Frequently Asked Questions
Many questions can be answered by visiting the national
www.askthe.police.uk/ website or if this information is not specific enough to Essex Police, by visiting
www.essex.police.uk/rcr
I have been involved in a road collision do I have to report it?
This will depend on whether injury has been caused to any person and/or whether you have provided the required details at the scene of the incident. The Road Traffic Act 1988 (section 170) explains this fully.
If your (motorised) vehicle is involved in an accident you need to take the following steps to ensure you do not break the law.
Your duties are to stop, to give information, in some cases to produce your insurance certificate and in some cases to report the accident to the police.
Further Detail
If, as a driver, you are involved in a road-traffic accident and one or more of the following occurs:
- a person, other than yourself, is injured,
- damage is caused to another vehicle or to someone else’s property,
- an animal has been killed or injured, except in your own vehicle or trailer (an ‘animal’ is defined as ‘any horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog’)
You must:
- stop and remain at the scene for a reasonable period
- give your vehicle registration number, your name and address, and that of the vehicle owner (if different), to anyone with reasonable grounds for asking for those details
- If you do not exchange those details at the scene, you must report the accident at a police station or to a police constable as soon as you can, and in any case within 24 hours.
In the case of injuries
Where injury is caused to another person, then in addition to the above you must also:
Produce your certificate of insurance, if anyone at the scene has reasonable grounds to see it. If you do not, you must report the accident at a police station or to a constable as soon as is practicable and in any case within 24 hours. You’ll need to produce your certificate of insurance.
Even if there was no injury involved, if someone holds you responsible for the accident, they have the right to request your insurance details. This request can be made later; it does not necessarily have to be at the time of the accident. A failure to provide that information without a reasonable excuse is also an offence.
How do I report a road collision/accident to the police?
If you did not comply with the requirement to stop and give details, produce your insurance (if injury caused) it is a legal requirement that you report the collision/accident in person at a police station as soon as is possible and in any case within 24 hours.
Reports of an accident/collision cannot be made by phone, post or e-mail – they must be made in person and within 24 hours.
http://www.essex.police.uk/contact_us/road_collision_records/faqs.aspx
Sounds like someone is claiming a rear end whiplash.
You need to ring the police, explain what happened and look for CCTV. If you can get his address, great.