AIBU after stopping a driver leaving after bumping my car?

[HoldingOnMum]

Just on the school run, strapping my son into the car when there was a noise and my car moved. After my initial "what was that!?" To the kids, I realised the car in front had just bumped into me. I went to tell him he'd just bumped into my car and he needed to share his details, but he said he hadn't and went to drive off, I stood in front of his car and said he couldn't and kept saying he'd hit my car and needed to provide his details. At this point his car is less than an inch from mine, so hard to see if any damage has even occurred.

This went on for 10-15 minutes, he did get out of the car to have a look, while his car was still less than an inch away, but he kept saying no damage, hadn't touched me and refusing to give his details. My kids were both upset and crying for me to come back to the car. At one point i opened his drivers door and sat on his front seat and said he wasn't going anywhere without providing his details, which I know was wrong, but I was determined he wasn't going to just drive off and claim nothing had happened. I got a photo of his registration and he must be a cab driver as he also had a TFL permit.

Someone smashed into me at speed at the beginning of the year and drove off and there was thousands of pounds of damage, so I didn’t want him to leave without giving his details in case there is hidden damage.

Eventually a couple of other parents stopped and the driver gave me his details, he moved his car forward first and took lots of photos, said there was no damage and he had a camera, so I told him that was great and he'd have footage of him driving into me.

We're all home now and kids are fine but I'm still worked up and angry / upset / embarrassed. Half the school probably drove past while I was yelling at him that he'd hit my car and needed to share his details. I feel like I'm on the verge of a breakdown as it is, and this just feels like another thing tipping me over.

How do normal people react when someone crashes into them!? Should I have just let him drive off? What should I do next? Call him and ask if he's checked his footage and seen he did actually hit me? Find out if he's reported to his insurance? If there is no damage I guess there is no point reporting it myself as it will just increase my insurance premium.

@HoldingOnMum on the basis it seems to imply there was no damage, then the sensible thing to do would be just to inspect the cars, state there was no damage, then go on with your day. No big deal.

Yes he absolutely shouldn't have driven of, but by the sounds of it, it was just a tiny nudge, there was no damage, so your actions were bordering on a little unhinged.

Why did she make a fool of herself ? She knew he had hit the car - him leaving the scene would have been an offence in itself. I would have insisted on swapping details and would have had the car checked for hidden damage. Men need to know they can’t get away with this entitled shit. The only thing OP did wrong was getting in his car - I have to admit, that was incredibly stupid.

Her description of how she reacted.. embarrassing.

Thing is, you didn’t need his details. You just give the registration to your insurance company and they do the rest. You can also report him for a hit and run and the police take care of it. No need whatsoever to do anything else.

No she didn't..she stood her ground. He was an entitled bullying arse.

All this to make a point when there was no damage.

No I would never had acted like a fool, greatly upsetting my kids when the likelihood of any damage was very low considering you could look, even if there was only an inch between the cars.

So he barely bumped your car and you created a massive drama and even sat in his car demanding his details?

I can't imagine even giving a toss about something like this - minor no-damage bumps happen all the time, it's no big deal.

Was there any damage?

I would have taken a photo of him and his reg plate and contacted the police. Your insurance company would be able to track him with just the reg number.

Everything else wasn’t really necessary and it sounded like it distressed your dc far money than necessary. They should have been your priority, especially as you had all of the information you needed for the police/insurance company.

I thought that if they didn't exchange details with you, you had a legal duty to report the collision to the police?
and even if they did exchange, you're supposed to report all collisions that lead to injury (to anyone other than the driver who caused the collision)?

Most police forces have a way you can do this online (it's not necessarily considered an 'emergency' that requires you to call 999!)

So YANBU to have insisted on this. And therefore saved yourself that chore.

That only applies if there was damage. If there was no damage to either vehicle, there's nothing to report. Not that the police care anyway, they'll just refer you to your insurer unless someone was injured.

You can’t always see damage. I had a gentle nudge from a car, didn’t seem to be any damage, assumed the bumper had done its job. Turned out the boot could no longer open, something had been nudged out of alignment, and it needed a proper repair.

No she acted like an idiot it was completely unnecessary

Perhaps money doesn't come easy to the OP, and she thought that if he drove off, and she discovered hidden damage, it would end up costing her money which she doesn't have, remember the cars were only about an inch apart so no one could actually see at that point if there was any damage? Maybe her car is her pride and joy, maybe she just bought the car, maybe she's never had her car damaged by anyone before, or maybe, she was just hot and bothered as we've all been for the last few days, and over reacted, but whatever her reasons for behaving as she did, it really doesn't need you lot to pile on calling her names. I really don't understand why people can't just say that in their opinion it was a mistake to act as she did, rather than name calling, so maybe we're ALL a bit unhinged this week due to the heat?