A clear, practical answer
Someone Hit My Parked Car and Left: What to Do
Before you move the car, photograph the damage and the scene, look for witnesses and cameras, report it to the police and tell your insurer. If the other vehicle is identified, that driver's insurance pays. If it is not, the repair falls on your own comprehensive or collision cover, where you have it.
CarQR · Last updated: 1 October 2026
Bu rehberi Türkçe okuThe first ten minutes
You come back to a fresh dent and nobody around. The instinct is to drive off and deal with it later. Don't. Where the car sits, the broken plastic on the ground and the paint left in the dent are the only record of what happened.
Take close shots of the damage and wide shots of the whole car and the street. Photograph debris and any paint transfer. The timestamps matter later.
Check the windscreen and wipers for a note. The other driver may have left their details.
Look for witnesses and cameras
A shopkeeper, a car park attendant or a neighbour may have seen it. Take their name and number. One person who remembers the plate changes everything.
Note any camera that covers the spot. Businesses rarely hand footage to an individual but will release it to the police or an insurer. Most systems overwrite their recordings, so ask quickly.
Report it
With no other driver present there is nobody to exchange details with, so the police report is your evidence. Give them the plate, the witness and the camera location if you have them.
In most countries a driver who damages an unattended vehicle must leave their details or report the collision. Leaving without doing so is an offence, separate from the damage itself.
Who pays
If the other vehicle is identified, the claim goes against that driver's liability insurance.
If it is not, compulsory third-party insurance has nobody to claim from. Comprehensive or collision cover on your own policy pays, usually less your excess, and your no-claims discount may be affected depending on the policy.
Compensation funds for unidentified drivers exist in many countries, but several cover injury only or limit what they pay for vehicle damage. Check the rules where you live, and notify your insurer within the period your policy sets.
If you are the one who hit a parked car
You clipped a parked car and the owner is nowhere. Driving away turns a small repair into an offence. Try to reach the owner, and if you cannot, report it.
A phone number or QR code on the glass makes that easy; a vehicle QR lets you send a prepared damage alert on the spot. Otherwise leave a note with your name and number under the wiper, photograph it, and report the collision.
Hearing about it sooner next time
Some drivers leave not out of malice but because there is no easy way to tell the owner. The same is true of bystanders who saw it happen.
A QR code on the glass gives them one. They scan, send the prepared damage alert, and you hear within minutes instead of hours, while witnesses are still nearby and the footage still exists.
Want to be reachable without writing your number on the car? Create your free vehicle QR code; it takes two minutes.
Step by step
- 1
Photograph before moving
Capture the damage, debris and the car's position from several angles.
- 2
Find witnesses and cameras
Ask nearby businesses, take contact details and note camera locations.
- 3
Report to the police
Give the plate, witness and camera details if you have them.
- 4
Tell your insurer
Submit the report and photos within the period your policy sets.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays if the driver is never found?
Your own comprehensive or collision cover, if you have it. Without it the cost is usually yours; funds for unidentified drivers often exclude or limit vehicle damage.
Do I need a police report to claim?
Insurers normally ask for one when the other party is unknown. Reporting also creates the record needed if the driver is later traced.
How do I get CCTV footage?
Note the camera and the time and give both to the police and your insurer. Operators usually release footage to them and not to an individual, and recordings are overwritten quickly.
Is leaving a note enough if I hit a parked car?
A note shows you tried, but many jurisdictions also require you to report the collision. Photograph the note and report it.
Sources and verification
Use these primary sources to verify the technical and personal-data statements in this guide. Product-specific statements about CarQR describe the working product flow on this site.
- Türkiye Highway Traffic Law No. 2918 (parking: article 61, duties after a collision: article 81) · Karayolları Genel Müdürlüğü
The linked law texts show the version the institution published; later amendments and current penalty amounts may be missing. Use them for what an article covers, and confirm amounts and the current text with the Official Gazette.
This guide is general information, not legal, insurance or technical advice. Laws, penalty amounts, time limits and how authorities apply them change, and vary by place and by case. Not everything here has been confirmed against official sources. Before acting, check the current position with the relevant authority, your insurer or a lawyer. CarQR accepts no liability for the consequences of actions taken on the basis of this content.