Wairarapa shoppers are being urged to take care using car parks this Christmas, as findings shows supermarket scrapes often go unreported.
The AA Insurance survey of over 4000 New Zealand drivers shows that over 70 per cent have had their car damaged while parked, and that most collisions happen in thelead up to Christmas.
More worryingly for shoppers, the survey found 91 per cent of those who return to their cars to find them dinged found no note from the offending driver.
And 20 per cent of respondents said they would consider driving away without leaving a note if no one saw them ding another vehicle.
Masterton AMI manager Dave Dale said car park collisions happened all the time, and he was not surprised to hear that people rarely left notes after hitting someone's car.
"It's always a surprise when a customer comes in and they say they've been left a note. We say 'wow, you are very lucky'."
He said few people knew it, but most home contents insurance included provisions for insuring cars against trolley collisions in carparks.
Local claims seemed to correspond more highly with those supermarkets that had smaller carparks, he said.
AA Insurance deputy general manager Martin Fox said one third of all parked car prangs happened in supermarkets, with 18 per cent happening at shopping centres.
"Car parks are notorious for accidents as space is tight and drivers can feel rushed or frustrated."
He said drivers had a legal responsibility to own up to damaging another vehicle.
"If we know who is responsible, we can contact them or their insurer to manage the claim."
