Unattended property, uninsured drivers, and liability
A 3-minute lesson from the Idaho course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Some crashes involve no one else at the scene: a parked car, a fence, a mailbox. Others involve a driver with no insurance. Idaho law still gives you duties, and it gives you tools if you're the victim.
Know the rule
If you damage an unattended vehicle or other property, you must make a reasonable effort to find the owner.
Never let an unlicensed driver use your vehicle: in a crash, both the driver and the owner who gave permission are responsible for damage, injury, or death.
Backing out of a grocery store space, you dent a parked car and can't find its owner in the store. Leave a note with your name, phone number, and what happened. The repair will clearly cost more than $1,500, so notify police too.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
If you hit an unattended vehicle and can't find the owner, you must:
call a tow truck and leave
do nothing further if no one is around
leave a note with your name and number
report only if damage exceeds $500
Answer: leave a note with your name and number
A note with contact information is required when the owner can't be found.