know the law
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by Les Oldridge, TEng (CEO, MIMI, AMIRTE
Reporting of accidents
SOME CONFUSION exists concerning the correct procedure to be followed after being involved in a road accident in order to comply with the law. Often the drivers involved are suffering from shock or even worse they may be injured, tempers are frayed and the atmosphere is not conducive to the drivers acting in a cool and rational way. I feel it is important, therefore, to be quite clear what is required of drivers when the need arises so that mistakes, not easily rectified, are not made.
The relevant legislation is contained in Section 25 of the Road Traffic Act 1972. The section says that when, owing to the presence of a motor vehicle on a road, an accident occurs whereby personal injury is caused to a person not travelling on that vehicle, or damage is caused to another vehicle, or to an animal not being carried on that vehicle, then the driver must stop. If required by any person having reasonable grounds for so requiring, he must give his name and address and also the name and address of the owner and the identification marks of the vehicle.
It will be seen that "injury to a person" does not include injury to the driver of the vehicle or to any of his passengers; damage does not include damage to his own vehicle or to anything else but motor vehicles. If one damages a lamp post, brick wall or traffic bollard, the section does not apply and there is no legal requirement to stop or report the accident to the police.
If the only result of the collision is injury to one's own passengers or damage to one's own vehicle then this is not a reportable accident. With regard to injuries to animals the section defines "animal" as any horse, cattle, sheep, ass, mule, pig, goat or dog. Cats and poultry are not included in the definition so there is no obligation to stop after running over them although one might feel obliged to do so on humanitarian grounds. It should be noted that damage to other vehicles mentioned in the section is not confined to motor vehicles. If one collides with and damages a bicycle, a horse-drawn cart or even a wheelbarrow then the accident becomes a reportable one.
Insurance point Although in some circumstances the law does not require a driver to stop after an accident or to report it to the police, it could quite well be a condition of the insurance company who insure the vehicle or a requirement of the owner of the vehicle that all accidents are reported to the police.
There is no alternative to the requirement to stop after an accident to which the section applies. This must be done whatever the circumstances. If, however, for any reason names and addresses are not exchanged at the scene of the accident then the law will be complied with if the driver reports the occurrence to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours.
Failing to comply with this section is an offence punishable with a £50 fine or three months' imprisonment. An offender's driving licence will be endorsed and there may be a disqualification from driving.
Section 166 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 places a further obligation on drivers involved in accidents causing personal injury to another person. In such cases if the driver does not at the time produce his certificate of insurance to a police constable or to some other person having reasonable grounds for requiring its production he must report the accident at a police station or to a constable and produce the insurance certificate. The usual five days' grace in which to produce the certificate is allowed if it cannot be produced at the time the accident is. reported.
Unaware of accident Harding v Price (1948) 1 All E.R. 283 is an important case where the reporting of accidents are concerned. It was held in this case that if an accident was not reported because the driver was unaware that an accident had occurred, he cannot be convicted for failing to report it. In this particular case the driver of a mechanical horse collided with a stationary car and was unaware of the accident because of the noise and vibration made by the trailer. It was said at the time by the Judge: "It must not be thought that this decision provides an easy defence to drivers who fail to report an accident. The crux of the defence is that the driver was genuinely unaware of the accident and he must be in a position to convince the court that this is so."
It should be noted that the section requires a driver to stop and report if an accident occurs "owing to the presence of a motor vehicle in a road". There is no need for the driver's own vehicle to have been involved in the actual collision. For example, a car may be overtaking a lorry on a bend in the road with the result that another lorry coming in the opposite direction is compelled to mount the grass verge to avoid colliding with it and in doing so knocks down and injures a pedestrian walking on the verge. The driver of the car — although he has not collided with anything — is legally bound to stop and report the accident.