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please help, need advice (road accident today)

Amazin

Active member
Messages
177
Location
london
I hit someone today on the road, wasn't my fault because he looked on the opposite direction and didn't look at my direction. He then tried to cross the road by running which was totally unexpected. I braked as fast as I could but still not enough. Luckily I was only on 22-24mph when i hit him hence there's no damage to my van. I feel terrible right now because he was in lot of pain as he landed on his right arm and was bleeding a bit near the forehead. 

what do I do now? The Police said they will contact me. Do I need to report this to the insurance asap? I got his name and address from the Police, part of me want to visit him and say sorry but not sure if that's the best thing to do

 
You should have looked about for any witnesses and took a statement. I have Dashcam which I would recommend to everyone. I would contact a lawyer right away in case he try's to claim you (he has 3yrs to do so). Don't contact him or try to it could have a detrimental effect on any claim against you. Your lawyer may tell you to contact your insurance.

 
Sorry to here, it's not a nice experience. As @Pjj said, did the Police take a statement from you? Did you inform them what had happened. By law you have to report it to the Police even if there were no injuries.

 
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I would phone your insurance company and tell them what’s happened just to cover yourself might come to nothing ,but will depend on any injuries he may have .
I wouldn't, my brother works for insurance and you have just told them you have had an accident which will effect your no claims. ?

 
I wouldn't, my brother works for insurance and you have just told them you have had an accident which will effect your no claims. ?
And if you don't and they then make a claim good luck getting insurance next time. 99% certain it states in your insurance policy you have to inform them. Will only affect your no claims if there's a claim that you are liable for.

 
I did the same when I was in my early 20's. Little girl had an argument with her mother on the way to school and her Mum told her to get out the car and walk! :-0 Luckily, I was only doing about 15mph and she hadn't broke anything. BUT.....I then get the hospital bill through the post. I wrote Hosp a letter explaining what the mother did and said she should be paying it under the circumstances. Heard nothing back.

It was a company car.

 
Amazin yes tell insurance co asap

PT Dont' think you need to contact the police nowdays - unless the road is blocked as long as you both exchange details else you will need to report within 24hrs

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/if-youre-in-an-accident
Many years ago I caught someone that stepped out in front of me. Went to the Police and they said I did the right thing. At the end of the day I believe that failing to report an accident is still a criminal offence.

 
Amazin yes tell insurance co asap

PT Dont' think you need to contact the police nowdays - unless the road is blocked as long as you both exchange details else you will need to report within 24hrs

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/if-youre-in-an-accident
You still have to report it to the police especially if it’s a person that you have hit , my father in law had a teenager in a scooter crash I ti him they guy didn’t want the police involved and he wasn’t injured so my father in law did nothing ,a few days later the police arrived on his door step inviting him to go to the police station ,the guy reported it as a hit and run , cctv proved what had happened but it proved he should have reported it , after my father in law having a very stressful couple of weeks the police decided they would take no further action against him for not reporting it but he got a right lecture from them . 

 
Do I need to report this to the insurance asap?
Yes. If you don't they can refuse a payout - and you'll personally then be liable for any costs from any legal action you might now face.

An old friend works in motor insurnace - he's a qualified underwriter and then went into insurance fraud. I've heard all sorts of tales. Trust me it isn't worth the hassle of keeping quiet hoping it'll all go away and the insurers will never find out. Just tell them - the odds are if you don't and they find out via other means you might find yourself facing seriously high premiums in the future or a refusal to cover you - which other insurers frown upon.

 
You still have to report it to the police
Pjj read the doc - it's not me saying you don't it's the Gov ...

After an accident you should exchange details with the other party/ies but if you DON'T - THEN (and only then) you MUST inform the Police within 24hrs- that's the legal obligation..If you exchange details you've discharged your legal obligation (if you want to tell them aswell - don't suppose they will object - but it's not your legal obligation.)

I don't know why I bother to post links no one every reads 'em ??

Extract from Gov doc (see link above) on what to do if you have an accident...

"If you have an accident causing damage or injury you must give the following to anyone with ‘reasonable grounds for requiring them’, for example an insurance company:

your name and address

the vehicle registration number

You also need to give the owner’s name and address if the vehicle is not yours.

You must report the accident to the police within 24 hours if you do not give your details at the time of the accident.

You must also report the accident to your insurance company, even if you’re not planning to make a claim.

