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Do I Prosecute ?

DRD

DRD

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Oct 26, 2014
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Newark
I find this site an excellent place of knowledge and a range of opinions from friends and strangers alike. So might I seek opinions here pls .....

At my industrial site a car took a bend on the public road too fast. It carreered trough the corner of a bungalow's hawthorn hedge, across the site's entrance road and smashed into very heavy 8ft industrial steel gates. The driver did not stop, he left behind a destroyed numberplate !!! and part of the car's bumper. This was on a Sunday about 4.15pm.

This is a bad corner, attracting a similar crash every 5 years or so.

The hedge will grow back. The top of the gate post was knocked back about a foot. The palisade gate repair will be of the order of £500-£1,000 I'd guess depending on how bent things are.

This was all reported within about an hour of the incident. The police called me and said it was an 18 yr old, he was insured. The police thought that given the evidence, the insurance payout should be straightforward

I was asked if I wished to prosecute for failing to stop/ give details etc If the driver had wanted to he could have:
  • Left a note
  • Spoken to the people in the bungalow whose hedge he has driven through
  • Spoken to the guy whose gate he had smacked (as he came out of the building when he heard the smash)
  • Come back another day to leave details

I know this is not the most serious of matters either criminally or financially. Would you prosecute ? Or just be satisfied with a fair insurance payout ?

Thanks
 
Personally I wouldn't prosecute. 18 year olds are pretty stupid hence the taking the corner too fast. It was yesterday (Sunday?), probably getting dark around that time and I'm sure the shock alone would of made them want to get the hell out of dodge. You never know they may come back later today.. probably not. The hike in insurance at that age will be a very costly lesson and I'm sure the police will give them a stern talking to. Not sure what prosecuting will achieve under these circumstances. No one got hurt thankfully!
 
guys probably wrecked his car and an insurance claim against him at his age will put his premium even more through the roof.

Has probably learnt his lesson so wouldn't bother prosecuting.

If he had no insurance then obviously a different matter.
 
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I think not prosecuting sends out the wrong message, kids these days literally think the real world is like a video game.
Dangerous to assume that wrecking his own car is enough punishment, quite possible that he doesn’t care and will do the same again.
I’ve gone down the route of forgiveness & not reporting something to the police a few years back & it backfired big time.
 
I see there were two areas for learning a life lesson.
The first is the approach to the corner, speed and crashing. Once in 5 years, indicates that not everyone has an issue with it, I expect there is already warnings. The council could maybe look to put in a crash barrier but this is all more expense at a time when councils are very strapped for cash.
The second is leaving the scene without notifying someone. This isn't a minor scratch in a car park, it is a major accident and they fled. Taking responsibility is a key part of being an adult.
I think I am erring on the side of prosecuting.
 
^^ your definition of a major accident ?
Lol….
Get police to give him a scare indicating you are thinking of prosecuting ……but let it go.
Should be enough…..
 
Part of the problem here is that as the guy fled and has remained silent for a fortnight I have no ability to directly assess what sort of guy I am dealing with here.

Despite a witness, bumper parts and number plate on the ground, the police did not take immediate action on the day - when presumably there would have been a bashed up car in a drive, someone with seat belt or other wounds, and maybe someone who was high / drunk.

There is a slow down warning on the road. But really it should be a 30 mph stretch not 60 mph.

I informed the local Parish Council a fortnight ago. They passed it on to the County Council's Highways team and said they would discuss further actions at the monthly parish meeting.
 
Ask the police for a “local resolution”
They do it for minor thefts and damage. See if you can sit opposite him in company with the police officer and put a bit of perspective on what he’s done. Lay it on with the hassle and stress he’s caused. Might hit home a bit more then.
 
Spandangler said:
Ask the police for a “local resolution”
They do it for minor thefts and damage. See if you can sit opposite him in company with the police officer and put a bit of perspective on what he’s done. Lay it on with the hassle and stress he’s caused. Might hit home a bit more then.
Click to expand...
And then go full on greenhouse scene from Scum. Might hit home a little harder ;)
 
Blame the bend. Blame the council. Blame the speed limit. What happened to personal responsibility?
I would hope he has learned his lesson, but who knows?
 
