Car with a broken front due to an accident
Nobody wants to be involved in a car accident. Even if you’re fortunate enough to survive a motor accident without a scratch, dealing with the damage to your car and sorting out details with other parties involved is just a headache that we can all definitely live without.

But what happens if the other parties don’t fulfil their responsibilities to you and drive away without swapping details? In Australia, hit and runs are considered to be a legal offence and penalties may be given in the form of a fine and demerit points.

However, this justice to the perpetrator of hit and run offences doesn’t always translate to justice for their victim/s. So what can you do to make sure you have the strongest possible chance of experiencing a fair outcome if you’re involved in a hit and run?

We’ll be answering just that question today by sharing what you should do if you’re in a motor collision where the other party has fled, leaving you in the lurch.

Make sure you have a comprehensive insurance policy

There are a few reasons why comprehensive car insurance is considered to be the best type of car insurance policy. For starters, comprehensive policies are designed to cover both your vehicle as well as third party vehicles/property in the event that you’re found at fault for a collision. But did you know that comprehensive insurance policies may also provide you with cover if you’re the victim of a hit and run?

Yes, making a claim with your insurance provider may still be a touch tricky if you don’t have the licence number or insurance information of the party who is at fault, but your comprehensive car insurance policy is still designed at a minimum to cover the costs of damage accrued by your vehicle in an incident where you definitely weren’t at fault.

For instance, if your car was hit while stationary in a car park or while it was street parked, then it’s only logical to assume that you weren’t at fault. All you need to do is provide evidence that your car was hit while stationary. If your car park has CCTV cameras, finding that evidence will be easy enough. Similarly, if you have a dashcam in your car that’s triggered to activate upon registering a collision, you’ll also be able to secure evidence from this source.

How do third party insurance policies compare? Well, sadly, third party policyholders can usually only make a claim if they have secured information from the party that is at fault. So if you’re involved in a hit and run and have a third party insurance policy, you may need to cover the costs of damage to your car independently.

Report the incident to local police

Even if your insurance policy doesn’t cover hit and runs, you can still make sure the perpetrator is brought to justice. Doing so can actually help reduce the frequency of hit and run incidents across Australia, as it reinforces that simply driving away won’t actually allow them to evade their responsibilities as a driver.

Once you’ve checked in with your fellow passengers or other drivers that were affected by the hit and run driver to ensure that nobody has accrued any injuries, your best foot forward is to report the incident to local police, so that they can file a report on what happened, and get a potential idea of the defendant.

If the perpetrator has already driven away but you have their number plates memorised, then you can call the Police Assistance Line (131 444) for non-urgent reporting nationwide. If the perpetrator is stuck in traffic and cannot drive away, however, or if a victim has accrued injuries and is in need of immediate medical attention, then you can call 000 to secure police or ambulance services at the scene as soon as possible.

It’s also best to call local authorities straight away, as your call can also act as a timestamp of the incident. That, and relaying details while your memory is still fresh is vital to ensuring that police have all the details they need to bring the perpetrator to justice.

Assist any injuries

Aside from getting details to help with your repairs or damage claim, there are legal factors when it comes to any traffic accident. One particularly important responsibility is that you must assist in any injuries that result from the accident. Not doing so can incur suspension of your licence or even fines, depending on the severity of the injuries left untreated.

Once again, remember to call 000, and make sure that you are safe before assisting others. You can't reasonably help others if you’re badly injured yourself. What you can do, however, is make sure emergency services arrive at the scene promptly.

Of course, it’s quite understandable if you find yourself in a fair state of shock after the incident. Chances are your passengers or other drivers may also take a moment before they’re emotionally equipped to respond. Just do what you can to stay calm and present to ensure that any injured parties are seen to as promptly as possible.

Take photos both for insurance and for repairs

Finally, it’s wise to take photos of any type of damage that has been made to your vehicle. By taking a photographic record with photo timestamps aligning with the time and date of the accident in question, you can help support your insurance claim and strengthen your chances of attaining a swift and fair resolution.

Provided your vehicle isn't a total write-off, taking plenty of photos of the damage also helps repair specialists like panel beaters to better assess the damage and estimate relevant costs. This can be particularly important for third party insurance claimants, as while comprehensive insurance may cover the costs of repairs to your vehicle, third party policyholders will likely need to shop around and secure a few quotes for repairs independently.

So if you’re free from injuries, have called the police, and are currently just surveying the scene of the crime, then be sure to pull out your camera and snap those valuable shots to support your insurance claim and police report.

Conclusion

To recap, if you are involved in a minor hit-and-run accident, remember to:

Check for injuries to yourself and others, both for safety and legal reasons.
Report the incident and exchange details with police.
Contact your insurer to discuss the pay out on your insurance and remember to take photographs to support your insurance claim and police report.

And finally, to avoid future incidents, our best tip is naturally to rent a secure parking spot in a car park facility that does maintain CCTV surveillance. Parking your car in a garage or secured car park when not in use can drastically reduce your risks of falling victim to a hit and run incident, as most hit and run incidents actually impact cars that are parked in unsecured positions on the street or in public parking lots. Protect your vehicle by ensuring that you always park securely and in environments that will provide plenty of support in the unlikely event that your vehicle is hit by another driver who has then fled the scene.