Your vehicle rolls into a parked car and you cannot find the owner. What must you do?
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A.
Wait at the scene until the owner returns
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B.
Leave a securely attached note with your name, phone number, and address, and report the collision to law enforcement Correct
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C.
Report the incident only if damage looks significant
The answer is "Leave a securely attached note with your name, phone number, and address, and report the collision to law enforcement"
The manual sets three steps when you cannot find the owner: leave a note with your name, phone number, and address, securely attach it to the vehicle or property, and report the collision to law enforcement. Choice C carries over the $1,000 damage threshold the DMV uses for its ten-day report on page 78; that number belongs to a different rule and has no bearing on whether you must leave the note and call law enforcement here.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Wait at the scene until the owner returns
The manual accepts a securely attached note plus a report to law enforcement as the way to discharge the duty; waiting is not on that list. This answer substitutes personal presence for the written notice, on the instinct that sticking around at the scene is proof enough of good faith.
C. Report the incident only if damage looks significant
The note-and-report duty applies whenever the owner cannot be found, regardless of how bad the damage looks. This answer borrows the $1,000 DMV reporting threshold from page 78 and applies it to whether any contact with law enforcement is required at all.
This question tests your knowledge of Crash Procedures in California. Source: California Driver Manual, "Section 10, What to Do if You Are in a Collision," p.77..
Related California questions
- After stopping at a collision scene where someone is hurt, what should you do right away? →
- Vehicle trouble forces you to stop and you cannot get completely off the road. Where should you stop? →
- Within how many days must you report a collision to DMV if property damage exceeds $1,000 or anyone is injured? →
- Which situation requires you to file a collision report with DMV? →
- After a collision, which information must you show to the other driver and to law enforcement? →
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