Car Accident - Driver Dispute

Car_54

Strider590 wrote: »

This is weird, usually the Police don't give a damn unless someone was injured.

You're right, but only once they've established who the driver was and that the insurers are going to sort it out.

The normal procedure seems to be to send the RK of the offending car a NIP mentioning failure to stop, failure to report, and careless driving. Once the driver has been identified they may interview him/her, or take no action, depending on circumstances.

JM2009

we didn't see the other driver so we assumed they drove off too .. there wasn't really any damage on my wife's car apart from a light scuff on the headlight so I just assumed the same when I got out to inspect it and told my wife to drive on.

we have told the insurance who was driving .. of course we have. it was the police letter we were concerned about.

forgotmyname

I came back off holiday to find someone have damaged my car, builders working on the roof next door shouted down they had the details.

I reported it to the local police who didnt seem interested and said i could be charged for failing to report it within 24 hours.
I said how can i report something i didn't know? Eventually he took a statement and they prosecuted the other driver. 6 points and a fine of several hundred £.

I just wanted his details as the damage was very minor. I only got the letter after they prosecuted him with his and his insurance details.

So you must 100% get proper advice ASAP.

Tilt

Strider590 wrote: »

This is weird, usually the Police don't give a damn unless someone was injured.

It's classed as a fail to stop which is an offence to which the police are obliged to investigate.

macman

JM2009 wrote: »

we didn't see the other driver so we assumed they drove off too .. there wasn't really any damage on my wife's car apart from a light scuff on the headlight so I just assumed the same when I got out to inspect it and told my wife to drive on.

we have told the insurance who was driving .. of course we have. it was the police letter we were concerned about.

You keep changing your story. You first said there was no damage to either vehicle, now you say your vehicle was damaged and you have no idea whether the other vehicle was damaged or not. For all you know, someone was injured in the other vehicle. That you 'told' your wife to drive on is not relevant-she was the driver and she drove on
Once your wife admits that she was driving, the law will take it's course, and a charge of failing to stop after an accident is the minimum likely charge. 'Stopping' in this instance means stopping for long enough to allow her identity to be established, and to exchange details, which she failed to do. Maximum penalty is ten points and a £5000 fine and/or up to 6 months imprisonment. Though that would be exceptional-the main impact will probably be on her insurance premiums.

JM2009

I haven't changed anything (maybe just worded it wrong and confused the issue) I never mentioned damage to the other car as I didn't see it ... I said there was no damage to my wife's car (I didn't really class a scuff on the light as damage as it could possibly have already been there) and assumed that there was no damage to the other (I admit that assuming this was wrong) .. this was a very minor incident and certainly wouldn't have caused any injuries .. but I know that it was me that has made this situation even worse but telling her to carry on driving.

Car_54

JM2009 wrote: »

.. this was a very minor indecent and certainly wouldn't have caused any injuries .. but I know that it was me that has made this situation even worse but telling her to carry on driving.

That opens up a whole different can of worms.;)

JM2009

Car_54 wrote: »

That opens up a whole different can of worms.;)

sorry stupid typo.

dannyrst

Wow. I hope your wife receives a hefty fine and points.

You got out, checked your car, decided there was no damage and drove off?! Without even looking at the other car? Classy!

Why are two witnesses saying that a male was driving if your wife was? There may be further implications if the police think someone else was driving and not your wife (which is likely if two witnesses say a bloke was driving).

macman

JM2009 wrote: »

I haven't changed anything (maybe just worded it wrong and confused the issue) I never mentioned damage to the other car as I didn't see it ... I said there was no damage to my wife's car (I didn't really class a scuff on the light as damage as it could possibly have already been there) and assumed that there was no damage to the other (I admit that assuming this was wrong) .. this was a very minor incident and certainly wouldn't have caused any injuries .. but I know that it was me that has made this situation even worse but telling her to carry on driving.

You have changed your story: your first post said I got out of the car to inspect the damage, there was none so we drove off
Now you are saying that there was minor damage to your car and you assumed that there was no damage to the other car...but didn't actually hang around long enough to check. You haven't made this 'worse'. Your wife was the driver and she made the decision to not stop and give her details. If she is prosecuted, then I don't think that her defence should be that she did so under prompting from you.