tomahawkpilot
Junior Member
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?
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?