Involved in a hit and run, trying to get other persons insurance details

Steeps

Steeps

Steeps

Soldato
Joined
8 Nov 2003
Posts
5,665
Location
Bedfordshire
Yesterday we were hit from behind while sitting at a set of traffic lights on a narrow road with double yellows. We pulled over to a side street but the car that hit us took another one and sped off. Managed to get the plate of the car that hit us, make, model, colour etc (and half of his bumper and fragments of light cluster). CCTV for the junction didn't cover the accident as it was pointing at a different road.

Police today have instructed us that we have to claim off our own insurance company and hope they claim it back from the other company. Surely the police now they have a note of all the details should have given us the other car's insurance details for us to claim straight off them, as instructed to do so on askMID?

Will paying £4 to askMID give all the details required to start a claim or are we going to have to do it through our own?
 
Did you get a crime reference number ? It seems strange the Police are not chasing the other driver for leaving the scene and prosecuting accordingly.

When this happened to me years ago the Police were really helpful and gave me all the details I needed to make a claim from the other persons insurance.
 
MOOGLEYS said:
Did you get a crime reference number?
Click to expand...

He won't get a crime reference number as there is no recordable crime. He may get a CAD/event number which is created when he called in.

MOOGLEYS said:
t seems strange the Police are not chasing the other driver for leaving the scene and prosecuting accordingly.
Click to expand...

I agree, what you have at the moment is a fail to stop, fail to report (assuming it has been 24 hours since the accident) and a careless driving.

This coupled with the numberplate should be investigated and the driver should be interviewed for the above offences before being reported.

MOOGLEYS said:
When this happened to me years ago the Police were really helpful and gave me all the details I needed to make a claim from the other persons insurance.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately i think this varies force to force. It is lazy of the force to just say "claim off your insurance and hope the other side pays up" because there are offences involved that should (and would normally) be investigated.
 
Gaygle said:
Unfortunately i think this varies force to force. It is lazy of the force to just say "claim off your insurance and hope the other side pays up" because there are offences involved that should (and would normally) be investigated.
Click to expand...

I agree, it does seem lazy.

OP, in London at least, there is a standard collision report booklet that you would fill in with your details and the details of the other car if you have their reg plate (which you do) along with account of what happened and the traffic collisions department would investigate it.
They would write to the registered keeper and ask them to provide the details of who was driving the car at the time of the alleged collision and go on from there.
Should they fail to give this information, then that is an offence in itself.

I would like to think each police service has their own equivalent.
 
It wasn't my car that was involved, I was only a passenger so all the leg work is being done by the car owner.

Police were called at the scene as soon as the other driver drove off. The operator took note that there was an accident where the other party failed to stop and told us we had to log it at a station with all our details but being 170 miles from home it couldn't be done there and then. What makes it even more frustrating is there was a traffic cop just 200 yards up the road sitting there.

At the station today our information was provided of the accident and all of our details, for them to pass on to the police back near where the accident took place who as mentioned earlier are going to write to the registered keeper to confirm who was driving. The police told us to claim through our own insurance and pass on the other driver's details once this has been confirmed.

The car appears OK to drive, however with a pathfinder going into the back of you it's a bit hard to see if there's anything structurally wrong. What I find shocking is they have 21 days apparently to disclose who was driving so this could take a while.
 
Section 170(2) of the Road Traffic act 1988 provides that the driver of the motor vehicle must stop and, if required to do so by any person having reasonable grounds for so requiring, give his name and address, the name and address of the owner of the vehicle and the identification marks of the vehicle. The duty to stop means to stop sufficiently long enough to exchange the particulars above: Lee v Knapp [1966] 3 All ER 961.

Section 170(3) places an obligation on the driver, if he does not give his name and address under subsection (2) above, to report the accident to a police constable or police station as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours. The duty to report means "as soon as reasonably practicable": Bulman v Bennett [1974] RTR. It does not mean the driver has 24 hours within which to report the collision.

When the evidence reveals a failure to comply with both subsections (2) and (3), proceedings should be brought for both offences. The failure to stop is usually viewed as the more serious of the two.

A person who fails to comply with subsection (2) or (3) above is guilty of an offence punishable with a maximum sentence of six months' imprisonment.


What I suggest the police are doing presently, is letting the offender drop himself in the **** by not reporting it...
 
Last edited:
Surely not stopping at the scene is the crime? By driving off the deed is done?

I'd be pretty miffed if I got this attitude from the police, no wonder it's so common if they don't seem to care! Probably got better things to do, like sit up the road hidden with a speed camera.
 
Deadly Ferret said:
I think it's a criminal offence to fail to stop/exchange details following a collision.

What do you mean by recordable?
Click to expand...

It's not a home office recordable crime, the same as speeding isn't or parking on double yellow lines isn't. Both are "illegal" but the latter are traffic law.

Op I didn't really understand your latest post but what normally happens is if you have a non injury damage only RTC you fill in a self reporting form and send it off to the traffic justice unit who deal with all traffic related stuff in force.

They will then see that the other driver has failed to stop and other things and will collate all witness statements etc and send the driver a s172 notice to identify the driver. Once this has been done they will then send it through to someone at a local station to interview and report the driver, if necessary.
 
Gaygle said:
He won't get a crime reference number as there is no recordable crime. He may get a CAD/event number which is created when he called in.
Click to expand...

he should, i got a crime number when someone pushed my motorbike over while it was parked, the police didn't even come out
 
Paying AskMID will get you the phone number and compaby name of the other persons insurers (if they are insured). You then phone them up and start a claim.
 
If the police have done their job, there will be a Crime Ref number. You need to get in contact with the office that is local to the area where you were hit as it will be them that is dealing with it.

The CAD/event/incident number referred above would be available as soon as you reported a possible crime. The CR number wont be available until the police officers have logged it as an actual crime (which they should have given the info so far).
 
Richie said:
If the police have done their job, there will be a Crime Ref number. You need to get in contact with the office that is local to the area where you were hit as it will be them that is dealing with it.

The CAD/event/incident number referred above would be available as soon as you reported a possible crime. The CR number wont be available until the police officers have logged it as an actual crime (which they should have given the info so far).
Click to expand...

What home office recordable crime would it go down as then?

Op you'll get a cad number and when the traffic unit have looked at it they will generate their own reference number too I believe. To get s crime number a recordable crime must have occurred of which the only traffic ones I can think of off the top of my head are fail to stop for a constable, and death by dangerous/careless.
 
Gaygle said:
What home office recordable crime would it go down as then?

Op you'll get a cad number and when the traffic unit have looked at it they will generate their own reference number too I believe. To get s crime number a recordable crime must have occurred of which the only traffic ones I can think of off the top of my head are fail to stop for a constable, and death by dangerous/careless.
Click to expand...

In Met land crime reference numbers can also be created for non-crimes.
 
Gaygle said:
To get s crime number a recordable crime must have occurred
Click to expand...

Rubbish!

Unrelated but when my passport went AWOL through the post (so I could get a CRB check before anyone asks) I needed a crime number to proceed with the claim against the PO for loss of a recorded delivery item. The local station gave me a number in about 5 minutes, and all was well with the world!

FluffySheep
 
I can confirm that the police couldn't give a **** if someone drives into you and then does a runner. My mum had a van reverse into her last week then drive off, police couldn't have been less interested... I suggested if it happens again she mentions she thought she saw a child tied up in the back...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom