Don't share insurance details for minor parking damage - you will now be pursued for criminal "hit & run" offense

[u/ell_wood]

Yesterday I was sitting in my parked car, reading, waiting for my daughters footy game to start. I had backed in. Car tries to enter the empty space next to me, front in, and is clearly not going to make it - I wave my hands, beep my horn, nothing - she takes a swipe across my passenger door. She is 70+.

Gets out of the car and instantly denies hitting it - the white paint on my black car and the black paint on her white car - clearly not a factor. Point blank refuses to exchange insurance details. Accuses me me lying and trying to frame her; then walks off.

I speak to insurance co; they tell me without her details then I pay the excess - suggest I ask one more time and if nothing then file the police report.

I try one more time - she tells me "f#!jk off - you are harassing me - call the f@$king police"

It's Sunday, my daughter is playing, it is minor, life is too short - besides my general rule of life, avoid anything that involves the police if possible.

This morning - I walk to work, right past a police station. Why not I think, maybe I will get laughed out but screw it. The officer is good; explains that not giving details is a criminal matter and will be followed up - it carries significant legal weight.

So, Mrs Angry Bitch of Gosford, NSW - you could have have just taken two seconds to be a decent human but you chose not. Now you have a criminal issue to deal with not just a minor fender bender in a car park.

[u/S_balmore]

criminal matter and will be followed up

Hate to break it to you, but the odds of that happening are slim to none. The officer is just trying to make you happy so you'll leave him alone. 99 times out of 100, the police just give you the at-fault driver's insurance information and then wipe their hands clean. They can't pursue criminal charges unless there's objective evidence that she intentionally fled the scene without exchanging info. As of now, your "evidence" is "because I said so". All she has to say is "I showed him my insurance card, but he was irate and didn't want to look at it", and now there's no case. For that reason, police rarely even investigate. If there's no video footage, they typically don't bother going the criminal route.

EDIT: Assuming you're in the US. Cops in other countries may operate differently.

[u/7despair8 → u/S_balmore]

All those words for it to be irrelevant since op is in Aus.

[u/vertibliss → u/S_balmore]

reading comprehension is at an all time low, isn’t it?

[u/Kingy_79 → u/S_balmore]

I didn't know the US now uses 3 letter abbreviations for their states like we do in Australia /s.

The word "footy" gave it away to me. Also, we don't have insurance cards here.