Involved in RTC - Report to Police?

InsideInsurance

fivetide wrote: »

If someone just happened to have policy details with them unless it looked like a certificate, it would actually make them more suspicious than if they said "I'm insured with Tesco" or something.

Some insurers/ brokers give cards etc to keep with you in cases of having an accident to "help you". Of cause some brokers may well append something to insurers reference numbers etc and when formatting etc is lost by passing details on etc then the insurer may simply reject the policy number rather than spot that it is part of the larger number given etc.

Quentin

Cornucopia wrote: »

Definitely report it to the Police, and they will take an interest in the provision of false details - irrelevant as to whether it is deliberate or not, that is for the Police to establish.

Also irrelevant to deciding liability which is surely what is the issue here!

Cornucopia

Unless a formal Police investigation was undertaken, then the question of liability will be decided by the insurance companies. The bigger companies have a bad habit of finding equal blame when things get tricky.

InsideInsurance

Cornucopia wrote: »

Unless a formal Police investigation was undertaken, then the question of liability will be decided by the insurance companies.

Even if a formal police investigation was to happen liability is still decided by the insurers/ courts as police deal with criminal activity and liability is civil.

Committing a criminal offence is not automatically an act of negligence. The classic example is the guy thats drink driving and passes out at traffic lights. Lights go green, person behind goes forward assuming the drunk will be but goes into their rear. Criminal offence of drink driving has happened but the other driver is at fault for hitting a stationary vehicle.

Joe_Horner

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Even if a formal police investigation was to happen liability is still decided by the insurers/ courts as police deal with criminal activity and liability is civil.

Committing a criminal offence is not automatically an act of negligence. The classic example is the guy thats drink driving and passes out at traffic lights. Lights go green, person behind goes forward assuming the drunk will be but goes into their rear. Criminal offence of drink driving has happened but the other driver is at fault for hitting a stationary vehicle.

Although criminally driving without insurance then trying to pass off false / someone elses details after an accident (if that's what's happened here) would tend to sway the balance of probabilities against them in a civil case - it speaks volumes as to their integrity and the reliability of any statement they make.

In lieu of any other witnesses, such behaviour would tend to make the OP's version of what happened more likely and theirs less so.

Rover_Driver

smashingyour... wrote: »

Is there any reason why you didn't report it following your visit to the minor injuries?

Technically you have committed the offence of failing to report it. But there would be no action takeen

If the OP gave his correct details, and was not asked to produce their insurance certificate by the other driver, they have not committed the offence of failing to report the accident.

Quentin

Rover_Driver wrote: »

If the OP gave his correct details, and was not asked to produce their insurance certificate by the other driver, they have not committed the offence of failing to report the accident.

You are obliged to report rtas which involve injury which this one did.

Rover_Driver

Quentin wrote: »

You are obliged to report rtas which involve injury which this one did.

There is no requirement to report accidents as long as s.170, Road Traffic Act 1988 is complied with.

However, police will normally take details of injury accidents if they are reported to them, for statistical purposes - although they may not take any action in respect of the accident.

Aretnap

You're not obliged to report injury RTAs if you're the only person injured - Road Traffic Act 170 (1) (a).

If someone else is injured you're obliged to report it UNLESS you produce your insurance certificate at the scene - 170 (5). There doesn't seem to be an exception where the other driver/injured party is in a position to ask for your certificate but doesn't, so by the letter of the law you should still report it in that situation... though if you gave all other details and clearly weren't trying to avoid responsibility I can't see how it would be in the public interest to prosecute you for not reporting it.

anotheruser

I would report it to them as an "information only" case, but make them aware of all the confusion.
Obviously not 999.

Although when I had my two incidents, I didn't inform the police. Both non-fault to me (car ran into the side and back of me).

So long as you aren't lying or bending the truth then maybe you lead could be on how the damage occurred. If it looks like they ran into the back of you then obviously you're at no fault.
But with no witnesses then it will probably be your word against theirs.

Out of interest, why didn't you take any photos?
But then on my two, I forgot to take loads. I even forgot to take the reg of the first vehicle. I had a mobile number (constantly to answer phone) and a name that was it.