Three alleged offences: RT88218, RT88220, RT88575 - can't believe it!

[stuarto]

Good evening. My step daughter has just received a letter of Statutory notice to provide her details and also three alleged offences:

 

RT 88218 - Failure to stop after a road accident

RT 88220 - Failure to report an accident

RT 88575 - Driving without due care and attention

 

These are the result of an incident that I suspect many of us have experience during our driving careers. That of someone driving too fast and close to the middle of the lane down a country road, resulting in smashing each others drivers door mirrors.

 

The incident occurred at 5.30pm on 3rd December and my step daughter says a car hit her door mirror and she went into the verge in her attempts to avoid it. She considers it to be the other drivers fault.

 

My stepdaughter DID stop at the scene. She was very shaken up and got out to inspect the damage to her car. She waited in case the driver returned.

 

The other driver DID NOT stop or return to the scene.

 

She rang 999 while at the scene. She was advised to visit her local police station. She did so but the station was closed. She rang 101 and was advised that a. as her car was driveable, b. there were no injured parties and c. there would not have been any CCTV in that lane, there was nothing they could do. However, they did say that if she went into a police station she could get a crime no./reference number to use for insurance purposes. But, they did NOT at any point make it clear that she MUST BY LAW go to a police station and report the incident.

 

From this conversation my step daughter decided that as she wouldn't be making an insurance claim she didn't need to report it. We know now that was the wrong decision therefore the charge of not reporting the incident is obviously one that can be brought against her.

 

The letter states. . . "police have reasonable grounds to believe that the driver was sufficiently blameworthy to conclude they were primarily responsible for the incident taking place".

 

We are puzzled by this - how can the police come to this conclusion without any evidence from the scene?

 

How have the police gained my step daughters details?

 

Why has this escalated to this level?

 

How many of us have had collisions like this? Andhad to get over it and pay up/or make a claim - whether it was our fault or not. I have never reported anything to the police. I have only ever dealt with the other party through insurance companies. So I assume I've broken the law in the past by not reporting them to the police then!

 

Just to make it clear in my 30 years of driving I've only had a handful of accidents - all the other drivers fault!

 

Should we be getting legal advice at this stage or should we await the next stage?

 

This seems a shocking escalation of what on the face of it seems a 'minor' incident which would normally be forgotten about after the initial shock and anger of the event taking place.

 

We aren't in the habit of knowingly breaking the law - although I realise that is no excuse. Any comments or advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Stuart.

[Migster]

Perhaps the other car was fitted with a dsahcam, so the driver had a record of her reg number and also footage of the incident to show the police.

[unclebulgaria67]

Good evening. My step daughter has just received a letter of Statutory notice to provide her details and also three alleged offences:

 

RT 88218 - Failure to stop after a road accident

RT 88220 - Failure to report an accident

RT 88575 - Driving without due care and attention

 

These are the result of an incident that I suspect many of us have experience during our driving careers. That of someone driving too fast and close to the middle of the lane down a country road, resulting in smashing each others drivers door mirrors.

 

The incident occurred at 5.30pm on 3rd December and my step daughter says a car hit her door mirror and she went into the verge in her attempts to avoid it. She considers it to be the other drivers fault.

 

My stepdaughter DID stop at the scene. She was very shaken up and got out to inspect the damage to her car. She waited in case the driver returned.

 

The other driver DID NOT stop or return to the scene.

 

She rang 999 while at the scene. She was advised to visit her local police station. She did so but the station was closed. She rang 101 and was advised that a. as her car was driveable, b. there were no injured parties and c. there would not have been any CCTV in that lane, there was nothing they could do. However, they did say that if she went into a police station she could get a crime no./reference number to use for insurance purposes. But, they did NOT at any point make it clear that she MUST BY LAW go to a police station and report the incident.

 

From this conversation my step daughter decided that as she wouldn't be making an insurance claim she didn't need to report it. We know now that was the wrong decision therefore the charge of not reporting the incident is obviously one that can be brought against her.

 

The letter states. . . "police have reasonable grounds to believe that the driver was sufficiently blameworthy to conclude they were primarily responsible for the incident taking place".

 

We are puzzled by this - how can the police come to this conclusion without any evidence from the scene?

 

How have the police gained my step daughters details?

 

Why has this escalated to this level?

 

How many of us have had collisions like this? Andhad to get over it and pay up/or make a claim - whether it was our fault or not. I have never reported anything to the police. I have only ever dealt with the other party through insurance companies. So I assume I've broken the law in the past by not reporting them to the police then!

 

Just to make it clear in my 30 years of driving I've only had a handful of accidents - all the other drivers fault!

 

Should we be getting legal advice at this stage or should we await the next stage?

 

This seems a shocking escalation of what on the face of it seems a 'minor' incident which would normally be forgotten about after the initial shock and anger of the event taking place.

 

We aren't in the habit of knowingly breaking the law - although I realise that is no excuse. Any comments or advice would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Stuart.

 

Suggest that she makes a formal complaint and files a statement of her version of the accident as soon as possible.

 

If she has legal cover on her car insurance they might pay towards any costs of fighting this.