On 27 May, I had an accident with another vehicle. Since I didn't stop at the scene of the accident, both of us don't have each others details. I didn't stop as I panicked and drove away. After arriving at work and calming down, a few hours later, I went to the police and reported the incident. The police said the other person involved in the accident also reported the accident. Now there are two accident reference numbers, which they will link.

At the police station, they ask me what happend, took my personal details, and told me to call my insurance company about the accident (this took around 10 minutes). They didn't say anything about prosecution. Does that mean I'm off the hook, or do they take some time to decided the prosecution? If I get a NIP, does it mean I pay a fine? go to court? licence suspended? points on penalty licence (5-10 points)? imprisonment/jail? If I don't get a NIP 14 days later, does that mean I'm off the hook?

I passed my test late last year. If I get 6 points or more I will need to retake the whole driving test under the New Drivers Act.

I have called the police about getting the other person's details, as my insurance company needs it, but the police said under the Data Protection Act, I am not allowed to have it. They have said the insurance company have the appropriate ways to get the other person's details. I have told the insurance company this, and told me the same thing. How one earth can someone get the other person's details, so the insurance process can continue?

It is my first accident.

Advice appreciated.

If they do decide to prosecute you then no NIP is required for this offence, though they may send one combined with a s. 172 requirement to name the driver (yourself). They have six months in which to commence proceedings against you.

you MAY just have saved you bacon from a failing to stop/give details charge ? BUT if they choose to prosicute for thew crash its self is anybodies guess,

As stated above there is no requirement for NIP afert RTC . I assume that you admitted being the driver but what else did you allude to e.g. did you admit to not stopping because you panicked.This in itself although being the truth might be seen as a deliberate act to attempt to avoid answering for you actions.
You have not indicated who was to blame in this thread which may be taken into consideration.Generally when you are involved in a RTC the insurance company act for you and request details I always consider why do you pay their fees and then expect you to do the legwork as if you had the details you would only pass them on.Dont be fobbed off by your insurance make them work for their premium.

Were you told at the time you would be prosecuted if not this does not mean no action will follow.On the face of it you may have committed offences of driving without due care/fail to stop/fail to report RTC.Again reporting the incident within a couple of hours may sway the Decision maker in your favour.There are a number of ways the case can be disposed of from a caution to summons to court.What is your age as if you are under 18 this may have an impact on disposal.Also was there much damage as far as you aware and has there been injuries sustained by any person.?

Ok. What is the likely to happen whe commecing proceedings against me?



What does 'you may just have saved you bacon from a failing to stop/give details of charge?'

Please elaborate. I am white english and don't know what it means.

Thanks for your reply. My reply to your above reponse is as follows (see below):

I did admit for not stopping because I panicked, and told them about me misjuding my speed (told this to the police). I was to blame for the incident (told this to the police too).

When I went to te police station, they didn't tell me anything about prosecution.

My age is 24 (coming up to 25 in next month).

The other car was damaged (whole passenger side). No one was injured. The only person in the other damaged vehicle is just the driver.

What is the likely thing will happen to me (court, fine, or 5 points on licence)?

Looking forward to your advice. You all have been helpful.

1/ The next you'll probably here (if anything) is a summons from the courts
2/ They can still do you for failing to stop as you commited that offence, by reporting it later (before they caught up with you) you MAY have saved you bacon, that is they may decide not to charge you with it even though you commited the offence.

Simon

Ok.

If I get a summosn to court, I assume I will get 5 points on my licence and a fine then. What is the fine like?

What is the likely action/consequences that the court will give me?

Would I also see the other driver in court to?

why would you assume that ? careless is 3 to 9 points getting 5 is, whilst possible, not very likely, how many points and how much fine, depend on how careless the mags think it was

and as you have given us next to no details, its difficult to even guess the outcome

There are two possible offences

Failure to stop: You seem to be guilty of this, though as you later reported the accident it's possible (though not certain) that the police will decide not to pursue it.

Careless driving: If you misjudged your speed and caused an accident you're quite likely guilty of this as well, though whether or not the police will decide to pursue it is also an unknown; they may offer you a driver improvement course instead of prosecution, or for a minor accident they may even be minded to let the insurers sort it out.

If you were to be convicted of one or both offences the sentance can vary quite a bit; the relevant sentancing guidelines are here (pages 117 and 127). The fine is based on your income: a Band A fine is approximately 50% of your weekly post-tax income, Band B is ~100% and Band C is ~150%.

Do you think it's a good idea to contact the police to see if the case is dropped or still being pursued either NIP (within 14 days of offence occurred), court summon (within 6 months) etc...? Or should I just wait patiently for the letters from them?

