A new study has shown that a significant proportion of UK drivers would not admit to hitting a parked car.

Around 20 per cent of the nation’s drivers said quite freely that they would flee the scene if they happened to damage a parked vehicle. The online survey was undertaken by the UK insurer Elephant.

The poll canvassed 3,000 drivers as to what they would do in the event of causing a minor ding, with a further 20 per cent saying that the make and model of the car would dictate whether they would be honest enough to leave their name and address details. Unfortunately for drivers of hatchbacks across Britain, these are the vehicles least likely to be afforded any courtesy.

If the lack of civility alone was not enough, the survey also discovered that 45 per cent of those polled had themselves been the victim of damage to their car when it was parked, with a mere 15 per cent lucky enough to be left details or even a note of apology – meaning the true figure for runaways may be closer to 30 per cent.  Most motorists, however, admitted that being a smash and run victim was simply bad luck and were happy to accept their lot. A small percentage, nine per cent, said that they contacted the police tom pursue the matter further while one per cent said that they had tracked down the offender and paid reciprocal damage to their vehicle.