Failing to Stop or Report an Accident
About Failing to Stop or Report an Accident Offences
Failing to Stop or Report an Accident is potentially a serious offence. If you are involved in an accident which results in injury to someone else or damage to another person’s vehicle or property, the law requires you to do certain things.
You are required to stop and report even if you were not the direct cause of the accident. Therefore you may be required to stop and report even if your vehicle did not make contact with anything else. For example, if another car swerved to avoid you and veered off the road, you should still stop and exchange details. If this is not possible, you should report it to the police.
These Law requirements are:
- Stop, and if required to do so by any person having reasonable grounds for requesting them, give your details.
- If for any reason you do not give your details, you must report the incident at a police station or to a constable as soon as reasonably practicable, and certainly within 24 hours.
This does not mean that you have up to 24 hours to report the accident; it means that you must do it as soon as possible.
If you would like to know more please contact us today.
When to give the details
The details only need to be given if so required by a person having reasonable grounds to do so. Then you must give your own name and address, those of the owner of the vehicle (if not you) and the identification marks of the vehicle (the registration number). The address must be one through which you can be contacted but may not necessarily be your home address.
For more information please see our FAQs on Failing to Stop and Report below.
Defence
You may have a defence that you were not aware of or it may make the difference between a driving ban and penalty points.
Evidential Issues Were you requested to provide details? Can the police prove that there was damage or injury caused? Did you know that there had been an accident?
Mitigation If you do not have a defence, is there mitigation to persuade the court to impose a reduced penalty?
If you would like to know more please contact us today.
Fail to Stop or Report Summary
Legal Definition
Fail to stop/report road accident, failing to stop and exchange details, failing to report an accident to the police
Main Legislation
Maximum Penalties
Driving Penalties: 5 -10 penalty points or a disqualification (usually of up to 12 months)
Fine: Unlimited.
Court
Magistrates only (unless an appeal)
Imprisonable? Yes – up to 6 months imprisonment.
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Failing to stop or report FAQS
When do I need to stop and/or report?
A driver must stop if:
- an accident has occurred owing to the presence of a mechanically propelled vehicle (a fancy way of saying car, lorry etc!) on a road or other public place,
- in which either personal injury is caused to someone other than the driver of the vehicle, or
- damage is caused to a vehicle (excepting the drivers’ own vehicle or a trailer drawn by his vehicle),
- or to certain animals (excepting an animal in the driver’s vehicle or trailer),
- or to any property attached to the land on which the road is situated or adjacent to the road.
What if I didn't know I'd been involved in an accident?
If you can prove on the balance of probabilities that you genuinely didn’t know that you were involved in an accident, then you will have a defence. This will be difficult to prove where the damage or injury is more severe, or for example, if there are witnesses who state that there was a loud noise at the time of the incident.
You will not have a defence if the police can demonstrate that you ‘turned a blind eye’ to the possibility of an accident.
Will I have to go to Court for failing to stop or report?
If you are charged for failing to stop or report, you will be required to attend a hearing in the Magistrates’ Court. The proceedings may begin when you receive a charge and Postal Requisition. Your licence and even your liberty may be at risk so you should seek some advice.
It depends on the seriousness of the injuries/damage caused what the penalties would be if you plead guilty. If you do not have a defence, it is important that careful mitigation is placed before the court to keep any penalty to a minimum and to safeguard your licence and keep you out of prison.
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Lucy was extremely thorough , professional and very emphatic. She always took the time to make everything totally clear and gave excellent guidance throughout.My son was facing a charge of death by dangerous driving. His sentenced was reduced to a suspended one with the help of Lucy and her teams expertise.This is a rare outcome.We are enormously grateful for her support and patience throughout the case, and can not recommend her highly enough!
Just out of few miles.As we wheel around we do step at times on the lines labelled as traffic law. You could be fine at the moment but the sweet moment does not last. Out of just a few miles, the minute problem starts snowballing to a self-unmanageable level. Paper from traffic police paper from the court, bitter mouth, the clock is ticking and nothing sensible comes to mind of what to write to the court rep. When a problem starts simmering and climes we tend to run out of fit ideas. Some call it panicking and I agree. Pragma law has a different set of remedies for similar situations. And I am sharing this from experience. Lucy from Pragma listened to my story and said the problem is not as big as my mixed at the time mind thought it was. ‘’Leave with me and answer my emails timely and don’t worry’’ she said. Six weeks later I was out of the mud. Just like that, …out of a few miles.
I just want to say thank you so much for your support for your help and advice, I really appreciate your services I was panicking, i couldn't sleep for properly because the thoughts l couldn't imagine losing my licence or getting banned for 6 months because l drive for living getting banned for 6 months means loosing my income for 6 months therefore loosing my home and get into really hardship so I really appreciate prgma low and special thanks to Mr David swingler who was there for me and advice me and defend my case really well and win the case for me instead of 6 months disqualification I got 14 days this for me it was big win thanks to David Swingler and Pragma Low.
Very diligent, professional and helpful. Lucy prioritised us as our case was time-sensitive and was very prompt and accessible at all times whenever we needed to communicate with her. She helped us get the best possible outcome. Highly recommended!