 
Pjj read the doc - it's not me saying you don't it's the Gov ...

After an accident you should exchange details with the other party/ies but if you DON'T - THEN (and only then) you MUST inform the Police within 24hrs- that's the legal obligation..If you exchange details you've discharged your legal obligation (if you want to tell them aswell - don't suppose they will object - but it's not your legal obligation.)

I don't know why I bother to post links no one every reads 'em ??

Extract from Gov doc (see link above) on what to do if you have an accident...

"If you have an accident causing damage or injury you must give the following to anyone with ‘reasonable grounds for requiring them’, for example an insurance company:

your name and address

the vehicle registration number

You also need to give the owner’s name and address if the vehicle is not yours.

You must report the accident to the police within 24 hours if you do not give your details at the time of the accident.

You must also report the accident to your insurance company, even if you’re not planning to make a claim.
If that’s the case then why did my father in law have the hassle he did the police told him he should have reported it to them , and yes the two parties did exchange details 

 
Pjj - I've no dog in the fight - just providing the op with the facts (as per gov website) so his all sorted...re his insurance 

What happened to you father in law sounds like the other guy was a fraudster?! If they both exchanged details and he reported it to his Insurance jobs a good'un - Not sure how it could of been a 'hit and run' - as your father in law had exhanged details as you mentioned -  Should have taken seconds even for the Police figure that one out!

Police (Like anyone in authority) do like to make others feel inferior...makes them feel superior I guess, like I said if you wanna tell 'em don't expect they will mind but you don't have to - that was my original comment

 
Pjj - I've no dog in the fight - just providing the op with the facts (as per gov website) so his all sorted...re his insurance 

What happened to you father in law sounds like the other guy was a fraudster?! If they both exchanged details and he reported it to his Insurance jobs a good'un - Not sure how it could of been a 'hit and run' - as your father in law had exhanged details as you mentioned -  Should have taken seconds even for the Police figure that one out!

Police (Like anyone in authority) do like to make others feel inferior...makes them feel superior I guess, like I said if you wanna tell 'em don't expect they will mind but you don't have to - that was my original comment
Not wanting to be pedantic but how would you explain this then  ?..

A3933077-C514-4E16-8063-C42629F20B31.png

 
Pjj dangerous to believe all you read on the internet ? it's clearly wrong/out of date...do a few more google searches and look as other sites - confused.doc

Report the incident within 24 hours

"If you don’t exchange details at the scene, you must report the incident to the police within 24 hours," says motoring lawyer Alison Ashworth from Ashworth Motoring Law."

 
Not wanting to be pedantic but how would you explain this then  ?..

View attachment 19629
I had a crash decades ago with a parked car. I went into the police station and they told me to write my details and leave it under the car's windscreen wiper. They weren't interested because no one was involved. I wonder what would happen after I did this and someone removed it? Probably get done for leaving the seen of an accident. You can't win, so better calling 101 and reporting it to be on safe side.

 
Pjj dangerous to believe all you read on the internet ? it's clearly wrong/out of date...do a few more google searches and look as other sites - confused.doc

Report the incident within 24 hours

"If you don’t exchange details at the scene, you must report the incident to the police within 24 hours," says motoring lawyer Alison Ashworth from Ashworth Motoring Law."
That report was from last year , I do agree you cannot believe all you read in Internet ,but I would still report it to be on the safe side 

 
don't know why I bother to post links no one every reads 'em ??
Your link wasn't relevant to my situation. In my accident the pedestrian took my registration number and walked off. If I hadn't reported it then I would've been in trouble if they had then claimed. Both @Pjj and I informed the OP to report it to their insurance company, which was his question. Just what your link states

 
That report was from last year , I do agree you cannot believe all you read in Internet ,but I would still report it to be on the safe side 
I was trying to download the 1991 Act but it gave me first page and stopped. The Governments IT is a shambles and that's why they are scared of the big IT Companies. If they give them a hard time then they could shut down the Government in a minute because they run their systems. Will ask my lawyer mate the next time I see him to verify it but in the end you can get done with leaving the scene of an accident. I got done with that as well when I was a teenage boyracer. Police came to my house and charged me over it, hit a parked car again, I was forever hitting them, they kept getting in the way of my paper-round. Before I went to court, the owner dropped dead at the Post Office with a stroke, poor guy never even cashed his pension. My mum wrote a letter to PF and all charges were dropped, what a stroke of luck for me. (true story) ? 

 

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