Suggestions appreciated.

Although you understandably want to know what is happening, it is never a good idea to ask the police whether they are pursuing a case against you, because it may make them look for your file which had dropped down the back of the filing cabinet, pick it up and decide to get on with it. A NIP is not required if an accident has occurred so you will not know within 14 days. Just be patient and see what eventually is ground out by the system, if anything.

It really depends I would have thought at this time no decision has yet been made as the process can sometimes be fairly lengthy with officers workloads etc.Are you aware who the OIC is ? that person may give you some indication as to what they have reccomended.Some would say best policy is to keep your head low and not stir things up but being in your shoes I am sure you would like to be given an idea.The next thing you may hear could be NFA or a summons throught the post.
It is very difficult to second guess at this stage however I am sure that you are aware fail to stop/report is considered quite a serious offence so be prepared to start thinking about what you have to say at any possible court proceedings.

Still puzzled...



I will just wait until I get some sort of correspondence then.

If I don't hear anything within 14 days, I just assume I will hear something within 6 months??....



I don't know the officer in charge of the case. He didn't tell me his name, and I didn't ask him his name.

What is a NFA?

If nothing in 14 days, I assume it will be a summons soon? I understand the summons can come within 6 months? Can it come sooner like 1-2 months (or does this depend on the workload)? If I don't have a summons within 6 months, I guess I am off the hook?

Anyway, I decided not to contact anyone, and just wait for some correspondence instead.

officer in charge ( of the case)

NO further action( letting you off)

I would have thought that if there were no indpendent witnesses it will be your word versus the other drivers word. I.E. no independent evidence for the police to go on. Have you made a statement to police? Did you admit to anything?

Bearing in mind the official advice given to combat car hijacking - I.E. NOT to stop at the time of an accident if you feel threatened it may be that you could take this line if asked why you did not stop.

Only if it happens to be true, which would be odd since the OP doesn't mention it. Anything else would by lying, which we tend to frown on here.

Do you have a source for this "official advice" which seems to suggest that people should break the law?


Of course, if the OP didn't feel threatened and merely panicked at the thought of having caused an accident, as his first post implies that he did, you're effectively advising him to commit perjury, which isn't very clever.

RM's the new loose cannon, feel free to duck his badly aimed shots until he's read the user manual (aka advice on here that is correct) and learns to shoot straight......

Simon

I went into the police and reported the accident. I did admit it was my fault (honesty is the best policy).

I didn't stop as I panicked.

By the way, I have valid insurance for my car. For some reason, the police at the station didn't request to see this. :S

Probably already checked the database......

Admitting it was your fault may not have been the best thing though, when dealing with the Police honesty is not always the best policy, they probably now have all the evidence they need for careless driving without needing to do any hard work (like proving it).

Simon

I have to agree. Never admit anything, no matter how guilty you might feel. You may not be as much to blame as you first think. If it is all to dificult for Mr Plod to sort it out through lack of hard evidence and self incrimination, it may get dropped or they may even decide that the other driver was more to blame than you.
As for not stopping because you were in fear of car jacking or suspected a 'staged' accident or feared for your personal safety - it has often been said on TV by senior police officers that you should do this. I'm sure an internet trawl would turn something up to coroborate it. However, once (and as soon as you are) in a place of safety it would be wise to notify police.

I do not say this because I condone not stopping to exchange details - I have been on the recieving end of hit & run incidents a couple of times myself but in a genuine case of feeling under threat it is an option.

In reagrds to the immediate posting above don't go there with this ' car jacking story'.You have said your piece let the matter take it's course.Questions will certainly be asked of this 'defence'.You will probably come a cropper.It is too late to advise not to admit your guilt as you appear to have done so.Look for damage limitation at this stage and see what the next move is by the Police.The statrt building up defence if any and/or mitigation.

I said I hit the near end of the vehicle passenger side, and so on/etc... The means I'm admitting the fault anyway. This is what happend...

The police will know it's my fault anyway, without saying 'it's my fault'.

Hope you get what I mean.

If I don't hear anything within 14 days regarding NIP, I assume it's the 'wait 6 months for court summons'.

It's unlikely that you'll get a NIP as none is required (though not impossible - some forces will send one anyway as a belt and braces approach). The 6 month deadline refers to the time the police have to lay information before a court (ie apply for a summons). There is no definite deadline for the issue and delivery of a summons - it can take a few weeks after information is laid. So the wait might actually be as much as 8 months. If you haven't heard anything by then you can probably start to breath more easily.

