Hit and run?

[emj]

Hello,

I did a search because this seemed like the sort of question that would be asked before, but I didn't see it. So if it has been asked I'm sorry. Basically what I'm wondering is this: if a person just barely bumps a parked car and there is no damage should they leave a note? I just barely bumped a car behind me today in a very cramped parking lot, I got out checked my car and the other car and it didn't seem to have any damage. I didn't go over it with a fine toothed comb, but no dents in either or anything. I did find a few small scratches on my car when I got home. I live in Minnesota (just thought I'd throw that in there in case it was necessary). I'm just wondering if it's considered a hit and run. I've been thinking about it because I wasn't sure if I should just go, but I did because nothing was damaged, and I've run into some conflicting views online. Some people say yes, some say don't worry, and someone even said they'd talked to a cop and he'd said if there's no damage don't worry. There's nothing I can do about it now and I know if someone hit me and there was no damage I'd honestly rather be in the dark, but I just wanted some professional perspective. If someone could give it that would be much appreciated.
Thanks

[Citicop]

If you could really see NO damage or marks at all on the other car, you should be fine.

[emj]

Thanks Citicop,

Like I said I didn't go over it with a fine toothed comb, so if there was any kind of smaller scratch I wouldn't have seen it but no dents or clearly visible damage in either car. I even stopped to double check out my window as I was pulling away that there was nothing on the other car. I would have left info if there was any damage I could see. Anyway, I just was wondering. This is really quite the interesting forum. Thank you for taking the time to answer my question. And thank you for dedicating your life to keep the peace.

[scott715us]

As citicop mentioned, normally if there's no damage there's no issue. If there is damage, it falls under either hit & run in some states or "duty upon striking an unattended vehicle" where I am.

[emj]

Thanks Scot715,

Like I said I don't think there was any damage. If there was something small like a scratch to the other car I didn't get close enough to see it. There's really no way for me to double check now anyway. I was thinking of contacting the local police branch for the area I was in (which I don't live in) and asking what they thought, but I don't know what purpose that would serve. At this point I'm past hitting my habit of over-thinking. Thank you for taking the time to look at my question. And thank you for dedicating your life to keep the peace.

[mcsap]

The cars of the last 15 yrs or so are VERY forgiving of little bumps. The design is that they " crumple " better to absorb the initial impact rather than transferring the jolt directly into the " greenhouse " aka passenger compartment.

That absorption is very handy in a situation like yours as it typically causes little to no damage.