If you hit a parked car in New York, Vehicle and Traffic Law § 600(1) requires you to stop, give your license and insurance information to the owner, and — if the owner is not there — report the incident to the nearest police station as soon as you can. Driving away without doing those things is a traffic infraction carrying a fine of up to $250, up to 15 days in jail, and three points on your license, even when the dent looks trivial.1New York State Senate. New York Code VAT – Leaving Scene of an Incident Without Reporting
What the Law Requires at the Scene
VTL 600(1) applies to any driver who knows or has reason to know they caused property damage with a motor vehicle. It covers the obvious situations — clipping a car while parallel parking, backing into a bumper in a lot, scraping a door — and it extends to non-vehicle property too, like fences, mailboxes, and guardrails.1New York State Senate. New York Code VAT – Leaving Scene of an Incident Without Reporting
If the owner is present or you can locate them nearby, the statute says you must show your driver’s license and insurance ID card and provide your name, home address, insurance carrier, policy number, policy effective dates, and license number. That is a long list to recite from memory. The practical move is to hand the person your license and insurance card and let them take photos.1New York State Senate. New York Code VAT – Leaving Scene of an Incident Without Reporting
When Nobody Is Around
Most parked-car collisions happen with no one in the other vehicle. When the owner is not present, VTL 600(1) requires you to report the incident to the nearest police station or judicial officer as soon as physically possible.1New York State Senate. New York Code VAT – Leaving Scene of an Incident Without Reporting
This is the point where drivers most often go wrong. Leaving a note on the windshield with your name and number feels like the right thing to do, and it is a decent courtesy, but by itself it does not satisfy the statute. Notes blow away, get soaked, or get pulled off by strangers. The law calls for a police report, not a piece of paper under the wiper. In New York City, go to your local precinct. Elsewhere, the nearest police department or state police barracks. Get a copy of the report or at least the report number.
The Ten-Day MV-104 Rule
Separate from what you do at the scene, New York requires a written crash report to the DMV whenever property damage to any one person’s property exceeds $1,000. You have ten days from the date of the incident to file it. Missing that deadline is a misdemeanor under VTL 605.2New York State Senate. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 605 – Report Required Upon Accident
The form is the MV-104, “Report of Motor Vehicle Crash,” available on the DMV website or at a local precinct. It asks for your name as it appears on your license, home address, insurance company name, policy number, license number, and the three-character insurance company code from your insurance ID card. A set of numbered diagrams shows common crash patterns; circle the one that fits or sketch your own in the blank space.3New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. MV-104 – Report of Motor Vehicle Crash
Mail the completed form to the DMV’s Accident Records Bureau at the Albany address printed on the form and keep a photocopy. The report becomes part of your driving record and is visible to insurers. If you cannot tell whether the damage crosses $1,000, file anyway. A stamp costs less than a misdemeanor.
Penalties for Leaving the Scene
A first violation of VTL 600(1)(a) for property damage is a traffic infraction rather than a misdemeanor. A judge can impose a fine of up to $250, up to 15 days in jail, or both.1New York State Senate. New York Code VAT – Leaving Scene of an Incident Without Reporting Every traffic conviction also triggers a mandatory state surcharge and crime victim assistance fee under VTL 1809, which is added on top of whatever fine the court imposes.4New York State Senate. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 1809 – Mandatory Surcharge
The DMV then assesses three points against your driving record for leaving the scene of a property damage incident.5New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. New York State Driver Point System Three points alone will not trigger the DMV’s Driver Responsibility Assessment, but if you have other recent points and cross six within 18 months, the DMV bills an additional annual assessment for three years. Insurers treat any hit-and-run conviction as a red flag, and premiums usually rise even when the underlying damage was small.
Did You Actually Know You Hit Something?
VTL 600(1) applies only to a driver who knew or had cause to know they caused damage. That knowledge requirement is an element of the offense, so a driver who genuinely did not realize contact occurred has a factual defense. In practice it is a hard argument to make. Courts look at the size of the impact, road conditions, witnesses, and whether the damage pattern matches an imperceptible bump or an obvious collision. A light tap in a busy, noisy lot is more plausible than a crumpled fender at low speed on an empty street.6New York State Unified Court System. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law 600(1)(a) – Leaving Scene of an Incident Without Reporting
If Anyone Was Hurt, the Rules Change
Everything above assumes damage was limited to property. If a pedestrian, passenger, or anyone else was injured, the offense moves to VTL 600(2), and the numbers are not comparable. Under that subsection, failing to exchange information after an injury is a Class B misdemeanor on a first offense, with fines of $250 to $500. Leaving the scene entirely is a Class A misdemeanor on a first offense, with fines of $750 to $1,000. With a prior conviction, leaving becomes a Class E felony carrying fines of $1,000 to $3,000. Leaving when the injury is serious is a Class E felony with fines of $1,000 to $5,000. Leaving when someone dies is a Class D felony with fines of $2,000 to $5,000. Felony convictions carry prison exposure, a permanent criminal record, and potential license revocation.1New York State Senate. New York Code VAT – Leaving Scene of an Incident Without Reporting
The gap between a property-only traffic infraction and an injury felony is why the statute is so strict about stopping and checking. If you have any doubt about whether someone might have been in or near the vehicle you hit, stop, look, and call the police. The cost of doing that is nothing. The cost of guessing wrong is measured in years.