Everyone gets in a hurry from time to time. You may find yourself late for work or late for class if you are a student at the University of West Georgia and jump into your vehicle in hopes of making it just in time. Of course, getting in a hurry while behind the wheel of a vehicle could spell trouble.
When trying to get somewhere fast, you may find yourself cutting corners when it comes to safe driving. You may forget to check your blind spots or quickly back out of a parking space without looking. In such cases, you could easily end up colliding with another vehicle, possibly even an unoccupied, parked vehicle. Because you are in a hurry, it may cross your mind to simply drive off, especially if no major damage occurred.
Hit and run
If you strike another vehicle, even an unoccupied one, and leave the scene without providing your information, you have committed a hit and run. Therefore, you may want to understand your legal duties in this type of situation. If no injuries resulted from the incident, you should first attempt to identify and contact the owner of the other vehicle.
In some cases this action may prove difficult, and if you cannot find the owner, you should leave a written notice that includes your name and contact information, information about your vehicle, and your license plate number. Additionally, it may be in your best interests to contact police and file a report regardless of whether you locate the owner of the other vehicle.
Additional actions
In some cases, the possibility exists that someone may attempt to claim that you left the scene without fulfilling your legal duties even if you did. Therefore, it may also be wise to take the time to record the incident in the following ways:
- Taking pictures of the incident, including damage done to the vehicles and of the scene itself
- Writing down when and where the accident took place
- Talking to anyone who witnessed the incident and taking down their contact information
- Informing your insurance company of the accident
This information could come in handy in the event that you end up facing charges for a hit and run accident should someone attempt to make a claim against you. Of course, in the event that you do face such allegations, it may be in your best interests to have a legal professional on your side to help you combat the charges.