Often in these circumstances the police would want to interview you, which they would oviously try to do before laying information, so the next thing you hear may be a request to attend an interwiew. You would not be obliged to attend. However, if you've already admited causing the accident and leaving the scene they may feel that they already have enough evidence to charge you without the need for an interview.

Until you hear something more there's not much you can do but write down your recollection of events in as much detail as possible, in case you need an aide memoire later. And cross your fingers and hope.

Since you have not described how the collision occurred we cannot advise at all on who was 'at fault' even though you say you have admitted being at fault.
If you are lucky your insurers will overlook your admission....If you were to read the small print in your policy you would find a clause telling you not to admit liability.

If you phone your local Police and ask for them to put you through to the collision department or accident department (depending upon which century they live in) and explain that you were involved in a collision at such and such a location on such and such a time and date they will give you the basic details of the other vehicle which you can then give to your insurers. (unfortunately some front counter workers have heard of the data protectin act but have never bothered to read up on it)

It will depend upon local policy whether you face a prosecution for due care. By reporting it a few hours later you will in all probability avail yourself of a defence for 'failing to stop' but there is a slim chance they may throw that in the mix too.


Depending upon local procedures you may well get a notice to furnish details of the driver at the time and a NIP which may have been sent when the other party reported the collision even though this is not required in law. It would only be afterwards that the two reports get tied together. If you get a notice to furnish you MUST complete and return it notwithstanding you have already been in to report it.

Im pretty sure thats an unban myth, its strongly sugested that you should not,, but its NEVER a condition of your insurance, that in anyway would invalidate your insurance

Hmm, Direct Line, for instance, under 'General Conditions' state:
3. Claims procedure – Our rights and your obligations
a. You must not admit liability for or negotiate to settle any claim without
our written permission.

and is a claim and an accident the same thing, eer NO

So what are you saying, it's OK to admit liability for an accident, but not a claim? You're 'aving a larf!

You have different obligations in front of the Police and in front of the other party in a collision anyway, admitting liability to the other party is not something insurers like, making a true statement to the Police is somewhat different.

Simon

the police look for offences of standard of driving and have no interest in liability for civil claims. If you ask any insurance company they will never tell you don't admit anything to the police even if it risks admitting liability as this in its self can end up becoming an offence and one that the company representative either incites or worse conspires to commit...

that would go very badly for the insurance company to write up as a policy.

There's a difference between admitting liability ("it was my fault") and making a statement as to what happened ("I drove into the back of them"). Insurers put "do not admit liability" in normal-sized print in their documentation regarding what to do in the event of an accident, but that's not the same as it being a policy clause.

You're under no obligation to admit liability to a third party or to the police. The insurance companies dislike their customers admitting liability because it makes their job harder, I imagine. Lawyers would dislike it for the same reasons.

i would have thought that a pedant such as yourself would have been a bit careful about mixing up indiums in legal definitions

you fail to stop in time and crash into car stopped at lights'' sorry mate that was my fault'' = admitting responsibility for causing ACCIDENT which is ok

you later get a CLAIM for damages to car and to occupents, running in to thousands of pounds, you reply ( in writting) '' i accept liability for this claim'' = you accept the level of compo claimed,,, not OK , your outside the terms of your contract with the insurance company who maintain the right to contest the amount they are due to pay out

My insurance is up for renewal in October.

When I get correspondence for a court summon (according to you guys, it's a big possibility ), the 6th month is in November. What happens if I renew my car insurance in October, and receive a court summon letter in November and attend the hearing (and lets say they want to disqualify me), can I get a refund from my insurance, or should I just wait until the court's decision before driving again/renew insurance, etc...?

I understand a NIP is not required for my sort of situation mentioned in my first post, and a court summon issued within 6 months of the incident. I am still under the 'New Drivers Act'.

Hope you get what I mean. Opinions/advice apprciated.

Friendly advice: Chill. Rather than anticipating the worst you might want to consider doing something that will undoubtedly benefit your driving, will give you a distraction from ths stress and - potentially - offset what may happen if you eventually go to court.

Take a "Skill for Life" course with the Institute of Advanced Motorists (no, I don't get commission). It will definitely improve your driving skills and if you end up in front of the magistrates you can demionstrate that you have taken positive steps to address your driving deficiencies. It'll cost the princely sum of £139 and may represent the difference between you getting only, say, 4 points (and keeping your licence) or picking up 6 or more (and having to re-apply for a provisional and then take re-tests for both theory and driving).

Absolute sound advice, it will also reduce your insurance costs. If you renew your insurance in October and you receive a conviction in November you are responsible for advising them of such a conviction as your insurance may be invalid.