Their pricing is less than that of other specialists.David did a great job of defending me in court.They communicated well and went out of their way to help.Couldn't recommend these solicitors enough.10/10
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Great service, communication and informative with all the advice given to me. Very much will recommend to all my family and friends should they ever need a trustworthy and professional solicitor to help with advice and proceedings with motoring offences.
Absolutely amazing from start to finish.Was extremely worried about a situation I had got myself in.Was a very very nervous time for me as losing my license would have meant I lost everything including my job.Pragma Law team was helpful, professional, clear and thorough from the outset.It was Lucy Whitaker who represented me in court and I cant stress enough how fantastic she was in that court room. I received the best possible outcome and kept my license. Without her I would of undoubtedly lost my license.As far as I am concerned this was a one off and will never ever happen again, however if I ever was in any situation of this kind in the future there is no where else I would turn.Can not recommend highly enough!
Working with Lucy Whitaker as my lawyer has been the best thing I could have ever done. She sorted out my problem as BEST and i truly recommend her to anyone that needs to solve car problems.Flavia Campilli
I recently had a case involving an E-Scooter, unfortunately I committed an offence that I didn't even know was illegal. I contacted Pragma Law after reading reviews and outcomes of similar cases, and was put into contact with Lucy Whitaker. Lucy was very professional throughout the whole process, and was very realistic with me about my outcome from the initial phone call. The consultation was extremely through and well carried out, and Lucy was always available to contact if I had any questions. I couldn't have asked for a better outcome from the court after Lucy's representation- from the potential of a suspended sentence reduced to a ban on the lower end of the range, and without a community order. In the court room Lucy was very good at explaining to the Magistrates that the seriousness of the case was nothing like what the sentencing guidelines were designed to punish for (driving a car) and this is what got my punishment reduced. The prices are reasonable, and transparent from the initial phone call with no hidden costs. Would definitely recommend.
Was really impressed with PL and Lucy. Was given great advice (which I wouldn’t have been able to obtain without guidance) throughout the whole process. Every time we communicated over the phone it was followed up with a written email with actions, next steps etc. was also fortunate enough to work with her colleague David too who represented my case where I avoided a ban of 6 months.
Lucy is the best lawyer I could have possibly found. I unexpectedly received a letter from the police who at the time intended to prosecute me for driving an electric scooter without insurance, and without a license. I was terrified as if found guilty, I would receive 6 penalty points and would have lost my drivers license. Other solicitors I called said unfortunately there was nothing they could do. Lucy on the other hand immediately reassured me and wrote a letter to the police which persuaded them to drop the charges completely. I honestly can’t recommend her enough. Thank you Lucy!
I contacted Pragma Law when I wanted to appeal against a decision made in the Magistrates court. Lucy had picked up my case and advised me on the next steps. She helped me with everything that was required, advised me on all possible outcomes of the appeal, helped me get my licence back until the appeal hearing comes along, and then went ahead and got the appeal accepted in the Crown court. She is not only the best solicitor I’ve worked with, but she is also a wonderful human being. Very lovely and easy to work with, even the judges loved her! I 100% recommend you to contact them with any issues you have.
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I have had an extremely positive experience with Lucy Whittaker. She is very knowledgeable, very proactive and always explains things in a clear and precise.She was able to convince the court to drop a driving without due care charge despite the police and the CPS disareeing.I would hesitate to recommend Lucy and Pragma Law anyone who needs assistance.
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Absolutely brilliant! 100 percent reliable! The case was related to driving matter and I had initially approached few other solicitors for help with my case. They all denied saying we would not win the case. But Lucy happily took the case and help me win the case with the best possible outcome.She puts you at ease and confidence. Very responsive in your queries. She genuinely care for case and very pleasant to deal with. Always well prepared and wins you the best possible outcome. Very Very Strongly recommend. Thanks much Lucy.
I highly recommend Pragma Law for any motoring problem. They were very efficient and professional even with little time to prepare.
A Google User
14:30 04 Jul 20
What can I say about pragma law and Lucy whitaker, 1st class absolutely brilliant!!!. I had my licence revoked last October due to vasovagal syncope (faint) from the word go Lucy was brilliant, and I only dealt with her, she explained everything, in every stage extremely professional in everything she does, and had my licence back. What a result!!! thank you so much Lucy.
I suffer with anxiety (as many) and this incident completely took over my life for months until I met Lucy. I was super comfortable and confident in her work as she was very professional and was always available to help. Really helped take the stress away - thanks Lucy and thanks Pragma!
What can I say about pragma law and Lucy whitaker, 1st class absolutely brilliant!!!. I had my licence revoked last October due to vasovagal syncope (faint) from the word go Lucy was brilliant, and I only dealt with her, she explained everything, in every stage extremely professional in everything she does, and had my licence back. What a result!!! thank you so much Lucy.
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We were so impressed with Lucy Whitaker. She represented our son in an unusual driving case which thanks to her knowledge, care & understanding, ended in a much better than expected outcome. Clear, concise & professional, we highly recommend her... can't thank her enough!!
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