Letter from Kent Police

[slloyd]

Just had a letter from Kent Police about my off last week, and it reads

"With regards to the above collision in which you were involved, the circumstances have been carefully considered and it has been decided that no further action will be taken"

"I wish to emphasise that the decision only relates to the manner of driving and any other offences may still be subject to due consideration"

I didn't think that they needed to take action in this case, as no one else was involved, and I was nethier under the influence.

So does that mean, I'll still get a bill from the highways agency for the damage to the central reservation then? If so, how long do they take to process usually :confused:

[ethariel]

That indeed sounds like 'Well we're not gonna nick ya this time' but leaves the Council door open to sting ya still tho.

[Jamiebridges123]

Hopefully that would be the end of it mate. After wrecking your bike they'd be out of line to expect you to cough up money for a piece of chicken wire.. that's what taxes are for! :D

[gralln9]

were you comin off the m25 from clacketts direction to the a21 towards sevenoaks/hastings
if so i havent seen any sign of damage and i have looked at the barriers 3 times as i go that way quite often

[Frank]

Hopefully that would be the end of it mate. After wrecking your bike they'd be out of line to expect you to cough up money for a piece of chicken wire.. that's what taxes are for! :D

think you could find that you are wrong on this one mate.I know a few people ,"and I believe that a few orgers" who have been chased for the ££££ to fix smashed up road furniture.
In insurance time I think
Its only the same as crashing into someones house,car ,dog etc

[the_lone_wolf]

Its only the same as crashing into someones house,car ,dog etc
other people's houses/cars/dogs aren't publicly funded...

[Frank]

other people's houses/cars/dogs aren't publicly funded...
depends if the owner is a dole dosser;)
I still think they may come looking for their £.How much damage was done to the reservation

[Red Herring]

That is a standard letter sent out by Kent Police to persons involved in crashes where the person is responsible for the incident but they are not going to take any action. Clearly as the rider of a motorcycle that failed to take a bend for no other reason than you got it wrong you were potentially in line for being prosecuted for Sect 3 (riding without due care and attention). However as as been pointed out Kent Police are all heart and have decided that as nobody else was involved and the principal loser was you they're not going to do anything. (Actually it's nothing to do with Kent Police, those are CPS guidelines!). You are however still in line for a bill from the Highways Dept for the barrier....if they decide to bother.

[Thingus]

I crashed into a safety barrier on the outside of a slippery roundabout in my car once and just drove off... it got replaced the next week, insurance asked no questions. Polizei didn't appear.

I shouldn't imagine you'd get a charge to be honest, not based on what i said because it's totally different, but all things considered you weren't ****ed or stoned or doing 180mph. I should hope you'd be fine.

[Red Herring]

Generally if you hit and run there isn't any come back provided nobody gets your number. That's why Dickhe@ds do it.

The council on the other hand will bill anybody who damages their property regardless of how it happened.

[hovis]

i took out a lamp post in my dads triumph dolomite, i got the same letter off the police, and forgot all about it

about 4-5 MONTHS after, i got a letter from the council with a bill

[Thingus]

Generally if you hit and run there isn't any come back provided nobody gets your number. That's why Dickhe@ds do it.

The council on the other hand will bill anybody who damages their property regardless of how it happened.


Ah ok! Well thanks for that but it didn't even register with my brain until i saw it replaced, i was more worried about getting my slowly deflating tyre and written off car home!

I can kinda understand them billing you for things like streetlamps but i would've thought a safety barrier doing its job wouldn't be something you'd charge someone for!

[slloyd]

were you comin off the m25 from clacketts direction to the a21 towards sevenoaks/hastings
if so i havent seen any sign of damage and i have looked at the barriers 3 times as i go that way quite often

gralln9, yes I was, please see attached photo of a the post I bent on the central reservation A21 slip road.

*Please note not actual central reservation*

Circled is the same post that I damaged during my crash.

[Dave20046]

That indeed sounds like 'Well we're not gonna nick ya this time' but leaves the Council door open to sting ya still tho.
Exactly. I got a lot of these communications from the police after mine. Found their repeat followups a bit bizarre like they were trying to intimidate me or act like they were doing me a favour.

[philbut]

I know one member of the org (who may or may not post here, I'll leave that to him) who got a large bill for a damaged armco barrier that he took out with a bike. They can chase you for this BUT your insurance should cover it - the only slightly tricky point is that you need to have told them about the accident (or techncically you are commiting insurance fraud).

[Jabba]

They can chase you for this BUT your insurance should cover it - the only slightly tricky point is that you need to have told them about the accident (or techncically you are commiting insurance fraud).

This is my understanding.

Why should local Council Tax payers foot the bill for repairs after an accident? Not saying it was the case here, but why shouldn't nobbers who damage property by driving too fast for the conditions or their abilities cough up via their insurance companies? Might make 'em think about things when their premiums go up? Make make 'em think how lucky they were not to take out an innocent third party too.

The other thing to bear in mind, too, is that not all accidents occur in the area where the driver lives..... so Council Tax payers in one area end up paying for damage caused by someone who doesn't pay their tax to them.

Just a thought or two.