That depends on the terms of the policy, some require immediate notification, some do not.

Thanks for your advice.

I will think about taking this course. Do you know what the marking scheme is like? Not sure if or how that will persuade the magistrates decision though (can't find any proof of this. If you can, please let me know).

Also, why doesn't a NIP needed for my type of accident?





I hit the rear side of the passenger side, and the vehicle spun, and the passenger side hit a side wall. The wall was part of the public road. Probably the car will be a write off. As you can see, it's my fault.

Not sure how serious this incident is to the police.

I phoned up and still won't give the details to me. They say it's up to the insurance to get those details, who have the correct channels to get it.

So far, no correspondence... Sometimes I just dread, it will come in a few months time or during the 6th month...

From a police website:

Question

Do the police prosecute failing to stop and report an accident in every case?

Answer

The police will aim to prosecute in most cases where there is sufficient evidence to secure a conviction however each case is judged on it's own merits. If the collision is one where there is serious injury/ damage then the police will aim to prosecute in every case. If it is minor damage only then it is more likely (although not definitely) that it will be left to the insurance companies to sort out liability.

Failing to stop and failing to report an accident are offences and although not the most serious crimes, it can be distressing for the other parties involved.

A conviction for one of these offences could lead to imprisonment and/or a substantial fine.

you wont be going to prison

A NIP isn't required because the law says it isn't required in the case of an accident. Section 2(1) of the Roat Traffic Offenders' Act says



I suppose the reason is that a NIP is intended to give you warning that you may be prosecuted for an incident while you still have chance to remember it. If the police accused you of (say) doing 40 in a 30 on a random occasion 5 months ago, it would obviously be unfair to expect you to remember anything about how you were driving that day, so how could you prepare a defence? However, it's assumed that if you were in an accident, you'll remember it well enough without the aid of a NIP.

While failure to stop is theoretically an imprisonable offence, in practice prison is reserved for people who cause serious injury (or worse) and flee the scene. The fact that you didin't do that (and that you subsequently reported it) means that whatever the outcome is, you don't need to worry about going to jail.

Thanks for your above replies regarding the question I posted from the police website, and the NIP.

I hope the court and/or letter from police say about offering me a Driver Improvement Course instead of court summons and penalty points..... If the court says penalty points, can I say something to persuade them not to give penalty points and do a Driver Improvement Course instead, etc.?

If it was penalty points, I hope it would be 5 (the minimum for failing to stop), and not more than that. I understand the range of points for failing to stop is 5-10. How do they determine if it will be 5,6,7,8,9, or 10 points?

In the last few posts, I described the accident, (i.e. I hit the rear side of the passenger side, and the vehicle spun, and the passenger side hit a side wall. The wall was part of the public road.). How serious/minor is this in terms of prosecution and penalty points?

Any updates, I will let you guys know.

Try getting in contact with your insurance company and give them the crime number you were given...they will then be able to get the other parties details and handle any claim...the other party may have done this already and given your details to their insurance company.
If a wall was damaged then you might be receiving a claim from the owner of the wall too.
I take it you did report the accident to your insurance company?

It may surprise you to learn that improvement courses have no basis in law (they are effectively a bribe to teh Police force to not taken any further action in return for which you get a lecture instead) and as such they are not a 'punishment' the court can impose.

Simon

I don't have the crime number, as the police didn't tell me.

I did report the accident to my insurance on the day of the accident. Next few days, they sent me an accident report to fill in, and ask me to send them copies of driving related documents. I think the insurance got the crime number on the same day, as they asked me back how the accident happen, etc...


The wall is the council's property, as it's the wall is part of a public road. The wall is scratched, not broken into pieces.



Ok. Looks like I will get some penalty points and a fine then.

Will update you guys if I get any updates,etc...

Update

Insurance company contacted me that they paid out money to the other party. Insurance part is now sorted. It's just the police correspondence to wait now...

4 months after an accident caused by myself, I haven't heard anything, no letters, etc... about outcome. I have no NIP.

People on the Peipoo forum who had a letter regarding court summons, when did you have a court summons letter sent to you - 1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th, or 6th month after the accident?

I understand that they have upto/within 6 months for court summons.

Your experience/advice appreciated.

allowing this isnt Scotland they have up to 6 months to lay info with the court, then another couple of months or so to send the summons to you

no nip needed after an accident

It's not in Scotland, it's England.

If I don't here anything in 8th,9th,10th,11th,12th month after the date of the accident, I assume the police haven't taken any action.

Also, I assume in most cases the court summons letter will arrive in the 7th month?