Help appreciated about a hit and run. UK?

Question

A young lad smacked into my car while it was parked up on the road and drove off, both me and a neighbour seen him briefly. The police have traced the registered keeper of the car which is not insured and the lad is denying it saying he got rid of the car, yet the car is now parked at a relatives! I have to go and look at images at the police station and try and identify him, so is my neighbour. Basically if we fail to ID him he gets away with it.At the end of the day he's the registered keeper of that car. Is there any way this idiot can be punished, surely the police could get him for document offences and wouldn't my insurance company be after taking him to court ? Sorry for the long post but any advice or help would be apreciated.

Answer 1

The registered keeper has to disclose who was driving the car at the time of the accident. If the driver is different to the registered keeper and that person is not insured..not only does the driver get done..but also the registered keeper for either "using" "causing" or "permitting" or even for "aiding and abetting".

The police are asking you to go on a "viper" capture. Its the new thing they use instead of the expense of having an ID parade.

Is this of any help?? If you want to know more howl!!!

Answer 2

Insurance companies did at one time (some years ago) have a reserve fund - held by the British Insurance Association to assist claimants who had been the victim of a hit & run. It depends on the extent of the damage to your vehicle - is the cost of repair greater than the insurance excess on your policy. Obviously your insurance company will meet the cost (less the excess) if you make a claim. However, in that case, your insurance premium will increase the following year.

So you have incurred a loss (financially). When the Police prosecute, the Court must be certain that the person brought before the court is the guilty party (beyond reasonable doubt). It would seem from the contents of your question that you and your neighbour are not entirely sure and therefore, as you indicate he may 'get away with it'.

However, since, as I have indicated above you may have suffered a financial loss, providing you know who and where this person resides, you can issue proceedings in the local County Court (it's a civil court) suing him for the damages (loss) you have incurred. In the civil court the evidence does not have to be that strong so that the County Court rules permit prosecution 'on the balance of probabilities' rather than beyond reasonable doubt - Ihope you understand the subtleties of the difference between the two. So you issue proceedings in the County Court (Small Claims Court???) and if you are successful you will win damages (a sum of money) which this person will then have to pay you.

I hope this is helpful. Email me if you need more help subsequently. - [e-mail]

Answer 3

wel straight away the police have got him for driving uninsured which is a crime, failure to report an accident is also a crime. All RTC (Road Traffic Collisions) must be reported to the police, regardless of any lack of illegalities or miniscule damage. Cant say i know why but i know that its the case because the police told us when some twozik drove into my car. Not sure on punishments for either, but obviously they want to be avoided!Probably fines + repairs. Make sure you take the registration of the car though, because if you dont ID him (which if the car is registered to him you shouldnt have a problem) and hte car hasnt been reported stolen, they may be able to get teh registered keeper for something anyway, though i think that would be a long shot.

Answer 4

Match the damage of the vehicles. Take photos of both vehicles. Look for paint transfer where the vehicles made contact. If his vehicle is blue and yours is white there should be blue on your vehicle and white on his. Get a copy of the police report. If information is missing feel free to write what happened and lead you to believe that this is the vehicle which struck your vehicle. Get an estimate of the damage. Let the owner know that you have more than enough evidence to prove it was his vehicle which struck yours (even if you don't) and that you will pass on any further police involvement if he pays to fix the damages. (only take an amount you can live with and remember you may not get anything so don't be too picky). If he refuses entirely take your documentation, evidence, and police report and file a civil case on the owner then hope for the best. It's probably not enough damage and in your insurance company's best interest to go after this guy. For an insurance agency to hire a claims rep, and a lawyer to investigate this would be outrageous amount of money... they feel cutting you a check for uninsured motorist and uping your premium a bit is a better alternative. If the police do not have any luck it will be up to you to do the leg work. Good luck!

Answer 5

If the car isnt insured, your insurer probably wont be able to do much. At least if you identify him, the police can do him for driving with no insurance and leaving the scene of an accident.

As the registered keeper, its his responsibility. If he really did sell it to someone else, its his responsibility to ensure the new owner is registered on the registration document. If he hasnt, tough titty. Its his responsibility.

Insurance companies dont generally take uninsured drivers to court as they usually dont get the money back and it costs them in the court fees, so they rarely do it as its not financially viable.

Ask your insurance company if they can suggest anything with regard to reclaiming your repair costs.

Answer 6

Basically, if you cannot identify him, he can't get charged with causing the accident. However, seeing as you suspect he owns the car, your best bet is to go to where the vehicle is parked and wait to see who gets into it. This means that you will get a good look at him, and will know what he looks like at the police station.

The best the police will be able to get him on if you can't identify him is driving without insurance. Which means that you will have to claim on your own insurance policy and will lose your no claims discount unless you can prove that the other driver was uninsured, meaning that it would go down as a non-fault claim.

Having just said that, look at the dent on your car, if there is any paint residue from the other car on it they might be able to identify the vehicle from it.

Answer 7

In the abscence of the police prosecuting him you should be able to recoup you costs through the motor insurers Bureau they have a bond to cover accidents involving uninsured vehicles I think however you have to pay your excess the Citizens Adivice Bureau should be able to help.

On the other hand if you are still of the opinion that this family are working a SCAM if you have enough evidence why not sue him in the civil court where judgement is given on The Balance of Probability. The freedom of information act should give you access to some of the police investigation and the police can still give evidence on your behalf in the civil court where they can give opinion unlike criminal courts.

Best of Luck !

Answer 8

Hi... I would imagine they are asking you to view pictures to see you can positively identify the driver of the car at the time, which is obviously good evidence. Another thing you could ask the Police to do (if you are in the UK), is to issue the registered keeper with a "T51", which forces them to tell the Police who was the driver at the time of the crash. Failure to do so renders them liable for prosecution (although this can only be issued within 6 months of the date of the crash).

Hope this is of some use to you.

Answer 9

Kick the sh1t out of him... no it won't help pay for the damage... but it will make you feel sooo much better... make sure there are no witnesses and when the police come calling..... tell them... that you couldn't have kicked him into next week as you've sold the intellectual property rights on your hands and feet to your relatives.... and that you are no longer the legal or registered keeper of them.... so the little scrote must be lying...

ah screw it.... kill him and bury him in the woods... you'd be doing us all a favour, ridding the UK of one piece of scum at a time!

Answer 10

hi have you informed the police that the car is parked at a relatives... trying to get out of it eh.. saying he got rid of it. he obviously hasnt swapped the registration details over. so really in the eyes of the law its his responsibilty of the registered keeper. hope you do id him people like him are the ones that are putting our insurance premiums up drinving about with no insurance!!
hope gets sorted....