​When should I report a Road Traffic Accident?

When should I report a Road Traffic Accident?

If you are involved in an accident causing damage or injury to a person, another vehicle, property, road side property or an animal you must always stop and provide the other party or any person having reasonable grounds with the following details:

• Your name,
• Your address,
• Name of vehicle owner,
• Address of vehicle owner, and
• Vehicle identification marks (for example registration)

These obligations arise even if the accident may have been caused entirely by the fault of someone else.

If for any reason you do not give your name and address you must report the accident to a police station or to a constable as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event within 24 hours. This means that you must report in person at a police station or personally make the report to a constable – telephoning a police station or police constable is insufficient.

If you fail to comply with your obligations under s170 Road Traffic Act 1988, the following offences are committed;

• failure to stop and,
• failure to report an accident

It is also important to remember if you’re not the vehicle owner, you should hand over the vehicle owner’s details too.

While there may be occasions where you are in a minor road traffic accident and agree with the other driver ‘no harm done’ failure to stop and exchange details may have repercussions further down the line.

These details will be necessary should you need to make a claim, the other parties vehicle registration can be used to get in touch with their insurers. You may not be aware at the time of the accident of the full extent of your injuries, for example whiplash injuries can take hours, sometimes days to present themselves.

Can I still make a personal injury claim even if I don’t have the other party’s details?

While you may think that you won’t be able to pursue a claim if you don’t have the details of the driver that caused the accident, this may not necessarily be the case. The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) deal with claims for untraced drivers, for example, hit
and run accident claims.

In some cases the MIB will be able to trace the driver, either from CCTV or by other means. However, if the driver of the vehicle remains untraced the MIB will deal with the claim.

Can I make a personal injury claim against an uninsured driver?

The MIB also deal with claims against uninsured drivers, so, if the driver of the vehicle is not insured the MIB will deal with the claim rather than an insurance company.

If you have been injured in a Road Traffic Accident and would like to discuss making a claim please contact our No Win, No Fee specialist solicitors now on 01202 525333 for a free consultation.