DWDC, Driving w/o insurance, leaving the scene of an accident

A mate has foolishly been driving his van uninsured and clipped a parked car pulling away a couple of weeks back. He claims not to of thought it was anything other than banging mirrors, but when he saw the damage to his van (knackered headlight and trim) he went back to try and leave a note on the window. Unfortunately, the car he clipped had gone. He drove off thinking no more about it, but a few days later got a letter in the post asking him to confirm he was the driver at the time and charging him with DWDC and leaving the scene of the accident. Perhaps most critically, it asked for his insurance details: At the time of the accident he was uninsured. It was a residential street so presumably a neighbour of the owner of the car he hit saw it and reported it.

He knew of my interest in traffic law so rang me for advice. I advised him not to try anything like buying insurance now and filling those details in as it'd be very easy (if not automated) for them to look up and see the start date as after the accident and it'll only get him into more trouble and possibly an additional charge of insurance fraud.

At the moment he hasn't received anything from the person whose car he hit. He's hoping this means he'll just get the existing charges and hear no more about it, but I imagine as soon as he confirms it was him, the police will pass on his details to the other party.

I suggested that I imagine he'd need to go to court and should seek legal representation once the court summons comes through, if not sooner. I've told him that he's probably best off admitting guilt and the fact the fact he had no insurance ASAP as it'll all come out in the wash and the magistrates are likely to be more lenient the more cooperative he is. I explained about the pot which insured drivers hit by uninsured drivers are paid out of, but didn't know whether or not this prevented the third party from pursuing civil proceedings against him. He has only been driving cars and vans a short time, but has had a bike licence for much longer, so I've explained the 6 point/probational ban rule doesn't apply to him. He doesn't need a van for work at the moment, so I also told him to check insurance quotes online with DWDC and leaving the scene of an accident added and if they come to silly money he can't afford, to sell the van now as again it can only endear him to the magistrates.

Anything else I should pass onto him, or is anything I've told him so far bad advice? TIA.

Must importantly, what sort of punishment/penalty is he looking at?

Originally Posted by Ceri JC

Must importantly, what sort of punishment/penalty is he looking at?

Bend over, insert credit card.

IMO, he should be expecting a hefty fine and lots of points minimum. Selling the van is a good idea as it'll help provide cash for the fine.

[SoulKiss]

No sympathy.

If someone had posted up about having been taken out by a young van driver with no insurance we would be saying what a w-anchor the driver had been.

Sorry but thats how it is.

[timwilky]

Probably only 6-9 point, but I personally would imprison him for life

I cannot abide people who drive without insurance, they know they need it and stupidly think they can get away with it. The MIB fund does not adequately compensate victims of uninsured drivers. Why should the innocent suffer if he hurts someone.

Originally Posted by timwilky

Probably only 6-9 point, but I personally would imprison him for life

Thus we get to the Great British roots of justice

Bend over, insert thornbush, ended with Credit Card.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away, I was once a young(er) tearaway.

My own bikes were and always have been insured and legal, but at aged 17 the opportunity to ride a race trim SS400 down the M69 seemed to somehow have lots of positives and no negatives. In addition to the speeding (no speedo), the lack of reg plate, slick tyres, no lights, there was obviously also no insurance.

No crash, but that's not really the point. I "got off" extremely luckily in hindsight, I got 6 points and something like a £300 fine (this was back when you were allowed your full 12 points as soon as you got a licence) - the fine hurt a hell of a lot more than it sounds like it should have done thank to crushing poverty at the time but again, with hindsight it was definitely on the low side.

Throughout I played the "fair cop, jeez what an idiot I've been" line. It was a fair cop, and yep I'd been a complete idiot. But folks involved in the process often seemed genuinely suprised that I wasn't trying some bonkers "my speedo, lights and reg plate all must have fallen off; oh and the apparent lack of insurance must be some computer error (again, this was back before the joined up easy police access insurance database gubbins)".

Personally due to the nature of the incident and the fact that it is ongoing he will best off going straight to finding himself some proper legal advice, not just hearsay from a few individuals/mates with the best intentions.

I believe people like that should get spit-roasted by the courts but more often than not he'll get an overly lenient result, likewise with Timwilky and soulkiss I've no sympathy at all. Its one thing to knock mirrors on a lane when both vehicles are moving, but to smash your light and trim then leave without checking only to find you are insured after all that....if it looks bad to us then how will it look to a court?


Make sure he gets proper legal advice.

[the_lone_wolf]

Maximum penalties:

-Driving without insurance: 6-8 points, discretionary ban, fine upto £5000
-Leaving the scene of an accident: 5-10 points, discretionary ban, fine upto £5000 or upto 6 months imprisonment
-DWDC: 3-9 points, discretionary ban, fine upto £2500

Source = internet so make of it what you will, but i'd buy him soap-on-a-rope for his birthday this year...

As above, no sympathy, you don't just "clip" another vehicle hard enough to break trim and lights and not feel it...

I would suggest with any luck points or a ban. I hope the court does the sesiable thing and removes his licence of him.


There is no reasonable excuse for not having insurance, oh the MIB pot of money where da ya think that comes from? Who do you think is paying for damage to other car? What would have happened if he hit someone would still have driven off?

As minimatt says, my own experiences show that the courts are generally grateful when you hold up your hand and don't mess them about/stall/try to weasel out of it. I think my friend realises this and hopefully will behave the same way.

Originally Posted by Bluethunder

I would suggest with any luck points or a ban. I hope the court does the sesiable thing and removes his licence of him.

I don't think he'll be driving anytime soon regardless of the outcome. No NCB and all those offences= sky high premium he won't be able to afford. He also isn't stupid enough that he'd do it a second time.

Originally Posted by Bluethunder

There is no reasonable excuse for not having insurance, oh the MIB pot of money where da ya think that comes from? Who do you think is paying for damage to other car?

I've explained this to him (and that this is part of the reason insurance is so costly). I've also explained that both my bike and my car are still damaged from exactly this sort of thing (both hit whilst parked and people just drove off) and that I cannot afford to get either repaired to their previous condition and that my previous car was written off by someone crashing into it whilst it was parked (although thankfully they were insured and rang house doorbells till they found whose car it was).

Originally Posted by Bluethunder

What would have happened if he hit someone would still have driven off?

Knowing him as well as I do, I can say that there is zero chance he would have driven off if he'd hit someone. He has been stupid, no doubt about it, but he realises and I can tell he is very sorry and not just because he has been caught. If he was being cocky about it, I'd not help him.

Carlos: I'm not making excuses for him, but I've driven a large van and clipped things (fortunately inanimate objects owned by by my employer!) and it's staggering how much more damage a v. low speed nudge can do than in a car. That said, I agree that I think he probably panicked and drove off, but I am prepared to believe him when he says he was genuinely surprised when he saw the damage to his own van. Likewise, I believe him that when saw this he realised how bad the damage to the other vehicle could have been and went back to leave a note (with the intention of settling outside insurance), which is admirable.