Non fault accident, driver failed to stop...

Kirsty.victoria

Evening all. Just looking for a little bit of advice/guidance really...

I was driving straight over a roundabout when a car approached the roundabout at speed (30mph), did not stop and t-boned me. I was driving, my OH was passenger who took the full force of the impact (front passenger side)

My car sustained damage to the front and rear passenger side, caved in doors and extensive damage to bodywork. The other car lost it's front bumper, grill, headlight, various trim from the car and some kind of metal rod that I can only assume attached to the bumper. Fortunately, however, with the bumper came the registration plate.

After the crash, the driver left the scene at speed (with the bonnet open, totally obscuring the windscreen)

There were dozens of witnesses (Saturday night outside a pub, thank goodness) and I got contact details for 5 witnesses in all.

Myself and OH attended a&e, both with neck pain but my OH also had numbness/pins and needles and ended up on morphine and having several x rays/CT scans.

I reported to my insurance as soon as we left hospital the next day, they confirmed the vehicle was insured (as this was our concern initially) and arranged for an engineer to contact me regarding assessing the car. There is a strong chance it will be a total loss. As a result of this, I am not entitled to a courtesy car from my insurance company.

We reported to the police at the time of the incident and are going to the station to make a statement. I'm now at a bit of a loss as to what I should do next? It's been 4 days and I have no transportation and have already had to contact my insurance company a few times to find out what's happening.

I've got the policy number of the third party insurance, but I've heard nothing from them so assuming no liability has been accepted? I'm quite angry that this has happened to us through no fault of our own and I'm now in pain, with no car, my OH is in absolute agony and can't work (he's a contractor so no sick pay) and the person responsible is (I'm assuming) still 'at large'

Is there anything else I should be doing? Or any way I can try and sort out transport for me until my car has been assessed?

Thank you all and apologies for the probably unnecessarily long post.

force_ten

why didn't the police attended at the time of the incident?

Kirsty.victoria

force_ten wrote: »

why didn't the police attended at the time of the incident?

No idea. My OH phoned 101 immediately and reported it but they didn't send anyone. Three patrol cars (or might have been the same patrol car 3 times lol) passed the roundabout but didn't stop either (we tried to flag one down) I guess as we both got out of the car straight away (shock maybe?) they didn't deem it necessary to attend.

force_ten

if it was me i would have rung 999 and asked for the police to attend

it seems like the other driver had a reason not to stop and if the police had attended the scene they may have been able to find the driver at the time of the incident

sorry i cant add any more

attila_

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/release-of-information-from-dvlas-registers

Or ask your insurancr to give you details. You could then instruct a solicitor and pursue a claim against the owner.

pendragon_arther

Isn't it illegal to drive straight over a roundabout? You're supposed to go round it.

Cash-Cows

pendragon_arther wrote: »

Isn't it illegal to drive straight over a roundabout? You're supposed to go round it.

Including mini roundabouts.

Highway Code:
188
Mini-roundabouts. Approach these in the same way as normal roundabouts. All vehicles MUST pass round the central markings except large vehicles which are physically incapable of doing so. Remember, there is less space to manoeuvre and less time to signal. Avoid making U-turns at mini-roundabouts. Beware of others doing this.
Laws RTA 1988 sect 36 & TSRGD regs 10(1) & 16(1)

OnanTheBarbarian

The actions of the other driver would imply either the car was nicked or the person driving it was not authorised to drive it or they were pished.

What happens next will very much revolve around what info the police turn up with their enquiries and whether the offending driver is actually "identified".

The outcome of whether the offending driver is "identified" has significance on what the obligations are of the insurance company of that vehicle. If the other car had been stolen and was reported as stolen by the owner and the thief is never identified, you won't get a penny out of that person's insurer and it will have to go through the MIB.

As this could take a while you may be best making the claim for your own vehicle via your own insurance company, unless you are able to secure the services of an accident management company to assist you.

Do you have legal cover with your car insurance?

With the benefit of hindsight, you should have rung 999 at the time and not 101 in order to get more immediate police activity.

missile

I am sure OP meant I was negotiating a round a bout intending to take the exit opposite my entry.


OP: When my wife's car was damaged we got fed up waiting for our own insurers to help. We contacted the other drivers insurer and we were pleasantly surprised by how helpful they were. We were able to expedite repairs and they reimbursed us for the hire car.


It is an offence to leave the scene of an accident. If 3rd party did not then report this incident within 24 hours, they should be charging the other driver. If you are not happy with the police, you can complain in writing to the Chief Constable.

Skint_yet_Again

I was parked in a supermarket car park when another driver reversed into me. I got out to look at the damage and the other driver drove off. A witness managed to get his number plate. Thankfully I was not injured.

I reported to police on 101 and my insurance company that day. His insurance eventually admitted liability 5 months later. The police did not interview him until 6 months later and then he was then reported for summons

As its only been 4 days since your accident I'm afraid you should prepare yourself as it may be a long wait.

macman

Assuming that none of the witnesses got the reg, you should just be thankful that they left you the bumper and reg plate behind.
Similar thing happened to me a few years back, but thankfully with a much less serious impact. The offending driver did not stop and was never identified. As I was hit to the rear offside I could not get the reg.
As there was no injury (at least not to me), the police were not interested, and the insurers did not seek to pursue the CCTV evidence that would probably have provided ID.
Given that the offender left the scene with such severe front end damage, it's unlikely they got very far. I'd suspect the the car was either stolen, driven without insurance, or the driver was under the influence-possibly all three!
Have you checked online to see if the car is taxed?