It’s an unpleasant enough experience to be in a car accident – but when the other driver drives off, knowing they’re at fault and attempting to escape liability, it’s infuriating. Perhaps someone has bumped you in the back, and given you a quick cursory wave in apology before driving off. Or perhaps you have been clipped on a roundabout and the other driver sheepishly makes their getaway in the hope you won’t find them.
If this happens to you, what can you do?
If you have yet to do so, call the police. If you chased them down and they eventually stopped, I’d still call the police for the sheer fact that they tried to get away with it. If you managed to get a registration number, contact the police and contact us to make a claim straight away.
It’s important to notify the police for a couple of main reasons – one is because it is an offence to fail to stop at the scene of an accident, and if the other driver is willing to flee the scene like a coward, they may be prepared to lie as well. They may try and allege they were not involved for example. So by alerting the police straight away, they may think twice about trying to fraudulently and criminally avoid liability.
Secondly is that if we cannot trace the driver you can still make a claim through the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) Untraced Driver Scheme. They are a not for profit organisation with an agreement with the government and insurers to pay out for untraced and uninsured motorists. But to qualify for the scheme, you must have immediately reported the incident to the police, as well as sought medical attention if you’re injured immediately.
You need to act as fast as you can as well because we may be able to look at CCTV footage to trace the driver. The longer you leave it, the more likely it is they can get away with it.
If there were any witnesses, I hope you took their details because they could assist a lot as well. If a person is willing to flee the scene of the accident, you should anticipate that they’re potentially prepared to lie and leave you out of pocket. Don’t take any risks and do all you can to ensure that justice is sought.
Need free legal advice?
Call our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 for advice about making a claim and what to do if you are involved in a road traffic accident where the driver at fault has fled the scene. Our advice is free, and it’s all given on a no obligation basis. If you would like us to assist with a claim, we will of course do all we can to ensure the driver responsible is swiftly brought to justice.
