A Minor Mishap -- a Major Problem?

What is the name of your state? Ohio

The situation:

I was stopped at a red light. Suddenly there was a bump from behind. I get out in the street, and the driver and her husband quickly agree to follow me to a nearby parking lot and out of traffic.

At the parking lot, the husband is irate. He insists that I crept backward into his car. I was sure that they bumped mine. Nevertheless, he calms down when it is clear that there is no damage to my rear bumper or his front bumper, because whatever it was, must have happened at 2 mph. He shows me a slightly depressed area on his front bumper about 1 inch wide and says "that's what you did." I am skeptical so I say nothing. He opens his hood (his car has been running the whole time) and flexes his front bumper to look for cracks. I flex my rear bumper, too, and see no problems. Several times I suggested that we exchange information, and his wife also suggested this a few times. The police were never called, and no witnesses presented themselves (which, of course, does not mean that they don't exist).

When it was obvious to both parties that this was just a minor mishap, they said that they were satisfied and drove away, even though I still wanted to exchange information.

We do not have each others' names, driver license numbers, or insurance information. I remembered their license plate number and wrote it down, and would not be surprised if they did the same for mine.

When I got home I began to worry, so I took a picture of my rear bumper to show that there was no damage.

The questions:

Can they come after me? Is there any conceivable way to turn what is honestly a minor incident into a terrible nightmare?

I think that even if they traced my license plate number or tried to file a report, since no officers were called to the scene, it would be a case of he said/she said. And although they could always claim fradulent damages, either physical or personal, it obviously was not bad enough to call the police when it happened, and I have photographs of my undamaged rear bumper.

Then again, could they decide to make trouble and claim that it was a hit and run, or something like that?

After reading some of the horror stories on this board, I'm scared. Any suggestions?

Relax

tomahawkpilot said:

What is the name of your state? Ohio

The situation:

I was stopped at a red light. Suddenly there was a bump from behind. I get out in the street, and the driver and her husband quickly agree to follow me to a nearby parking lot and out of traffic.

At the parking lot, the husband is irate. He insists that I crept backward into his car. I was sure that they bumped mine. Nevertheless, he calms down when it is clear that there is no damage to my rear bumper or his front bumper, because whatever it was, must have happened at 2 mph. He shows me a slightly depressed area on his front bumper about 1 inch wide and says "that's what you did." I am skeptical so I say nothing. He opens his hood (his car has been running the whole time) and flexes his front bumper to look for cracks. I flex my rear bumper, too, and see no problems. Several times I suggested that we exchange information, and his wife also suggested this a few times. The police were never called, and no witnesses presented themselves (which, of course, does not mean that they don't exist).

When it was obvious to both parties that this was just a minor mishap, they said that they were satisfied and drove away, even though I still wanted to exchange information.

We do not have each others' names, driver license numbers, or insurance information. I remembered their license plate number and wrote it down, and would not be surprised if they did the same for mine.

When I got home I began to worry, so I took a picture of my rear bumper to show that there was no damage.

The questions:

Can they come after me? Is there any conceivable way to turn what is honestly a minor incident into a terrible nightmare?
Anyone can come after anyone else. It doesn't mean they can prove anything.
I think that even if they traced my license plate number or tried to file a report, since no officers were called to the scene, it would be a case of he said/she said. You are correct.

Although they could always claim fradulent damages, either physical or personal, it obviously was not bad enough to call the police when it happened, and I have photographs of my undamaged rear bumper.
Anyone can claim anything. Doesn't mean they can prove it.
Then again, could they decide to make trouble and claim that it was a hit and run, or something like that?
Yes.
After reading some of the horror stories on this board, I'm scared. Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Relax. My advice is to keep a disposable camera in your glove box for these types of circumstances. That way you could have taken a pic of his bumper as well. But don't worry. Even if they file a claim, they'd still have to prove it, which is tough to do without a police report or witnesses.

Thank you so much for your response, InsuranceLadyAZ. I stayed up half the night thinking and worrying.

During the time we argued about the situation in the parking lot, the other party claimed that I rolled backward into their front bumper. Being scared and surprised at the moment, and not yet knowing that there was no damage, I just remembered the cardnal rule: never apologize, never admit to anything. And after they explained their version of events, I guess I was pretty confused about what actually happened.

So I drove back today to the same intersection. The road leading up to it is indeed on an incline, such that a car behind mine would be at a lower elevation. The grade is constant along the stretch of road.

I tested their hypothesis. After making sure the area was clear and I was not impeding traffic (it was not a busy time of day), I stopped my vehicle on the slope, and then let go of the brake.

My car moved forward, up the incline.

It moved forward much faster than I expected, because the grade of the road was really so gentle. I even tested the car on steeper roads, and the most I could get, when releasing the brake, was a car that inched forward slowly or stayed put.

It is clear to me now that they rear-ended me, although at a very slow speed.

tomahawkpilot said:

Thank you so much for your response, InsuranceLadyAZ. I stayed up half the night thinking and worrying.

During the time we argued about the situation in the parking lot, the other party claimed that I rolled backward into their front bumper. Being scared and surprised at the moment, and not yet knowing that there was no damage, I just remembered the cardnal rule: never apologize, never admit to anything. And after they explained their version of events, I guess I was pretty confused about what actually happened.

So I drove back today to the same intersection. The road leading up to it is indeed on an incline, such that a car behind mine would be at a lower elevation. The grade is constant along the stretch of road.

I tested their hypothesis. After making sure the area was clear and I was not impeding traffic (it was not a busy time of day), I stopped my vehicle on the slope, and then let go of the brake.

My car moved forward, up the incline.

It moved forward much faster than I expected, because the grade of the road was really so gentle. I even tested the car on steeper roads, and the most I could get, when releasing the brake, was a car that inched forward slowly or stayed put.

It is clear to me now that they rear-ended me, although at a very slow speed.

Click to expand...

My heavens! What would you do if you were involved in a really serious accident?

You've got to relax. Don't you know stress can kill you? Pour yourself a drink (and don't drive afterwards!) and chill the heck out!!!