I backed into a concrete pillar, halp!

June 14, 2010 10:25 PM

I backed into a concrete structural beam in a parking garage. Will my car be okay/did I need to report this "accident" to the police?

I was backing out of a parking spot in a parking garage and I hit a beam. I know it was dumb, but I wasn't looking in my mirror due to the fact I was the last car in there and I also had to back up enough to go around these stupid cones they placed while my car was parked to repaint one of the arrows on the ground. But I was just dumb, entirely my fault.

I'm not sure how fast I was going but I imagine not very fast. The bumper seems fine, it's just a bit dented and the paint is a little scratched off. Really it's barely noticeable.

I didn't really think to properly inspect the concrete support beam but I think I took a little look at it and everything seemed fine.

I want to post this anon because of insurance and just in case this was actually a hit and run (oh god I hope not). I wasn't even thinking it could be classified as that until I started looking things up online about accidentally backing into things.

So, questions: The car seems to be driving fine but is there anything I should do to make sure I didn't mess anything up? What should I ask about?

This happened in Michigan, specifically in Ann Arbor. I do not believe there was any structural damage to the parking deck. Was I under legal obligation to alert the authorities, and if so what can I do now (that hopefully doesn't involve me getting charged with a hit and run)?

posted by anonymous to Travel & Transportation (7 answers total)

Oh geez I hope not, otherwise I think a lot of people are in trouble! The people who design those parking structures know full well that the pillars are going to be constantly hit by cars. If you look at all of its companions, I'm sure you'll see that they are all similarly scarred, dented, scratched, and dinged.

Don't worry about your car. That's what bumpers are for; bumping.

Frankly I wouldn't spare a second thought for the concrete pillar, particularly if you can barely see where you tapped it. But perhaps some legally-minded person is going to come along and scare the dickens out of us both!
posted by ErikaB at 10:30 PM on June 14, 2010

Very likely the beams in a parking garage are designed to handle the regular wear and tear of people bumping into them or scraping against them. If you hit it with your bumper, then almost certainly your car most of the impact. But even if you took a few swings at the beam with a sledgehammer, it would still be structurally intact (don't try that, because that would be vandalism). An accidental thump is unlikely to be a big deal.

Anyway, you'll want to look at Michigan's traffic statutes. See what you're up against, and be a good citizen and report what needs to be reported. But you can probably take comfort in the likelihood that whomever you tell will just shrug it off.
posted by holterbarbour at 10:41 PM on June 14, 2010

I'm lucky I drove a real beater when I was a teenager because I probably bumped a concrete pillar a month when I was first learning to drive. Judging by the other paint samples I saw when checking for damage, I was far from the only one. I even knew a girl who would pull all the way forward until her car hit the wall in the mall parking (hard too, I was always glad she didn't have an airbag), she said it was so she knew her back end wasn't sticking out!

Parking garages are made to withstand normal wear and tear, and that includes careless, distracted, and even slightly dumb driver bumps. I'm no expert on parking structures, but I really thing you're okay on this one.

Really, stop worrying about it. Take it as a lesson learned, I'm sure you'll be more careful next time. Honestly I think if you reported it you'd hear a lot of laughter on the other end of the line.
posted by TooFewShoes at 1:10 AM on June 15, 2010

No, you're fine.
posted by delmoi at 2:59 AM on June 15, 2010

Don't worry about reporting it... if the structure is still standing, you're good to go.

And, the damage to your car is certainly cosmetic...if it doesn't matter to you, it doesn't matter.

Now, relax, go to Arbor Brewing and have a beer! (there's a nice parking structure just across the street!)
posted by HuronBob at 3:57 AM on June 15, 2010

I am not a lawyer. I am not your lawyer. I am not your lawyer, in your state.

First of all, yeah, don't worry about the parking deck. It would be "architectual malpractice" if the thing weren't engineered to withstand 25-35 mph impacts without structural damage. And while you would feel obliged to make amends if you backed over a business's sign and dinged it up, every parking deck pillar has car paint aplenty after a few months...

Most states provide for a certain threshold of damages before there is even a legal requirement to call the cops, even when two cars are involved. If you were tapped by a guy who seems intoxicated, or they just gouged your Mercedes and you're gonna need to file a claim, feel free to call them, but they're trying to discourage it in most cases.

Also, police reports are NOT necessary to file insurance claims; they're just needed in most accident scenarios so that they can figure out who's at fault. In this case, it's clearly you. So in this case you'll do nothing or pay for the paint repair yourself, if you're smart. If you had hit harder and mangled your trunk lid to the tune of $1,500 or so, you could still just drive off and call the insurance company about it within the next few days and been fine.
posted by randomkeystrike at 5:56 AM on June 15, 2010

I did this about a year ago except it was my front bumper and i cracked the bumper a little. I drove away, the parking garage is still standing, and i've since had regular maintenance done on my car at multiple dealerships and none of them have mentioned any structural damage to the car.

Basically, you're fine, peel on out of there.
posted by WeekendJen at 6:59 AM on June 15, 2010