Police station representation?
Discussion
xr2gte said:
Update in case anyone's interested.
Attended police station with solicitor, apparently will be reported for DWDCA, leaving scene of an accident, failure to report. All a bit bizarre, the last one for example is just a failure by the police system to record info correctly for a start, they'll find the phone call in due course unless they really are incompetent.
Hypothetical question: how long can someone be expected to stay with a vehicle after an accident with no-one else involved, or anywhere to be seen? If you came off the road in the early hours in the sticks into a fence/hedge etc, no houses nearby or phone signal but your own house was within reasonable walking distance, wouldn't it make sense to get home where you have shelter/warmth/phone etc?
The duty is to report in person. See Wisdom v McDonald (1983)Attended police station with solicitor, apparently will be reported for DWDCA, leaving scene of an accident, failure to report. All a bit bizarre, the last one for example is just a failure by the police system to record info correctly for a start, they'll find the phone call in due course unless they really are incompetent.
Hypothetical question: how long can someone be expected to stay with a vehicle after an accident with no-one else involved, or anywhere to be seen? If you came off the road in the early hours in the sticks into a fence/hedge etc, no houses nearby or phone signal but your own house was within reasonable walking distance, wouldn't it make sense to get home where you have shelter/warmth/phone etc?
xr2gte said:
Update in case anyone's interested.
Attended police station with solicitor, apparently will be reported for DWDCA, leaving scene of an accident, failure to report. All a bit bizarre, the last one for example is just a failure by the police system to record info correctly for a start, they'll find the phone call in due course unless they really are incompetent.
Attended police station with solicitor, apparently will be reported for DWDCA, leaving scene of an accident, failure to report. All a bit bizarre, the last one for example is just a failure by the police system to record info correctly for a start, they'll find the phone call in due course unless they really are incompetent.
Did you only report the accident by way of phone call? If so you haven't complied with the law which states you must report it in person at a police station or to a constable.
xr2gte said:
Hypothetical question: how long can someone be expected to stay with a vehicle after an accident with no-one else involved, or anywhere to be seen? If you came off the road in the early hours in the sticks into a fence/hedge etc, no houses nearby or phone signal but your own house was within reasonable walking i, wouldn't it make sense to get home where you have shelter/warmth/phone etc?
The answer is it depends - I'm pretty sure there is case law that states a person must stop for a reasonable amount of time following an accident to allow someone to require their details. What constitutes reasonable would vary depending on the circumstances (location, time of day, presence of witnesses etc.) of each accident. Cat
Cat said:
xr2gte said:
Update in case anyone's interested.
Attended police station with solicitor, apparently will be reported for DWDCA, leaving scene of an accident, failure to report. All a bit bizarre, the last one for example is just a failure by the police system to record info correctly for a start, they'll find the phone call in due course unless they really are incompetent.
Attended police station with solicitor, apparently will be reported for DWDCA, leaving scene of an accident, failure to report. All a bit bizarre, the last one for example is just a failure by the police system to record info correctly for a start, they'll find the phone call in due course unless they really are incompetent.
Did you only report the accident by way of phone call? If so you haven't complied with the law which states you must report it in person at a police station or to a constable.
xr2gte said:
Hypothetical question: how long can someone be expected to stay with a vehicle after an accident with no-one else involved, or anywhere to be seen? If you came off the road in the early hours in the sticks into a fence/hedge etc, no houses nearby or phone signal but your own house was within reasonable walking i, wouldn't it make sense to get home where you have shelter/warmth/phone etc?
The answer is it depends - I'm pretty sure there is case law that states a person must stop for a reasonable amount of time following an accident to allow someone to require their details. What constitutes reasonable would vary depending on the circumstances (location, time of day, presence of witnesses etc.) of each accident. Cat
As regards circumstances, if it was rural location, early hours of morning, no witnesses, no-one around at all?
xr2gte said:
Hypothetical question: how long can someone be expected to stay with a vehicle after an accident with no-one else involved, or anywhere to be seen? If you came off the road in the early hours in the sticks into a fence/hedge etc, no houses nearby or phone signal but your own house was within reasonable walking distance,
xr2gte said:
Accident reported as soon as I could, although this was some hours later.
