What Is the Fine for Hitting a Parked Car?

Accidents involving parked cars are relatively common in the UK, but many drivers are unsure what the law expects them to do next. While it is straightforward to stop your vehicle and exchange details with another driver, it can be hard to know what to do after hitting a parked car. Unfortunately, there can be legal penalties for getting it wrong, including a maximum sentence of a driving disqualification under specific circumstances.

There is no direct fine for hitting a parked car, although there may be implications for your insurance. However, if you hit a parked car and fail to provide details including your name, address, vehicle registration number and insurance details, you could face consequences. These may include a fine, penalty points on your driving record and, in rare cases, a driving ban. As such, the legal consequences when you accidentally hit a parked car depend less on the collision itself and more on the action you take afterwards.

These consequences can be more detrimental to those who are regulated by bodies such as the General Medical Council or Solicitors Regulation Authority. If you fall into this category, we highly recommend you speak with a solicitor in our specialist motoring team and a solicitor within our regulatory team at the first opportunity.
Here, the expert motoring offences solicitors at JMW outline your obligations after a collision with a parked car, the steps you can take to avoid being charged with a hit and run offence, the maximum penalties that may be imposed if you are convicted of fleeing the scene, and the role a solicitor can play in defending your actions or reducing the penalties.

What Should I Do if I Accidentally Hit a Parked Car?

The rules for what a driver must do if they hit a parked car are the same as those for colliding with any vehicle or property, although they may be more difficult to follow. The Road Traffic Act 1988 states that if you collide with a parked vehicle or any other property, you must stop your vehicle and provide details to the other driver or owner of the property. This includes your name, address, vehicle registration number and the owner’s details if you are not the registered keeper of the vehicle. If the owner is not present, you must leave the information in a secure and visible place, such as under their windscreen wiper.

You have a legal obligation to leave a note or otherwise provide your details to the owner of a parked car if you are involved in an accident. If you are unable to do so, you must report the incident at a police station within 24 hours. Otherwise, you will have committed a hit and run offence and may face a conviction and the associated punishments.

While it is not a legal requirement, you should also report the incident to your insurance company as soon as you are able, as an undeclared incident may invalidate your insurance policy and lead to more serious legal consequences.

Failing to follow the legal requirements as listed above can lead to criminal penalties, including fines that go far beyond the cost of repairing the damage. There may be additional implications in terms of your insurance premiums or employment, as a conviction for a hit and run will remain on your record for several years.

What Is the Fine for a Hit and Run Offence?

There can be significant penalties if a driver leaves the scene without stopping or does not provide the required details. This is often referred to as a “hit and run”, though the offence is officially described as failing to stop or failing to report. Beyond leaving the scene of the incident, there are factors that can aggravate the offence and lead to a stronger sentence, including if you challenge an allegation in court but are found guilty.

When a driver leaves the scene without taking responsibility, the courts treat that conduct seriously, even if the collision itself caused only minor damage. The potential penalties include:

• An unlimited fine, depending on the seriousness of the case. Fines will not normally exceed £5,000, but the court has discretion to set the fine higher for the most serious failures to stop or report.
• Five to ten penalty points on your driving licence.
• A possible community order.
• A possible driving disqualification.

While failing to report the incident to the police is an offence in its own right, the damage caused and other factors relating to the initial collision can lead to additional charges of punishments. For example, if your offence is exacerbated by careless driving or someone is injured, this will be treated more severely and a conviction comes with a potential prison sentence of up to six months.
While you may believe that an incident is unlikely to result in a disqualification, it is actually more common than you might expect. If you already have penalty points on your driving record, you may be at risk of a totting up driving ban, which occurs if you reach 12 or more points within a three-year period. For drivers who passed their test within the last two years, the threshold for a totting up ban is only six points. If your licence is withdrawn under these circumstances, you will need to reapply for a provisional licence and pass a driving test again before you can legally return to the road.