[kennyn1980]

Hope someone can clear this up for me!

Some of you may have read about my smash in the earlier post I made.
Anyway, this could be a load of horse poop, but i'm 27 years old and have never (until now) had a car accident, so i'm a bit naive when it comes down to insurance and all the legal in's and out's of it all.

People at work today have been telling me that if you have a crash, the insurance companies will report whoever is to blame for it to the Police to be investigated for dangerous driving etc.

Surely this isn't true?! And if it is, i've never heard of this before!

:confused:

[Sussex Patrol]

I'm not qualified to give legal advice-but as far as I understand you have a duty yourself to report any road accident to the police with a certain timeframe(24hours). I have never heard of insurance companies reporting accidents to the police but bear in mind there is a central database which they all report to and share information on (insurance companies).

[kennyn1980]

Originally Posted by Sussex Patrol

I'm not qualified to give legal advice-but as far as I understand you have a duty yourself to report any road accident to the police with a certain timeframe(24hours). I have never heard of insurance companies reporting accidents to the police but bear in mind there is a central database which they all report to and share information on (insurance companies).

I did call the Police when I got home. Since nobody was hurt they didn't want/need to know.

They didn't even take any details off me at all! :eek:

[Sussex Patrol]

Then I think thats answered your question ;)

[Rolebama]

I was once asked to attend Court as a witness against a motorist being prosecuted for driving without due care and attention. When I went to the cashier's office to put in my expenses claim, I was given an address to write to, and was told that the prosecution had been done on behalf of the other driver's insurance company. Apparently the claims had reached a stalemate, and it was the only way they (the insurance companies) could attach blame. Both drivers had refused to accept a knock-for-knock settlement.

[Snowball]

Some years ago, as I was passing two students walking on the pavement in the same direction that I was travelling, I had to drive close to the kerb to pass a stationary car that was waiting to turn right.

Apparently, the student nearest the kerb was thumbing a lift when he heard a car approaching from behind, by putting out his arm with his thumb pointing upwards. He did this just as I was about to pass them. My windscreen pillar, which had a chrome drain channel, struck his hand.

By the time I had stopped and got out of the car, his hand had swollen to twice its normal thickness, and he was clutching it to his chest. I pointed out that it was his fault, but offered to take him and his friend to the local A&E. His friend said he should go, but he flatly refused the offer. I asked for his details and if he wanted mine. Again he said "no", and, after trying a few more times, I had no option to continue my journey.

During this time I told my wife (who was my passenger) that he would be in severe pain the next morning. Considering the possibility that his friend had noted down my registration, I decided to visit the local police station, report the incident, and have it logged.
They were totally disinterested, and my insistence developed the situation into an argument, which was only resolved when a senior officer came onto the scene, and told the desk sergeant to log it to "shut me up".

But if I had not acted in this way, and the student later reported me, I bet I would have been prosecuted for withholding my details.

[Rolebama]

My AA vehicle was hit by a motorist on the A40. I saw vehicles on the on-slip I was approaching, so indicated and moved out to second lane to let them join. One of them decided to join straight into the second lane and drove into the side of my van. Because they were all so close together, I did not know which one of them it was. I went to Wembley Police Station and reported it. I also had to insist they take details. The motorist reported it two days later. It happened at 06.20. I reported it at 06.52. They reported it at 00.10 two days later stating that it had happened at 23.30 the day after, and also passed this same erroneous information to the AA when they tried to claim for their damage. My only proof was the Accident Report at the Police Station. Without it, I would have lost my job and probably would have ended up paying for their damage.

[Snowball]

This is beginning to look like a classic example of "look after number one".
I have decided that, if I am ever involved in a collision that suggests dodgy circumstances, I will, subject to it being safe to do so, stay in my vehicle and complain of neck pain. This gets an ambulance out, but also results in police attendance.

[Rolebama]

With regard to Snowball's comment re 'dodgy circumstances', there are a number of vehicles around with disconnected brake lights. The tactic is to pass a vehicle with only one occupant and slam on the brakes. Alternately, they may drive onto a roundabout and stop. This leads to their being rear-ended. After exchange of details, and having driven away, the dodgy car driver then claims for more people in the car suffering a mixture of whiplash and back pains due entirely to the collision, and also claims of loss of earnings. The ABI claims that this is spreading to other parts of the country.
http://www.abi.org.uk/Display/defaul...0&Child_ID=520
Section 6.3 is the relevant one. (Section 2.3 is also worth reading)

[tenpinn]

its a shame that stuff happens but i'm not surprised i am thinking about putting my video camera in my car in case anything like that happens, but for it to be able to be used to prove anything wouldn't i have to have stickers over my car saying it is recording?

[Rolebama]

Tenpinn, short answer is no. The road is a public place, and as yet, the Government has been beaten by the Press every time they go for Privacy Laws re photography in public places.

[Snowball]

The "no brake lights scam" described by Rolebama is such a situation where the use of my suggested method of getting the police on the scene should pay off. You just do not argue with the shunt causer, or mention anything about no brake lights until the police arrive. They could quickly establish a non-working condition, and perhaps even deliberate disconnection.

Sadly, there are people on the road who try to use collision scams to fleece the insurers of other drivers. It is essential to maintain calm, appear gullibly cooperative, and lead the scammer into a trap. Body language will usually give some indication of whether or not.the collision is a genuine accident.

Remember, to be able to make any claim, the driver and vehicle must be road legal. So, even if he suspects that he has been rumbled, he cannot just drive away. You will have noted his registration by then, and driving off would place him in the position of prosecution for leaving the scene of an accident without the formal exchange of details.

[myoldcar]

From experience and phoning our local police call centre they are very dis-intrested unless it's very very serious. I phoned about a scammer trying to offer me a dodgy cheque for car and was told it's a civil matter. They did say if I let him have my car and the cheque was found to be fraud they would take action..........hmmmm......they tend to fight the fire rather than stop it starting in the first place

[Snowball]

Originally Posted by tenpinn

its a shame that stuff happens but i'm not surprised i am thinking about putting my video camera in my car in case anything like that happens, but for it to be able to be used to prove anything wouldn't i have to have stickers over my car saying it is recording?

No. If you have recorded evidence, then it is legal matter in any case arising from the incident to which it refers. After all, eye witnesses do not have to carry around notices saying "I'm watching you".

[xsonx123]

I work in insurance, and no, the liable party of a claim is not reported to the police for careless driving etc, careless driving convictions are only given if caught by the police

[Snowball]

Originally Posted by xsonx123

I work in insurance, and no, the liable party of a claim is not reported to the police for careless driving etc, careless driving convictions are only given if caught by the police

The police and insurance companies do share access to a common data base.
I suppose it would be possible for them to trace drivers and witnesses where they believed a serious case of dangerous driving may have been committed.

Reliable idependent witness(es) would be sufficient for building a case.