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Hitting And Driving Off!!

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itsmefolks | 12:43 Wed 24th Jul 2013 | Law
15 Answers
Anyone know the law on the following please?
My vehicle was driven into and then the offender drove off! People saw this and gave me his reg number. I reported it to the police who have done nothing! They have however contacted him and got a mobile number for me to contact him. However this number is false! I did not get a crime number or a visit from the police! I thought he should be prosecuted for driving off after an accident? Thanks in advance.
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Phone the police again and get a crime number.

Leaving the scene of an accident, no matter how small, is an offence.
accidentadvicehelpline.co.uk/blog/what-to-do-after-a-car-accident/

Leaving the scene of an accident is a criminal offence and could result in you being slapped with either a fine of £5,000 (maximum) or between five and ten penalty points.
Failure to report an accident is also a criminal offence, which attracts similar penalties as leaving the scene of an accident.
The police only have your word that there was an accident and you did not get the reg number but are relying on reports from others. Sorry I know you are angry but there is just not enough evidence to prosecute someone.
If your car is damaged and needs repair you will have to claim on your insurance and tell them what you know about the other car and the names and addresses of the witnesses.
Should have said , you need more evidence to to anything done . Will the witnesses give statements about what happened and the details of the car ?
If not then sorry, but there is little you can do unless the other driver is going to admit what happened. The police can not do more than give the contact details unless you can come up with more proof of what happened , at the moment it is just your word as to what happened .
We had the same with a drunk driver writing off my partner's car at 3am one morning. We were in bed, all the neighbours went out and knew who the driver was. The driver also had his brother in the passenger seat. Both got out and ran off before the police arrived. The police said they were unable to do anything, in spite of seven witnesses, plus me and OH, because both the brothers blamed each other for being the driver. My OH did get money back on his insurance, but had to pay the Excess and lost some No Claims Bonus.
pixie, very similar to my best mate.
He was woken up at 2 am by the noise of a crash and found his car parked in front of his house had been run into. The other car had been stolen and was being chased by the police, they had arrested the driver. My mates car was a write off , the other driver went to court and was ordered to pay damages for my mates car and the one he stole. But he had never had a job had no money and didn't pay anything , there was nothing more to do , not worth spending money sueing someone who has no money and very little chance of ever getting any.
No. Tis a bugger sometimes!
>>>>I reported it to the police who have done nothing!

This is so the police can claim there has been a reduction in crime.

But not following up on reports of crime it makes it look like the crime numbers are coming down and the police can say what a great job they are doing.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/10187541/David-Cameron-hails-magnificent-fall-in-crime-despite-police-cuts.html
Ummm and Baldric - you needto re read your sentences 'leaving a scene of an accident...'

it would mean thatevery day we would drive past people chained to posts where they had had accidents many years ago.

Leaving without stopping ... is what you mean
and I think you only haveto report it fi there is personal injury...
The law is that after an accident the drivers involved must stop and exchange insurance details , address's etc . As long as there are no injuries then that is all they have to do. It does not have to be reported to the police. The drivers put in insurance claims to sort out blame and get the repairs done.
In this case the other driver did not stop so has committed an offence .This has to be reported to the police to trace the driver. Again in this case the contact number given by the police turned out to be false so that fact needs to be reported to the police who should now give full contact details.
itsmefolks as I said you have insurance so let them sort this out , that is what you pay them for . You have done all you can . In reality the other driver will probably deny any knowledge of the accident, very possibly he / she has no insurance so that is why they did not stop.
itsmwfolks , go to the askMID web site and put the number plate of the car that hit you in to the search box , it will tell you if the car is insured or not.
Here is the askMID web page
http://ownvehicle.askmid.com/
You have to click on the box that says it is your own vehicle.
Where there is damage to another vehicle an offence is committed under the Road Traffic Act 1991, If the driver fails to stop and provide their name & address, the owner of the vehicle and the registration number to a person having reasonable grounds to require this information. The requirement to stop includes a requirement to remain at the scene as long as it is appropriate, it is a defence for the driver to prove they were not aware of an accident occurring but they then have a duty to report the accident within 24 hours of being aware , courts would probably be sympathetic to a person who did not stop if they could show they believed it dangerous to stop, the person who does not stop should report the accident to the police as soon as is possible but not later than 24 hours, it is at this stage insurance details must also be provided.

You say the Police did nothing then claim they gave you a faulty mobile telephone number, so they have contacted the driver, the Police will probably not be that interested if there was no personal injury but I would contact them again and remind them or the CPS of their duties under the RTA 1991.
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Phew!! Cheers everyone. I phoned the police a couple of days later and made a complaint about the lack of response from he bill! It now seems he has admited it but I am still waiting to hear back. I know the police are under a lot of financial restraints, but they can find a pc to go round with a council rep fining people dropping a fag end!! Makes me so mad when I`ve paid hundreds of thousands of wedge into the system and never asked a jot until now!! Cheers again everyone.
You did the right thing, the Police or CPS are not under such financial pressure that they are unable to do their job; they sometimes need to be reminded of their responsibilities.

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