Leaving The Scene Of An Accident

First, we need to answer these questions to prepare for a defence:

• can the Police prove that you were driving the car? Can anyone at the scene identify you as the driver? Has anyone else said you were the driver at the time of the accident?

• what evidence is there that there was any damage or injury to property or anyone else?

• what evidence is there that you did not stop? Did anyone witness the accident & are they able to identify you & your vehicle & state that you did not stop either at all or, for a reasonable period?

• was there a good reason for not stopping? Did you in fact know (or should you have known) that an accident resulting in damage or injury had occurred?

• did you stop but find no-one in the immediate vicinity to whom you could give your details?

• did you stop & wait a reasonable time only for no-one to emerge who could take your details?

• did you then report the accident to the Police & do so promptly or, at the very least, within 24 hours?

If you received it late or did not receive it at all, the presumption of service can be rebutted based on your evidence.

I will use my expertise to study all the evidence & look for ways in which it can be challenged so as to avoid your being convicted.

No. Magistrates will decide which offence is the most serious and give you points for that one. You will still be convicted of the other offences but not get points for them.

If you are involved in an accident while driving a vehicle that results in any injury or damage at all you must stop even if it is not your fault. “Stop” means more than just stopping your vehicle momentarily.

You must then give their details to anyone else involved or, anyone reasonably entitled to request them. This would include a neighbour or anyone who says they know the owner of the vehicle or property you damaged. If you cannot stop for any reason at the time of the accident, then you must go to a Police station or speak to a Police Officer in person as soon as you can.

It is not sufficient to telephone the Police as the law requires you to report an accident in person. If you do telephone the Police to report an accident & they say that you need not report it in person then make a note of who you speak to so that this can be checked.

If you were the driver of a vehicle that is involved in an accident and any of these things happen:

• someone is injured or

• another vehicle is damaged or

• an animal not in your vehicle or trailer is injured or

• any property is damaged including a building or street furniture

You must stop and give these details to the owner of the vehicle or property damaged or, anyone who reasonably asks for them:

• your name & address

• the name & address of the owner of the vehicle if that is not you

• the vehicle registration number

• if someone was injured you must also provide details of your insurance

If you are unable to do any of the above, you must report the accident to the Police as soon as possible or certainly within 24 hours.

If you do not have your insurance certificate with you then you must:

• stop & give your details to the other driver

• report the accident to the Police and produce your insurance certificate to them

No, not necessarily. You must stop, get out of your vehicle & wait a reasonable time to see if someone has heard the collision & come out to see what has happened. Even if it is a neighbour of the owner of the property or vehicle you have damaged, you should give that person your details. If a car or property alarm is set off, then you should wait a reasonable time to see if someone (including the Police) responds to the alarm.

There are many cases where Judges have made it clear that you are not expected in isolated locations or, in the early hours of the morning to go knocking on doors searching for the owner of the damaged vehicle or property. That is especially the case where you have damaged street furniture such as a lamp post, road sign etc.

This can often happen because no one is around or no one wants your details. The accident may have occurred at night & no one emerges whom you can speak to or you may be in an isolated location.

The law does not require you to wait for an indefinite period nor, go knocking on several doors nearby. In these circumstances you can leave once you have remained long enough for someone to appear but, you are then under a duty to report the accident in person to a Police Officer as soon as possible or, certainly within 24 hours.

Waiting for a matter of seconds or only a few minutes is unlikely to be seen as long enough but each case will be decided on its facts.

Most people think this is sufficient to avoid prosecution, but it is not! Yes, by definition, you have stopped after the accident but what efforts did you make to find someone who could take your details?

What if the note you left blows away or is removed by someone? Even if you can show that there was no-one you could give your details to, you then need to report the accident to the Police as soon as is possible. If the owner gets your note it is unlikely that you will be prosecuted but you are still best reporting it to the Police.

The law says that you must stop and give your details to anyone who reasonably asks for them. If there is nobody around or you cannot identify the owner of the damaged property or vehicle, you do not have to wait forever.

The duty to report the accident to the Police is then mandatory.

The simple answer is “yes” because whose fault the accident was does not matter. Once you are involved in an accident you must stop.

If the only person injured was my passenger do you still have to stop and/or report the accident?

Even though it sounds strange, you must still stop in these circumstances. If you have damaged no property nor, injured anyone other than your passenger, then your passenger is entitled to have your details.

Your duty to stop and report an accident still arises however minor the accident is. However, if there was no one injured or no damage to property then you need not stop.

You may be taking a risk by driving off having assumed that no one was injured nor, any property damaged so the sensible thing to do is to stop & establish what happened so as to be sure.

This can easily happen. I have acted for many clients who have been parked in a supermarket car park or, outside shops & returned to their vehicle to find themselves a bit hemmed in by other vehicles.

It is easy in those circumstances, no matter how carefully you reverse, for you to hit the front of the car behind you causing it minor damage without you feeling an impact or hearing anything to make you think you had done this. You should then report the accident to the Police in person as soon as possible.

You may well be charged with careless driving but should have a defence to failing to stop after an accident.

The law here is curious & illogical because you do have to report injuring a dog but not, a cat. Other animals covered by the duty to report include:

• goats

• horses

• cattle

• donkeys

• mules

• sheep

• pigs

The same rules apply: you must stop & if you cannot give your details to anyone you must report the accident to the Police. The RSPCA or the Police may attend & are entitled to have your details. Be careful about approaching an injured animal because it might be in shock. However, its identity or the identity of the owner may be on its collar.

If you find an injured wild animal on the road, observe it – as long as it’s safe – to try to assess how badly hurt it is. Then call the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999, or if possible take it to a vet or wildlife rehabilitator.