Asked by Katharine on 27-06-2023 14:09:18
Question posted in the Criminal Law category relating to Western Cape
On Sunday morning, I reversed into a car that was parked in the parking bay behind mine in a road behind a shopping centre. I think that my rear bumper touched their front bumper. I got out and checked, found their car unoccupied, and saw no visible damage to the front of their car or on mine. As I was on a quick local store run, I didn't have my phone with me, or any materials with which to leave a note with my contact details. So, having seen no damage on either vehicle, I departed. I went to the local SAPS the following morning and was told there was no need to report an accident where there were no damages. To be safe and to have some record of the ccident, I attempted to report it online via the eNatis site.
I am worried that this may come back to haunt me, for instance if the incident was recorded on cctv, of which there is plenty in the area, and the owners of the vehicle try to claim for damages that I didn't cause. Any advice on potential next steps would be appreciated.
If you would like to view the entire answer, you will need to either login or register a FREE account.
Disclaimer
DISCLAIMER: Advice or answers from Lawyers on South African Legal Advice are not substitutes for the proper advice of an Lawyer. South African Legal Advice is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Lawyer who assists with your question is not your Lawyer, and the response above is not to be considered to be legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains. The responses above are from individual Lawyers, not South African Legal Advice. The site and services are provided “as is”. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service.