Auntie, this is a rhetorical question – Why would some XXX scrape up the rear end of your truck (in a parking lot) and then just leave the scene with a smile on their face (because they hadn’t been caught?) In my case, I possibly have CCTV footage which will identify that XXX, so be expecting a call from me or the police! This reminds me of when I was learning to drive and I accidentally hit a car mirror – I left a note with my contact details and apology and later paid for the damage. What happened to morals in our society today? Why are people so wicked to do these things and smile as they leave the scene?


Auntie’s answer: I know you said this was a rhetorical question, but this is a topic that I feel very strongly about, so I am going to weigh in.

Like you, I find it appalling that some people seem to believe that if no one sees their indiscretion that gives them the right to simply drive away. I cannot even say how many times I have returned to my parked car to find a new and obvious dent, nick or scratch, where it would defy logic that the offending driver was not aware of what he or she had done. When that happens, I often feel more upset by the complete lack of consideration and ethics clearly displayed by the other driver than by the actual damage to my car.

And before any readers suggest that if I were the person causing the damage I might be tempted to do a runner, I have been in that position twice and both times I left a note and my contact details on the other car’s windscreen. The first time, my son nicked the door of the adjacent parked car when he opened his door. You could barely see the damage and it was one of many on the car, but I insisted we take responsibility, feeling this was an important teaching moment.

In the end we did go to see the owner of the car who, it turned out, just wanted to meet me to thank me for leaving him that note.

In the second instance, I left a paint mark on another car but the owner decided not to bother fixing it or asking me for money and instead she also thanked me.

Both times I felt good about myself and what I showed my children. I also want to emphasise that if the damage had been greater, I would again have left a note. I just feel it is the right thing to do.

It is truly a shame that there are people out there who do not feel the same.