Notice to Nominate Driver- Careless Driving, Failing to Stop and Failing to Report

60BOWENS

I have just received a 'Notice to Nominate the Driver' for an incident that took place at the end of May (more than 2 months to the date).

The allegations are for Careless Driving, Failing to Stop and Failing to Report.

On the day in question, I was taking one of my usual routes to the hospital for work during peak hours and entered a major roundabout with numerous exits. My intention was to take the third exit which has two lanes to enter a dual carriageway. Just as I was crossing the 2nd exit and entering the 3rd exit, another car hit the rear left-hand side of my car near the wheel arch. My car veered slightly and I was focused on ensuring that I did not collide with nearby cars or structures. By then, I was nearly on the dual carriageway and it was difficult for me to stop with cars on the left and behind me trying to gain speed to join onto the carriageway. I had caught a glimpse of the other car crossing behind my car and continuing to the next exits on the roundabout.

I made sure to stop my car at the first available hard shoulder which was a couple of miles away. I examined my car and did not see any obvious major damage, apart from a minor dent by the rear wheel arch less than 0.5cm with no missing paintwork (photos attached). I waited on the hard shoulder for 5-10 minutes. My thoughts were that if the other driver had taken my exit, they would be in the same dual carriageway and would note I had stopped at the hard shoulder to exchange details. The next roundabout to turn back to the site of the incident was a further 3 miles away and given what I saw of the other car not stopping, I was not sure that they would be there. As there was not much damage to my car and I was due to take over from my colleagues as a key worker in the Emergency Department, I decided to proceed with my journey.

I travelled back later in the day to check for cameras at the roundabout that might have picked up the other car but did not find any. I subsequently decided not to report the incident because the other driver had been at fault, there was only minor damage to my car (which was not worth going through insurance) and I could recall very little about the other car's details, other than it was light-coloured.

Since then, I have taken the same route to work multiple times. My car is equipped with a tracker which records all my journeys. For the journey taken on the day, I was given a score of 90/100 (very good) and the app clearly shows that I stopped at the hard shoulder after passing the roundabout. Additionally, I have not had any issue with the car and the tracker clearly shows that I had only been using it for my daily commute to work and that I had not taken it to any garages/repair centres. My car had also passed MOT last week and there was no mention of any damage to the car.


Given that this notice has come more than 2 months after the event, I would like some advice on what my next steps should be. I had driven responsibly on the day of the event and have evidence to show that I had stopped when it was safe to do so. As I mentioned, the only reason I did not report the incident was that there was no significant damage to my car and the other driver had been at fault. I have never been in an incident before and I have no points on my license. My insurance company have also not received any claims from the other party.

Left Rear Side:


Right rear side for comparison:

Car_54

First, the two-month delay is irrelevant and you must reply to the request to name the driver.

When you were unable to exchange details, you were required by law to report to the police, so that offence seems complete.

Anecdotally, once the police have the driver's identity they are generally happy to take no further action, and to leave it to the insurers to sort out.

60BOWENS

Thank you for your reply. I was not aware that I had to report minor incidents, otherwise I would have done so. What would be the implications of failing to report the accident?

Car_54

Unless you exchange details, you have to report any accident which causes injury or damage to any 3rd party property.

Penalty for failure to stop, or to report carries 5-10 points or a ban, plus an unlimited fine (Income -related). Possibly six months imprisonment. Don't worry too much , the offence you describe would be at or near the lower end of the scale.

BTW all of the above is in the Highway Code, which you're supposed to be familiar with .

shiraz99

You're also supposed to inform your insurer of the incident.

TooManyPoints

Always a good idea to seek a second opinion!