Witnessing RTA between 2 vehicles

henrygregory

Hi there, just looking for some advice as a witness to a recent accident.

 I was recently a pedestrian and witnessed an accident on the street. I felt compelled to go over to the driver I felt was the victim as the other driver was really verbally abusing him and other people just stood watching. I saw the standard of driving from the other driver and I am quite certain that the person I consider a victim, was indeed that. 

 I have given the driver my number, and I am happy to provide my account of what went on, however the other offending driver, based on their behaviour, seemed to be to be a dangerous individual and certainly not someone I would want anything to do with. Does anyone know if there is a any way for the other driver to know who I am if things were taken further? I really feel for the driver I see as the victim and was also quite disappointed that nobody else came forward to help resolve the situation or help in the street. I would like to think people would do what I did if I had been involved in an accident like this. Thankfully no injuries but I think it is important justice is done here but not at the expense of the wronguns knowing who I am! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Belenus

Well done for supporting the driver.

The chances of the irate driver pursuing you are vanishingly small so try not to worry.

The irate driver will probably eventually calm down and it will all be settled by the insurance companies.

You may have to give a statement to an insurance company.

I assume that the Police were not involved so any court case is very unlikely.

DB1904

If you give the insurance company a statement no doubt it will have your name on it. It may or may not come into the possession of the offending driver. 

If the matter went to Magistrates Court then you may have to give evidence in front of the driver. I don't know if things have changed but that did involve giving the court your name and address. 

henrygregory

Belenus said:

Well done for supporting the driver

The chances of the irate driver pursuing you are vanishingly small so try not to worry.

The irate driver will probably eventually calm down and it will all be settled by the insurance companies.

You may have to give a written statement to an insurance company.

I assume that the Police were not involved so any court case is very unlikely.

Thanks - was the least I could do. The only reason I witnessed it was because I saw the offending vehicle speed past me so fast I turned to watch it go past me assuming it was stolen for it to hit the vehicle in question. The poor driver was innocent and doing nothing wrong but received such sustained abuse, I felt compelled to go and help. 

The victim did call the police - this was in London, but I am not sure if they attended. I needed to get going but I gave the driver my name and number. This incident is exactly the reason why I do not drive in London anymore despite having a ULEZ compliant car. This standard of driving is far too common place.

But the offending driver, seemed like a very nasty person, I could hear them shouting and balling from some distance and it attracted quite a crowd. I was just worried it things got serious, my name and details would be dragged into it, but hopefully, if it just went through insurance, that would not be the case. I think a person like the offender, is not the sort to calm down - their standard of driving and subsequent abusive behaviour said it all to me. I am so glad they had not hit me as it was an awful situation and the poor victim was really shaking. Felt very sorry for them. 

Grey_Critic

So have you written a statement? No not for the Police, Insurance or anyone else but you?

From personal experience I have found that when I have been a witness or involved in something that can have

consequences that writing it down while still fresh in your mind  as a statement is a great help.

Should you find yourself being asked to give evidence then you can produce it and explain you wrote it whilst it was fresh in your mind - far better than trying to recall things 6 months or more later - was it sunny - cloudy - rain - snow - hot - cold - If asked in 6 months can you be sure that at the time of the accident one of those conditions applied?

henrygregory

Grey_Critic said:

So have you written a statement? No not for the Police, Insurance or anyone else but you?

From personal experience I have found that when I have been a witness or involved in something that can have

consequences that writing it down while still fresh in your mind  as a statement is a great help.

Should you find yourself being asked to give evidence then you can produce it and explain you wrote it whilst it was fresh in your mind - far better than trying to recall things 6 months or more later - was it sunny - cloudy - rain - snow - hot - cold - If asked in 6 months can you be sure that at the time of the accident one of those conditions applied?

I wrote it all down immediately after including the reg nos. I have been the victim of similar in the past, and that is why I felt the need to get involved. Far too many people out there driving like this and IMO, they should have their licences taken away. 

[Deleted User]

I was a witness to an incident - car that was hit by a guy on a bike - I was asked by one insurer (assume driver's) for a statement but I gave my details to both parties on site and provided the helmet camera footage of it to both sides. That was all I heard back and never contacted either side again

Rewatching the footage I did speculate about what caused the collision - not sure if the guy overestimated his cornering or if he was swerving to avoid a car turning across his path - that car did speed off when he got up and moved towards them so I think they knew they were responsible but I couldn't see the plate on the footage. One thing I think will have resulted in the rider being found at fault was that he was on an illegal fixie with only 1 brake (captured on camera) so even as a cyclist I have no sympathy for the rider as he wasn't injured. Whether anyone but an experienced cyclist would have noticed that detail is another matter...

Jaybee_16

Last time I got involved as a witness to a RTC was a good few years ago. Insurance company wrote to me asking for a witness statement, completed their forms and posted back. 

Fast forward a few weeks and the insurance company wrote to me again to claim I was to blame for the collision and let them know how I wanted to proceed with their claim. 

Promptly gave them a suitable reply.
 

Grey_Critic

***Rewatching the footage I did speculate about what caused the collision***

I hope you have not put that in writing. We may all have *personal* opinions but when you witness something like this where you may be asked in court the reply has to be - I am not an expert so I have no opinion on the rights and wrongs. All I can tell  is what I saw.

DB1904

Grey_Critic said:

***Rewatching the footage I did speculate about what caused the collision***

I hope you have not put that in writing. We may all have *personal* opinions but when you witness something like this where you may be asked in court the reply has to be - I am not an expert so I have no opinion on the rights and wrongs. All I can tell  is what I saw.

Why give a smart !!!!!! answer? Of course you can give an opinion, it's up to the court whether or not it's accepted.

hollie.weimeraner

If you are asked to appear in court (if no police it will be civil court) your address is redacted and the defendant will have no access to it. Oh and congratulations for giving your details, this day and age too many people don't do anything but then complain when it happens to them.