Hit and Run on an Unattended Vehicle RCW 46.52.010: Notice and Penalties

Under RCW 46.52.010, a driver who hits an unattended vehicle or damages property on or near a public road in Washington must stop, try to find the owner, and leave a written notice with their contact information if the owner can’t be located. Failing to do so is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.¹²

What the Statute Covers

RCW 46.52.010 has two subsections, and drivers usually only think about the first. Subsection (1) covers hitting an unattended vehicle. Subsection (2) covers damage to any property “fixed or placed upon or adjacent to any public highway.”¹ That second category is broad. Fences, mailboxes, landscaping, utility poles, road signs, retaining walls, and guardrails all count.

“Unattended” simply means nobody is there at the moment of impact to exchange information with. A parked car in an empty lot, a fence beside a vacant property, a mailbox at the end of a driveway with nobody home — each qualifies. The absence of a witness doesn’t reduce your obligations; it increases them, because you now have to create the paper trail yourself.

If You Hit an Unattended Vehicle

Stop immediately. Try to locate the owner by checking nearby businesses, knocking on doors, and looking around. If nobody turns up, leave a written notice in a conspicuous place inside or on the vehicle you struck.¹

The notice must include your name and address, plus the name and address of the vehicle’s registered owner if that’s someone other than you. A note under a windshield wiper satisfies the statute, though a spot where wind and rain won’t destroy it is smarter. The statute doesn’t say how long you need to search, but the words “immediately” and “then and there” make clear this isn’t something to handle after you drive home.

If You Damage Other Property

When the thing you hit isn’t a vehicle, the standard shifts. You must take “reasonable steps” to find the owner or person in charge and tell them what happened, along with your name and address and the vehicle owner’s name and address.¹ If you can’t find them, leave a written notice securely attached to the damaged property with the same information and a description of what happened.

Subsection (2) adds one requirement the unattended-vehicle provision doesn’t have: you must “further make report of such accident as in the case of other accidents upon the public highways of this state.”¹ That cross-reference points to the collision reporting rules discussed below.

What to Put in the Written Notice

The statute requires your name and address and the vehicle owner’s name and address, plus a “statement of the circumstances” when the damaged item isn’t a vehicle. Writing more helps you. Include the date, time, a brief description of what happened, the specific property damaged, your phone number, and your insurance information. None of that beyond the basics is statutorily required, but it demonstrates good faith and smooths the insurance process.

Photograph Everything Before You Leave

Take wide shots of the overall scene, close-ups of the damage to both the property and your vehicle, and pictures of the note and where you placed it. If weather, lighting, or road conditions played a role, photograph those too. This documentation protects you if the property owner later claims more damage than you actually caused.

Filing a Collision Report With the State Patrol

If the damage to any one person’s property looks to be $1,000 or more, you must file a written collision report with the Washington State Patrol within four days.³ The threshold is per person, not a combined total. A dented bumper on a modern vehicle can easily clear $1,000 on its own, so this requirement applies more often than drivers expect.

The State Patrol’s Online Motor Vehicle Collision Reporting portal lets you submit the report electronically and get a report number right away. One exception: if a police officer responds to the scene and tells you they will submit the report, you don’t need to file one yourself.⁴

The four-day clock runs from the date of the accident, not from when you get a repair estimate. Don’t wait. If the damage looks like it could hit $1,000, file. There’s no penalty for filing when the damage turns out to be less, but missing the deadline when it wasn’t is its own problem.

Penalties for Leaving the Scene

Failing to stop, failing to leave notice, or failing to make reasonable efforts to find the owner is a misdemeanor under RCW 46.52.010(3).¹ A misdemeanor conviction in Washington carries up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.²

Those criminal penalties are separate from any civil liability for the actual damage. The criminal fine doesn’t offset what you owe the property owner for repairs. A sentencing court can also order restitution, which under Washington law covers “easily ascertainable damages for injury to or loss of property” whenever a conviction results in property damage.⁵ A single case can therefore produce jail time, a fine, and a restitution order for the full cost of repairs, stacked together.

Prosecutors have one year from the date of the incident to file misdemeanor charges.⁶ Surveillance video, doorbell cameras, paint transfer, and witnesses who come forward later can all produce charges well after the fact.

How This Differs From Other Hit and Run Charges

RCW 46.52.010 is the least severe hit and run offense in Washington, and it only applies when nobody was present at the vehicle or property you struck. Once anyone is present, or anyone is hurt, a different statute applies and the penalties escalate sharply:

Clip a parked car in an empty lot and leave, and you’re looking at a misdemeanor. If the owner happened to be sitting in that car, the same conduct becomes a gross misdemeanor with four times the maximum jail exposure. When there’s any doubt about whether someone was present, treat the collision as attended and provide the fuller set of information RCW 46.52.020 requires, including your insurance company, policy number, and vehicle license plate number.⁷

1
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 46.52.010 – Duty on Striking Unattended Car or Other Property
2
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9A.20.021 – Maximum Sentences for Crimes Committed July 1, 1984, and After
3
Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.030 – Accident Reports
4
Washington State Patrol. Online Motor Vehicle Collision Reporting
5
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.94A.750 – Restitution
6
Washington State Legislature. RCW 9A.04.080 – Prosecution of Offenses – Statute of Limitations
7
Washington State Legislature. RCW 46.52.020 – Duty on Striking Attended Vehicle or Other Property