That’s the finding of a new poll released today, commissioned by ContractHireAndLeasing.com.

By region, Scotland was found to have the most honest motorists, with 63% reporting they would make sure they could be contacted about repairs, while motorists in the North East appear to be the most dishonest. In this region, 7% said they would leave the scene of the accident if they damaged another car, compared to just 1% in Wales.

A further 36% in the North East said they would consider fleeing the scene of an accident without passing on their contact details if the damage was only minor, compared to just 22% in Scotland.

The poll also found that younger motorists are most likely to consider making a getaway from an accidental bump or scrape. In the 25-34 age bracket, 7% reported they would fail to stop after damaging another car, compared to just 1% of the 65+ age group. An impressive 63% of this latter age group said they would wait for the car's owners to return or leave their contact details – the highest level of reported honesty of any group.

Those on some of the lowest incomes as well as in one of the highest earning brackets were the most likely to say they would try and escape after damaging a car, polling 7% for those in the £7k-14k per annum and the £48k-55k bracket, compared to just 3% for those in middle-income brackets such as the £21k-28k and £28k-34k income groups. Furthermore, these middle-income brackets were most likely to say they would ensure being contacted at 53%, compared to just 44% of those earning up to £7k per annum, or those earning £48-55k.

However, more than half of us (52%) stating that we would own up if we accidentally damaged someone else's car, even if no-one was around to witness it.

David Timmis, managing director at ContractHireAndLeasing.com commented: ‘Although we are generally a nation of honest motorists, it is sad to see that nearly one third of motorists would try to avoid paying for repairs if no-one was around to witness their accident. It is easy to scrape or hit another car whilst driving, especially with larger cars having to squeeze into tight car parking spaces, but the regional variances may indicate historical trends in those areas, where bad experiences of vehicle damage mean individuals are less likely to report an accident if they in-turn damage another vehicle. As ever, the older British generation are showing the rest of us the right path by being honest no matter who may, or may not, have seen the accident.’