Hit-and-run parking garage creep caught
Disney designer Steve Lodefink's car was in a parking garage and it got bashed by a hit-and-run driver. Steve found a stray hubcap next to his car, and using hupcaps.org, he identified the model of the car. He printed out a picture of the car (an aggressively ugly car called the Mazda MPV minivan) and sent it, along with a statement of the facts, to the parking garage management.

The parking garage management reviewed the security tapes and found the vehicle. Steve got the license plate number, tracked down the registered owner's name, address and telephone number, and sent it to his insurance company. He ended up getting "a check for the full amount of the damages minus the $100 deductable for my uninsured driver coverage."
Link

Reader Comment: Sean Roche says: "So, ubiquitous cameras are a violation of privacy until somebody gets the car hit. Then, they are a godsend for seeking justice.

"I'll bet you 99% of boingboing readers would have decried the camera in the abstract, while I bet you get only a handful of e-mails saying that the benefit of your friend catching the MPV owner was not worth the cost of everyone's lost privacy.

"On another topic, say what you want about the MPV, but I bet you won't find a more socially responsible car. A minivan is designed to haul people (and stuff), and only people who need to haul people (and stuff) get caught dead in them. Unlike an SUV, there's nothing about a minivan that is not specifically designed for its mission. No overhead of unnecessary (and heavy) pieces for off-roading. No unnecessarily powerful engine (though that's changing a bit). Among minivans, the MPV is about 500 lbs lighter than the big boys (Odyssey, Grand Caravan, Sienna), so it requires even less power (and fuel) to perform its mission.

"Like I said, socially responsible, though, as your post makes clear, not all the drivers are likewise socially responsible."

posted by Mark Frauenfelder at 12:35:41 PM permalink | Other blogs commenting on this post