You hit an unoccupied parked vehicle in an Oregon parking lot. What must you do?
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A.
Drive away; Oregon has no rule about hitting unoccupied vehicles.
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B.
Try to find the owner; if you cannot, leave a note with your name, address, and what happened. Correct
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C.
File a collision report with DMV within 72 hours; no note is needed.
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D.
Wait at the parked vehicle until the owner returns, up to 24 hours.
The answer is "Try to find the owner; if you cannot, leave a note with your name, address, and what happened."
The manual's rule has two steps. First, try to find the owner. If you cannot, leave a note with your name and address, along with a brief description of what happened. The duty extends beyond vehicles: if you damage property other than a motor vehicle, you must also try to find the owner or someone in charge of the property to notify them of the damage. Driving off without leaving a note violates this rule, even when the vehicle you hit was empty.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Drive away; Oregon has no rule about hitting unoccupied vehicles.
The manual requires you to try to find the owner and, if you cannot, leave a note at the scene. Misreading: Treats the duty as nonexistent; the manual requires finding the owner and, failing that, leaving a note with your name, address, and a description of what happened.
C. File a collision report with DMV within 72 hours; no note is needed.
The 72-hour report rule is separate and triggered by damage thresholds; it does not replace the duty to find the owner or leave a note for an unattended vehicle. Misreading: Misapplies the separate 72-hour collision-report rule (p.94) as a substitute for the unattended-vehicle duty to find the owner or leave a note.
D. Wait at the parked vehicle until the owner returns, up to 24 hours.
The rule is reasonable effort to find the owner, then a note; there is no 24-hour wait requirement. Misreading: Invents a 24-hour wait the manual does not require; the rule is to try to find the owner, then leave a note.
This question tests your knowledge of Crash Procedures in Oregon. Source: Oregon Driver Manual, "Unattended Vehicles," p.94..
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