Rtc

[Chickenlicken]

I was walking the school run with my daughter and two dogs.

 

 

I live in the countryside and was walking along a quiet road with my dogs off lead as I always do.

They are very well behaved and trained.

 

My eldest dog started to lag behind

 

 

I started to walk towards her

-she saw me coming and started to walk towards me,

but a car struck her when we were within 15ft of each other.

The car drove off.

 

The car behind stopped and took my daughter to school and is a witness to the event.

 

 

This car had been following the driver from home as they were both on the same school run.

The road was clear and the driver should have seen us well in advance.

 

Now I appreciate that my dog was off lead and under the RTA she should have been,

but that piece of legislation also says that dogs MUST be on a lead

if they are worrying livestock or are dangerous which isn't the case

 

On the other hand,

the driver drove off without stopping and providing me with her details, but did however, report it to the Police.

She sees me regularly at the school gates so has had ample opportunities.

In fact is under police advice to get in touch.

Its been nearly two weeks since the accident.

 

There is significant damage to my dogs leg and have a large vet bill.

I want her to contribute.

She claims she did not see the dog, or the driver behind her (that had been following her for the previous 15 minutes).

I feel she wasn't paying enough attention to be on the road.

 

Could someone enlighten me with the ins & outs/thoughts on this incident.

Thanks

[hightail]

This isn't what you want to hear but if your dog was on the highway I don't think the driver is in the wrong. If anything, you would be liable for any damage to their car.

[SabreSheep]

This isn't what you want to hear but if your dog was on the highway I don't think the driver is in the wrong. If anything, you would be liable for any damage to their car.

 

i disagree. A driver has to travel at a speed conductive to the driving conditions. Clearly the driver failed to do this.

 

i also add a dog can be the same size as a child.....Your excuse is now wafer thin.

 

she failed to stop.

 

You may have grounds for small claims but im no expert here. Await other comments

[hightail]

Is there a requirement to stop? Things may have changed but used to be a driver who hit a dog was under no obligation to stop. They did have to report the incident to police as soon as practical - which this driver did. It also used to be considered wrong to swerve to avoid a loose dog. If they had taken avoiding action they could have lost control of the vehicle and it might have been the child injured, or worse.

[citizenB]

http://www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/news/11187159.Family_appeal_to_find_driver_after_puppy_badly_hurt_in_crash/

 

You might want to read the comment at the bottom of the page.

 

Do you have pet insurance ? It might be worth asking them where you stand.

[citizenB]

Was the driver speeding - using a mobile phone ?