women really hate other women.

Both.

I would have no problem with what you did. Entirely appropriate.

Refusing to give details after running over a child - 999 issue

999 is when you need a response right away, it doesn't mean it has to be a life or death emergency. But people here are funny about calling police or ambulances. I've seen people here told they are time wasting going to A & E with symptoms that could definitely be something serious.

I remember once a pregnant woman who was alone and literally so ill she couldn't move being told she was a time waster for calling an ambulance, so I wouldn't pay much attention to people scolding you on here for calling 999.

100% a police matter; your husband needs to 'man up'...

If he reversed over someone’s foot and didn’t even notice he is a crap driver. When you told him he had hurt your daughter, he should have been apologising and rethinking his use of mirrors in the car! I don’t think you over reacted. Your husband should have backed you up and offered comfort to his daughter rather than criticising you and being on the side of a random man.

Shocked by the amount of people saying it was not a police issue. An idiot tried to run over her daughter! The only other option would of been for herself or husband to get into an altercation with the driver

Jeez, he didn't "try to run over her daughter", he accidentally ran over the back of her foot while she was getting in to her mums car, next to his car, it sounds like she stepped back to move around the door to get in at the same time as he pulled forward, he should have been paying attention to the child who had just walked down the side of his car, but there is absolutely NOTHING in what op has said that makes it look like he did it on purpose!!

For someone denying doing anything and refusing to give details while a child is there screaming in pain and quite obviously injured though, it was totally correct for OP to call the police.

If someone reacts badly to being asked for their details after an accident, then it's a reasonable assumption that there is a reason for this. It's standard practice and his insurance most likely requires him to notify them anyway. Reacting the way he did suggests something to hide and it's not an overreaction. It's risk management. Even if there was no alcohol at the party or the OP had not witnessed the man drinking alcohol, it's still possible he could be under the influence. I know of someone who worked at a school, who left work and drove to her children's school, was stopped and found to be significantly over the limit. If he was unaware of what had happened when a child that was next to his vehicle is in tears, he was then that's even more concerning.

Your comments to the OP were inappropriate and unkind. You comment about my imagination when you have imagined a range of scenarios to create an excuse for a man that failed to properly check or incorrectly judged the room to move before he started moving his vehicle.

Some of the scenarios you state are not 999, but can be 999 issues. You don't need to be held at knife point to call 999. The operator seemed satisfied that it was OK to call 999. The police would not have attended so quickly if they felt it was not a 999 issue. It's not OK to call 999 to report something that has happened but is no longer ongoing. This was an ongoing situation. I see a number of situations where people should have called 999 but don't because they are made to feel they shouldn't make a fuss. It's just as unhelpful to be telling people to only restrict 999 to life and death situations as it is to call 999 inappropriately.

You just seem to want to lay into the OP. It's absurd that you are desperate to tell her she is in the wrong but create excuses for the man driving the car.

Actually police should be notified of all accidents but doesn't need to be done at the time. You have 24 hours to report

So car didn't run over her foot/ankle. It's caught the heel of her shoe then scraped the back of her foot when she pulled it free? Semantics but important ones

I hope you dd is OK. There's not much use questioning if you should orr shouldn't call the police as its a decision you can only make if your there at the time.

A woman in our local area drove her car to the GP practice when she thought she was having a heart attack because she didn't want to make a fuss. It was so bad that she just stopped the car in the middle of the car park to get into the doctors. She was having a heart attack. The message you shouldn't make a fuss is just as damaging as calling an ambulance for a sprained ankle. She was lucky she made it safely to the GP's without hurting herself or others.

The call to the police helped bring the situation under control. Had the OP not called the police, it could have escalated. We will never know because it was brought into control. That is what the police want, to stop potential issues escalating. This is part of their role.

Wow! The guy ran over a small child’s foot with evidence. The man refused to share details and everyone seems so casual. This is a dangerous driver.

Did he see your daughter before moving??
What did Police say??
If you were that concerned, did you take DD to a&E on way home??

Once you had matey boys details, police could of followed up later. What did she suggest doing

Yes, exactly. Funny how many MNetters are better informed and qualified than the police call handler

It was easy enough to infer from the OP's post that the dispatcher thought it was a police matter and needed a fast response.

Exactly!!
To say she was run over by a car is being very dramatic!!!

Have some of you saying it was an overreaction/calling the OP a 'hysterical mother' etc not seen the post from an actual call handler?

There are obviously an awful lot of mums on here who don’t give a damn about their kids.
OK, she might not have seemed badly injured…at first. However, who’s to say that the damage wasn’t worse that first thought? Sometimes shock alone can mask the pain of a more serious injury.

The actions of the driver however, would/should certainly raise concerns with a call handler and a police officer (mum to two police officers here).

Personally I wouldn't have let my 8 year old get in the car on the other side. You're lucky she never flung the door open and hit their car (which is what mine would do).