The other day my car was (lawfully) parallel parked on the street near my office. It was the last in a long line of parked cars, and there was a good 3 feet or so between it and the car in front.

The person parked directly ahead of my car went to exit her parking spot. As she backed up, she crashed into the front of my car. Not terribly fast, but hard enough that her SUV rode up on top of my bumper and caused about $500-600 damage to my car.

What would be the correct HTA offense to apply in this case? Careless driving seems a bit harsh, but is there a more appropriate charge?

Possibly start from stopped position not in safety 142(2). Usual $110 fine and 2 demerit points.

Hello.

I agree carless would be harsh; not that it matters though as people are charged with it all the time for small transgressions such as this. If the other driver is accepting responsibility, and perhaps offering to fix the damage, is a charge even necessary? I don't think every collision should result in a charge, or become a matter for police involvement if people can work out an agreement. I trust that frequently people learn the needed lesson; when charges are then laid too, it costs the system a lot to collect the $110 for the ticket, and people learn additional lessons....like not helping police or answering questions and distrust.

287 wrote:

Hello.

I agree carless would be harsh; not that it matters though as people are charged with it all the time for small transgressions such as this. If the other driver is accepting responsibility, and perhaps offering to fix the damage, is a charge even necessary? I don't think every collision should result in a charge, or become a matter for police involvement if people can work out an agreement. I trust that frequently people learn the needed lesson; when charges are then laid too, it costs the system a lot to collect the $110 for the ticket, and people learn additional lessons....like not helping police or answering questions and distrust.

No, I don't think a charge is always necessary. But I'm wondering what the appropriate charge might be in a case like this.

There is nowhere near enough parking available where I work, so everyone takes to street parking and bumps like this are an everyday occurrence. A guy I know had his car smashed into a few weeks ago and, when he reported it to the city police, the officer said he was prepared to charge the other driver with fail to remain (!!). Wow!! That's a 7-point offense, right up there with running from the cops in terms of severity!! In the end I doubt the other driver was charged with anything so severe, but that's what the cop said he was prepared to do.