I'm very interested in knowing how this case proceeds. There have been other cases here with their car being keyed or paint damage from an adjacent door opening, but this is one of the first cases with light damage to a bumper. I've been wondering whether or not police consider there to be an "acceptable" level of contact and light scratching from an adjacent car. In NYC, if you look around, most bare bumpers have relative ranges of damage from very light to severe, depending on the number of years the car has been left on the streets. I've been reluctant to park the car on the street at all because I know that drivers here are simply not mindful of bumper contact - it's almost part of the regular parking process. People spend up to 30 minutes an evening looking for parking, and when they finally find a spot, they're going to make their way in, even if they've got to force their cars in. It seems to me like we need better self-healing bumper designs, like an application of heat to smooth away small punctures and paint finish. I'm sure the first company to create and patent this technology will make a good fortune!
Wow, so aggravating seeing people who don't give a crap about other peoples' hard-earned property. She even has a sly look when she's getting stuff out of the back. Doubly-tragic to see she has a kid who she'll probably also teach not to give a crap about other people. Please please punish this to the max, both for your trouble and also to save other people from this incredibly incompetent driving, it's not like it was a tiny space or a difficult maneuver. If I were in charge she'd be forced to go get her license again.
I don’t want to deal with putting it through my insurance company. The local police were happy to get involved once I told them the video showed the license plate and driver’s face. They didn’t care that it was a private parking lot. I already provided the video to them and filed a report. I’m not exactly sure what they’re going to do, since I doubt this qualifies as hit-and-run. But, the officer did say there would be a report and I’d be able to get her insurance info. With that and the video I should be able to make a claim against her insurance.
Living in a state where it's required to display a front plate, I generally had felt like it's a stupid law. Now, however......
Interesting. I'm sure you have verifiable statistics to back up that "FACT". My wife says the same thing about male drivers.
OP, thanks for the post. I'm also interested to see how this turns out. I bet Stevie Wonder drives better than that !!! She seems really inexperienced and hardly knows how to open a back door, much less drive the car. She did look at the corner of your car, so seems to realize she may have scrapped it. She didn't look at the front of her bumper though. Maybe she doesn't care what happens to her car.
So the hit on the bumper was light enough your sentry mode did not go off. If that's the case I'm thinking sentry mode may not go off from a door ding.
You have her plates so the police can definitely get her information. Keep us posted on how this gets resolved.
Yup. Damage may not be enough to be worth it. But a comprehensive damage claim with the video info and they should be able to work with the at fault party and cover everything. If the other route doesn't pan out. Heck, the more this happens it might result in lowered insurance rates.
Doesn’t get much more incriminating than that. License plate, the scuff on her bumper, and clear view of her face. The only thing better would have been her holding her drivers license up to the camera.
I’m not sure how my insurance company would identify her with just a plate number? Seems like something the police have to do. They took my report very seriously, so I’m hopeful. I doubt I’ll actually have the bumper repainted. Most of the damage should buff out, other than a couple small spots on the edge where the paint chipped off. So, I’ll probably just pocket any money I get. Given that, I don’t want to deal with my insurance and deductible. They look for any excuse to raise rates.
Didn't seem like a very experienced driver. Started her turn-in far too late, and never realized she was too close until she actually scraped your car. THEN, she backs up and straightens out. I mean, if she was going to back up and straighten out, she could have done it before hitting you. Either careless, or just not an experienced driver, not to realize that she was going to hit you.
Can’t believe I’m going to say this, but while watching the video part of me wished my state would require front license plates.