Accident.... Hit and Run?

[PatrickShim]

- I was in West LA for a lunch yesterday, and parked on the street.
- I returned from the lunch, I noticed there is a black Merc. C300 parked in front of my car, just inches bumper to bumper.
- Talked to a security at the nearby business, and he said he saw the black Merc. hitting my car twice. No alarm.
- No noticeable damage on neither cars... not even a small chip. Looked fine.
- I drove off (the space behind me was empty, so it was easy for me to get out)
- I got on the street, and my left-side blinker fell out of the car, only attached by the wires...
- I drove back to the scene and looking carefully at my front clam, there was a very very fine crack under the starshield...

Now I'm pissed.

- I called the LAPD... well, the problem is the "LAPD" covers such a large area, I didn't know who to call.
- After Googling several different sites in my Blackberry, I found the main 800 #. (877-ASK-LAPD)
- I called and they patched me to the West LA division
- I told them about what happened, and they said they will send someone over "right away".
- I had to wait almost two hours... and also called them 4x. I know it's not an emergency, but it was quite ridiculous.
- The entire time, the black Merc was still there, no sight of the owner.

Finanlly the officer came out. He was a really nice guy, and who was really interested in learning about Lotus. He considered the case as "hit-and-run", as the owner of the black Merc. didn't leave me a note. He talked to the witness (the security guy) and spent a meaningful amount of time taking notes, taking pictures, etc.

I made it clear that I have NOTHING against the owner of the black Merc, and although it's technically a hit-and-run, I don't want the person to get in any trouble (misdemeanor?) I wanted to have the police report, only for the insurance purposes.

So yeah... that's the deal.... damaged front clam. time to get a new clam again...

[Tracktimeplz]

You should press charges....anyone who cant park a c300 shouldnt be allowed on the road


Sorry, and good luck!

[catapult]

That sucks. Hopefully the damage isn't too bad. Lots of drivers parallel park by kissing up against the cars on either side of them. I think there is a presumption that cars can take this without thinking that perhaps the car they're bashing into doesn't have bumpers.

[Cardinal]

People these days have no scruples. They just damage peoples' property and that's OK.

[Chris Mackey]

That sucks. Sorry, dude.

[MattG]

Originally Posted by Cardinal

People these days have no scruples. They just damage peoples' property and that's OK.

But it sounds like the damage wasn't very evident, just a very fine crack? The Mercedes driver was probably just assuming it was a light tap, common for any car that's parallel parked and generally fine. Even if the Mercedes driver looked at the Elise, sounds like no damage would have been noticed by a casual observer. I think it's reasonable to expect light taps from neighboring cars when parallel parking.

[shokwaves]

Bumpers give people the feel that it's ok to do the small bump when parking, but most don't know that bumping our cars can cause major damage. It really sucks that our cars are so so fragile. You really have to watch where you park. That's just reality.

[PatrickShim]

I might install brush-guards....

[MattG]

Originally Posted by PatrickShim

I might install brush-guards....

If integrated with some racing strips on your car, it might even look good, in a Mad Max sort of way...

[Demonized]

Don't the new C series Benz' BEEP loudly when you get close to stuff?

[def]

Sucks. But, you broke lotus rule #143: don't parallel park. Bring another car if thats the only option.


I know some will say I'm crazy for always abiding by this rule, but its not worth it.

[sleeprfocus]

It's considered hit and run if your car's still parked there and you didn't leave a note? Damn... sucks to be that Mercedes owner. That's a pretty serious note on your driving record when the Merc driver clearly had no intention of leaving the scene of the crime

[Demonized]

Originally Posted by sleeprfocus

It's considered hit and run if your car's still parked there and you didn't leave a note? Damn... sucks to be that Mercedes owner. That's a pretty serious note on your driving record when the Merc driver clearly had no intention of leaving the scene of the crime

Worse yet, probably didn't even think there was a crime at all.

But, I still think it's deserved, ignorance is no excuse.

[PatrickShim]

Originally Posted by sleeprfocus

It's considered hit and run if your car's still parked there and you didn't leave a note? Damn... sucks to be that Mercedes owner. That's a pretty serious note on your driving record when the Merc driver clearly had no intention of leaving the scene of the crime

The police officer told me that when the DA calls me, just tell him that it wasn't a big deal. That way he is not in trouble, but i still have the police report for the insurance claim.

Again, I have nothing against the guy, so I have no intention to get him in trouble.

[Stormy320]

Dude - he f'ed you. Press charges.

[Aedo]

Originally Posted by catapult

That sucks. Hopefully the damage isn't too bad. Lots of drivers parallel park by kissing up against the cars on either side of them. I think there is a presumption that cars can take this without thinking that perhaps the car they're bashing into doesn't have bumpers.

I think this is a result of the 5mph (now 2.5mph) bumper law - everyone knows it is in place and some take it as a licence to park by braille

Originally Posted by MattG

.... I think it's reasonable to expect light taps from neighboring cars when parallel parking.

I don't think its reasonable - especially today with most new cars equipped with reversing sensors - it is just lazy and ignorant.

[tranquility]

I'd press charges, no mercy. Who is the idiot who made up the stupid rule of touching/bumping cars when parallel parking? That is one disgustingly bs 'rule'. If one cannot drive/park a car w/o hitting another car (unless it's not their fault), then that person should not be allowed to drive, period. How can one not tell their distance from another car when parking? These ppl are just too damn lazy and/or inconsiderate.

Cars are supposed to have invisible shields surrounding themselves; they are NOT supposed to touch, ever!

[kmt63]

this is the reason that i never ever parallel park my lotus.if i park it somewhere other than my house.its 100 yards from any other car.people these days just dont give a damn for other peoples property.my daily driver has dings all over it from lame people bashing there doors into it.i think the guy in the merc should at least have the fault on his insurance and pay the price.not you.

[lt0302]

Originally Posted by kmt63

this is the reason that i never ever parallel park my lotus.if i park it somewhere other than my house.its 100 yards from any other car.people these days just dont give a damn for other peoples property.my daily driver has dings all over it from lame people bashing there doors into it.i think the guy in the merc should at least have the fault on his insurance and pay the price.not you.

And I would go as far as setting up a Claymore field surrounding my car.....just in case!

[ruggedbert]

Shave the side markers, fills the pointless body lines, and shave the license plate provision off the front of your new clam. Turn that frown upside down.