So is a few hours walking distance ?Are we getting the full story here ?
xr2gte said:
There was no mention of it needing to be in person, either from sol/pc at station, nor from the police at the time it was reported. Surely the police call centre lady would've/should've said ' make sure you attend a police station as well to report this '? Or are we all meant to somehow know that logging a call with the police doesn't count as reporting something? Do other 'incidents' have to be reported in person rather than by phone in a specific time period?
As regards circumstances, if it was rural location, early hours of morning, no witnesses, no-one around at all?
Driving is a regulated activity and as such there are certain duties and obligations imposed. As a driver it is for you to make sure you are aware of what is expected of you. As regards circumstances, if it was rural location, early hours of morning, no witnesses, no-one around at all?
Reporting other 'incidents' to the Police is not generally a legal requirement so it is not subject to rules on how an when they must be reported.
Cat
Pinchme: I suppose ' walking distance ' depends on the person, for me a 15 mile hill walk is recreational so what should've been a relatively short walk home was made much longer than I expected due to concussion (i went in the wrong direction for some time) and it was middle of the night and crossing fields etc (prob should be prosecuted for trespass/criminal damage to cowpats too).
As regards the friendly informal chat the PC made it out to be beforehand, it certainly was not and I'd urge anyone to have legal representation when talking to them. The (youngish) PC was very aggressive/sweary on the phone but whilst in the station kept his ire directed at my solicitor.
Found it all a bit surreal as someone not particularly au fait with the legal system or being involved with police, certainly my opinion of the police has taken a big down turn.
As regards the friendly informal chat the PC made it out to be beforehand, it certainly was not and I'd urge anyone to have legal representation when talking to them. The (youngish) PC was very aggressive/sweary on the phone but whilst in the station kept his ire directed at my solicitor.
Found it all a bit surreal as someone not particularly au fait with the legal system or being involved with police, certainly my opinion of the police has taken a big down turn.
xr2gte said:
Pinchme: I suppose ' walking distance ' depends on the person, for me a 15 mile hill walk is recreational so what should've been a relatively short walk home was made much longer than I expected due to concussion (i went in the wrong direction for some time)
Not reasonable walking distance then.xr2gte said:
As regards the friendly informal chat the PC made it out to be beforehand, it certainly was not and I'd urge anyone to have legal representation when talking to them. The (youngish) PC was very aggressive/sweary on the phone but whilst in the station kept his ire directed at my solicitor.
When did the PC phone you ???xr2gte said:
Found it all a bit surreal as someone not particularly au fait with the legal system or being involved with police, certainly my opinion of the police has taken a big down turn.
Phone in and ask to speak to his Insp. I don't believe cops should be inviting people in under false pretences. His attitude also sounds poor. If he's a newbie, maybe he needs taking back down a peg. As for the actions taken, they could well be spot on, but the process was poorly executed.Edited by Mk3Spitfire on Sunday 9th November 19:23
.I am so pleased you had representation. 
What did your solicitor say after? What feedback did they give you?
There are some officers that rely on BS and bluster. I've met some of them. One of them was an Inspector.
'Report in person'? When they're shutting so many police stations and reducing the hours that staffed police stations are open?
Is that 'Reasonably practicable'?
Sounds like BiB playing the technicality game again.
If you reported it at the time the details of the call will be on the call log of your mobile phone and possibly on the itemised billing. So you have the details of the call on either or both of those with the time and the date and duration of that call?
What did your solicitor say after? What feedback did they give you?
There are some officers that rely on BS and bluster. I've met some of them. One of them was an Inspector.
'Report in person'? When they're shutting so many police stations and reducing the hours that staffed police stations are open?
Is that 'Reasonably practicable'?
Sounds like BiB playing the technicality game again.
If you reported it at the time the details of the call will be on the call log of your mobile phone and possibly on the itemised billing. So you have the details of the call on either or both of those with the time and the date and duration of that call?
Edited by carinaman on Sunday 9th November 23:42
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