A weird thing happened this morning. I pulled up at a red traffic light when suddenly the car jerked ever so slightly. It felt like it had stalled or something but the engine was still running, I had my foot on the clutch and it was in neutral. That's weird, I thought. So I am sitting there when suddenly it dawns on me the guy behind me is awfully close and perhaps he bumped my back bumper with his car. He didn't appear to have noticed anything himself as he was sitting there in his car, looking straight ahead, acting normal. So I wasn't sure if this is what had actually happened.

The light went green and we drove off, I took note of his number plate and car make and model just in case. As soon as I could, I pulled over and had a look at the back of the car and sure enough there is a big scratch on the bumper where this guy must have caught it with his number plate.

Obviously, at this point he had long gone.

Has anything like this happened to anyone else? Should I report it to the insurance company or is it too late because I never exchanged details with the guy? Is it too small an incident to inform the police? Is it just one of those things and we'll have to deal with the scratch ourselves?

I would think that you've very little chance of pinning this on to the other driver. You didn't get out of the car to inspect it whilst you were waiting at the light and the other driver was still present. It would be your word against his and he could justifiably argue that the scratch might have been present beforehand. You can't prove he's responsible. I doubt the police would be interested.

Thought as much. Thanks for the quick response.

I would definately go to the police...

and say what? The OP didn't speak to the other driver, didn't inspect the vehicle at the time, didn't give the other driver an opportunity to comment. and what would you expect the police to do? Of course, there is a chance that the other drvier might "discover" some damage to his car later on and maybe try to blame the OP? On the other hand, in many jurisdictions, if you hit someone from behind it's automatically your fault which would mean the other driver would be unlikely to have any chance of success if claiming from the OP.

I think the law here is that the police have to investigate everything that is reported to them So if the OP goes to the police then they have to investigate ! Maybe some of OP's paint is on the other guys front bumper ? And wouldn't you want him to have the agrevation of having to deal with the police on his doorstep ? Plus you get a chance to get the police to do something for you for a chance, I paid them enough in tickets so I wouldn't feel guilty making them work for a change...

In theory I wouldn't disagree with you - I've also contributed to the Police Benevelont Fund, I just think that in this instance they wouldn't be interested.

If you go to the local Police immediately, they will make a record of it and once they see the damage on your car, they will contact/check the guy's car today and ask him about it. If he has a damaged number plate, I can't see how he can deny it. You can then organize the cost of the repair with the guy with or without involving your insurance company.

I would go to the police and make sure you describe it exactly how you wrote your original post. Confusing the impact with a stall or engine "hiccup" is perfectly reasonable.

Even if nothing comes from it, it might help if you make an insurance claim. If you write on the insurance form "got rear-ended at traffic lights" they are bound to ask "Why didn't you report it?"

For the sake of keeping everything on the straight and narrow Swiss-stylie, I'd report it.

OK, quick update. I have spoken to my insurance company. They said no problem, you are insured for this but it will cost you 300Chf. I told them I wanted to claim from his insurance. So they checked to see if he happened to also be insured with them. Unfortunately not. They then suggested I call the police and get the name of his insurance company and make a claim from them.

I just got off the phone with Lausanne police who said just what Swisstree recommended. Go into the station, ask for the Groupe Accident department and make a report. They will investigate and then get back to me at some point with his details.

So I have written everything down, time of incident, location etc and will go down as soon as I can to let them know.

It does seem like a lot of palava for a scratch though. It's not like my bumper is hanging off or anything. To be honest he may not have even realised it happened. It's just annoying that I've ended up with a nice scratch on the back of my car because this dude didn't apply his brakes properly.

It happens more than you think though ! I was once kissed from behind when on my scooter. I was in the middle of traffic (in front of light) but put my scooter on the stand and had a good look around the back of my bike while making angry faces at the offending cardriver. There was (unfortunately) no damage so I got on and drove away.
In the OP's case I would have gotten out of the car to have a look, the others in line can wait.

He will not want the cost of a small damage on his insurance so I bet you he will pay for the repair and jobs done.. even a scratch will cost at least 300 CHF to fix so why you should you pay, you didn't do anything wrong.

you can bet he knew he'd nudged you - and there could be evidence on his motor as has been suggested.

No harm in giving him a bit of a hard time over this. The Swiss version of Horatio Caine will be sniffing around him, we hope

The Scene: Perfectly clean, manicured street in Lausanne. Horatio strolls leisurely around the Infiniti SUV. Stops at the front, squats down to look closely at the numberplate.

Close up on fleck of midnight blue paint at the corner.

Horatio stands up, looks off towards Lac Leman, takes off his sunglasses and deadpans "This guy may think he's smooth but we've only just scratched the surface"

Cue The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again": OOOOoooooooohhhhhhh yeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhh.