Will I Lose My Licence?

Bossyboots

YorkshireBoy wrote:

Code.....Offence..............................................Penalty points

AC10.....Failing to stop after an accident................5-10
AC20.....Failing to give particulars or to
............report an accident within 24 hours.............5-10

CD10.....Driving without due care and attention........3-9
CD20.....Driving without reasonable consideration
............for other road users.................................3-9
CD30.....Driving without due care and attention
............or without reasonable consideration
............for other road users.................................3-9

http://www.direct.gov.uk/Motoring/DriverLicensing/EndorsementsAndDisqualifications/EndorsementsDisqualificationsArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=10022425&chk=Srs142

If you're found guilty of the offence(s), the owner of the other car will probably look for reimbursement for any/all costs they have incurred as a result of your actions.

If your insurance company refuse to pay out, because you have failed to keep to the T&C's of your contract with them, the owner of the other vehicle may pursue a civil action against you.

They may be in difficulty on the without due care from an evidential aspect and thus only able to go for failing to stop or failing to report. They are not likely to go for both, it is usually an either or summons in this regard. I would envisage a five pointer here.

iwanttosave_2

my friend heself had only been driving a few days and this happened, she panicked. Her passenger said "quick drive off" and she did so, the next day she had calmed down ad came to her senses and went to the police, they were very understanding and said it was good that she surrendered.She was very ashamed of herself and was wracked with guilt. you won't lose your licence but you should by rights get at least a fine and some points, also when your insurance comes up for renewal you will be further punished by your quote going up.

chrisw

iwanttosave wrote:

my friend heself had only been driving a few days and this happened, she panicked. Her passenger said "quick drive off" and she did so, the next day she had calmed down ad came to her senses and went to the police, they were very understanding and said it was good that she surrendered.She was very ashamed of herself and was wracked with guilt. you won't lose your licence but you should by rights get at least a fine and some points, also when your insurance comes up for renewal you will be further punished by your quote going up.

Slightly different circumstances - I can easily understand your friend panicking and taking the passenger's advice in the heat of the moment, especially as she had only been driving a few days, rather than nearly a year in the case of the OP. She is to be applauded for owning up, which she may have done at the time had the passenger not interfered.

Bennifred

It's a good thing there was a camera there, IMO! I can understand the initial panic, but someone might have been in the car that was hit - what about them?! What happened to doing the right thing?! Seems to me you tried to get away without acknowledging your driving error, leaving your victim to bear the cost, otherwise you would have reported it later (you have up to 24hours to do that).

CopperPlate_2

Basically there are at least two offences, if not three (the third being more difficult to prove).

First is the careless driving (section 3, Road Traffic Act 1988) - driving without due care and attention, etc.

Second is failing to stop after a road accident and third after being involved in a road accident thereafter failing to report it to a Police station or the owner of the vehicle if known.

If the camera footage shows you ramming the other car and is clear on this point, I'd say it may prove the degree of carelessness required to prove the charge. The other two charges - fail to stop and fail to report are self-proving, i.e. the accident happened and you didn't stop or report it.

If you are charged with all three - if it happened in Scotland there would be no alternative but to report you as you're a 'new' driver but not sure about England/Wales - then you could be looking at an automatic loss of licence through the totting up procedure and the new driver legislation.

I'd say you were on a sticky wicket with the asking to pay for the damage now - had you gone and reported it initially and then offered to pay for the damage once the Police had tracked down the owner then it might be different, but because you drove off and it appears that you weren't going to report it (or didn't know you had too, but that is no defence unfortunately for you) then if might be viewed as too late.

I have to say that even if you knew you had hit the other car you should have got out and looked at least (you don't say if you did) and at least put a note on the windscreen if you didn't know you had to report it to the Police. If you've got caught then you've no-one to blame but yourself as think how you'd feel if you came back to your car bashed in and no-one in sight?

CP

CopperPlate_2

iwanttosave wrote:

you won't lose your licence but you should by rights get at least a fine and some points, also when your insurance comes up for renewal you will be further punished by your quote going up.

You can't say that won't happen. Just the same as none of us can say what will happen for sure. There is every likelihood that if points are given out, the OP will lose their licence if they are a new driver. It's not the most serious offence, pranging some other car, but it's the driving off and not reporting it that might be viewed more seriously. As other posters have said, would the OP have driven off had it been a child, or a dog (which you also have to report to the Police BTW )?

CP

Bossyboots

CopperPlate wrote:

Basically there are at least two offences, if not three (the third being more difficult to prove).

First is the careless driving (section 3, Road Traffic Act 1988) - driving without due care and attention, etc.

Second is failing to stop after a road accident and third after being involved in a road accident thereafter failing to report it to a Police station or the owner of the vehicle if known.

If the camera footage shows you ramming the other car and is clear on this point, I'd say it may prove the degree of carelessness required to prove the charge. The other two charges - fail to stop and fail to report are self-proving, i.e. the accident happened and you didn't stop or report it.

If you are charged with all three - if it happened in Scotland there would be no alternative but to report you as you're a 'new' driver but not sure about England/Wales - then you could be looking at an automatic loss of licence through the totting up procedure and the new driver legislation.

I'd say you were on a sticky wicket with the asking to pay for the damage now - had you gone and reported it initially and then offered to pay for the damage once the Police had tracked down the owner then it might be different, but because you drove off and it appears that you weren't going to report it (or didn't know you had too, but that is no defence unfortunately for you) then if might be viewed as too late.

I have to say that even if you knew you had hit the other car you should have got out and looked at least (you don't say if you did) and at least put a note on the windscreen if you didn't know you had to report it to the Police. If you've got caught then you've no-one to blame but yourself as think how you'd feel if you came back to your car bashed in and no-one in sight?

CP

In England, careless driving and driving without due care are either/or offences. You can only be convicted of one or the other for the same incident.

Likewise, failing to stop OR failing to report would be the option open to the police.

I would expect a summons in this case for careless driving and failing to report an accident. Failing to stop in itself is not so serious, depending on the circumstances. If it was at night for example the police might agree that there was some risk to the driver to stop and try to find the owner, particularly if she was a woman alone. There is however no excuse for not going back to try to sort it out so failing to report would be the correct summons.

I think a five point endorsement and a fine is the most likely outcome here, giving the OP a second chance but putting her at the closest possible edge to losing her licence if she transgresses again.

It does depend on the area though. The above is how our local courts would deal with it, others may act differently.

CopperPlate_2

Bossyboots wrote:

In England, careless driving and driving without due care are either/or offences. You can only be convicted of one or the other for the same incident.

Section 3 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 - "If a person drives a motor vehicle on a road without due care and attention, or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the road, he is guilty of an offence." It's a UK Act so it applies to Scotland the same as in England/Wales. The offence of careless driving (Joe Public speak really) comprises the two parts so you aren't charged with one part or the other as the Act states "OR without reasonable, etc."

Bossyboots wrote:

Likewise, failing to stop OR failing to report would be the option open to the police.

In Scotland you can be charged with both. Unless the CPS has issued guidance in E/W stating that a person should only be charged with one or the other?

Bossyboots wrote:

I would expect a summons in this case for careless driving and failing to report an accident. Failing to stop in itself is not so serious, depending on the circumstances. If it was at night for example the police might agree that there was some risk to the driver to stop and try to find the owner, particularly if she was a woman alone.

I'm surprised you said that failing to stop isn't that serious, but you do qualify it by stating dependent on circumstances. I'd say it was more serious than failing to report in certain cases, esp. where you have an accident and the offending party drives off without checking to see if the occupants of the other vehicle are safe/unhurt/alive, etc.

Bossyboots wrote:

I think a five point endorsement and a fine is the most likely outcome here, giving the OP a second chance but putting her at the closest possible edge to losing her licence if she transgresses again. It does depend on the area though. The above is how our local courts would deal with it, others may act differently.

I'd have to agree on that, but depends on the degree of carelessness, value of damage, time between the accident and being traced - although 1 point away from losing your licence would certainly sharpen up my driving.

welshman10

People like you deserve to get banned anyway. No offence.

Sweet_Sugar_1984

Hi.

Thanks to everyone for your replies!

I can assure you all that I have definitely learnt from my mistake. At the time of the incident, I didn't know anything at all about how to handle myself in an accident and therefore, I made a series of stupid mistakes, which have caused me a lot of worry and sleepless nights.

Anyway, I have just sent of my 'Requirement to Provide Name and Address of Driver' form and I am waiting to hear what will happen. What is likely to happen now? Will I receive a notice of the number of points and the fine I'll have to pay? Or will I be called to a Summons? If so, will the punishment I get be put down on my criminal records? Would there be a way to settle this out of court and with the least amount of cost possible?

Also, I've heard that if I do get a 5 point penalty (which I'm hoping to get, considering I could get anywhere between 5 - 10 points), is there a chance that I'll be made to pay a fine of upto £5000? I've heard that this is what could happen and I really can't afford it.

All help and suggestions are welcome.

Thanks again!