Sako-TRG said:
^^ your definition of a major accident ?
Lol….
Click to expand...
You could have shared what you believe is defined as a major accident so others can learn from your knowledge. Or you can troll by posing a rhetorical question and follow up with LOL.

I can easily accept being corrected by someone with more knowledge than me as I actually appreciate learning from folks, especially when I make a mistake.
Focusing only on the relevant topic of motoring accidents, this isn't a scratch, it isn't a dent, so it isn't minor. It did have a large impact, it could have resulted in a KSI, it has resulted in significant damage. I didn't think they had a middle word, so I went with major. Anyone here in the industry of motoring accidents able to help?
 
Don’t see any point pushing for prosecution, not that he shouldn’t be prosecuted, just that it will be a waste of your and the police’s time as CPS will deem it not in the public interest to prosecute, ie cost to finding guilty/sentance. He may well learn from this, due to insurance cost, from our standpoint as adults with our life experience, do you want to ruin an 18year olds employment/life prospects because they were foolish, I’m sure his parents will provide more of a punishment than the courts ever would.
 
Jagspete said:
I’m sure his parents will provide more of a punishment than the courts ever would.
Click to expand...
I definately wouldnt bank on that.... Not nowadays.

My take is that, as others have said, he may learn his lesson by the increased insurance costs the following year... however as someone who has experienced a hit-and-run in a car.. in my experience it would be an extremely tough call...

This will be controversial, however i would also take into account what car it is....
 
Ok, he’s at fault no doubt but I would be inclined to let it go. Simply because you don’t need that hassle in your life. Odds are you’d end up giving statements and having to go to court etc. chances are you rearrange your life to accommodate the appearance and it gets shifted at the last min etc. if you’re not out of pocket then that’s good.
If the kid doesn’t learn from the crash then I suspect he also wouldn’t learn from any follow up.
 
He'll get hit in the pocket from his car insurance so if it were me i'd let it go. You have no idea if this guy is a head case or not so probably not worth the agro. I used to work evenings in a PC store back in my uni days and someone tried to make off with stuff using stolen IDs for credit. Case went to court. Night before the case I got a call from someone on the landline saying it was his mates and would like to remind me that they knew where I lived. Definitely not worth the hassle for the £100 bonus I got from the credit company. They got my full details from their lawyer :rolleyes:
 
Calimori said:
You could have shared what you believe is defined as a major accident so others can learn from your knowledge. Or you can troll by posing a rhetorical question and follow up with LOL.

I can easily accept being corrected by someone with more knowledge than me as I actually appreciate learning from folks, especially when I make a mistake.
Focusing only on the relevant topic of motoring accidents, this isn't a scratch, it isn't a dent, so it isn't minor. It did have a large impact, it could have resulted in a KSI, it has resulted in significant damage. I didn't think they had a middle word, so I went with major. Anyone here in the industry of motoring accidents able to help?
Click to expand...
Troll?…. chill Winston 😃
Incident types 7.3.2 sheds some light

ps.. someone could just ask a nice traffic 👮‍♀️
 
johnwhitfield said:
Simply because you don’t need that hassle in your life.
Click to expand...
Jason Catrine said:
You have no idea if this guy is a head case or not so probably not worth the agro.
Click to expand...

These two points are key. Question is - why would you prosecute? If the answer to that is "to teach them a lesson" there is no guarantee that goal will be achieved. So why go through the hassle or the risk?
 
Nothings ever straight forward.. In 2021 me and my workmate where in our work van (he was driving) i heard sirens looked in the mirror i seen an audi full speed heading towards the back of us and a load of police lights i said to my mate move the van over quick we will get rammed anyway he froze we got rammed off the road.. police carried on following him up the road and caught him (front wheel was completely hanging off the audi) ... my mate got out the van went white and passed out (later found out heb fractured his shoulder and hip iirc) my back had gone on me (always suffered with back problems) police came back spoke to us they said they had everything on dash cams .. was told it was straight forward claim.... still waiting now.. the lad at first denied it 🤣 even though its all on cam and police know.. then i get letters saying he wernt insured (obviously) and he doesnt work so has no money and they have to take it out of his dole or whatever when we finally get to that point... The whole things a joke .. I was out of work for months on ssp... still doesnt feel worth all this hassle
 
Sako-TRG said:
Troll?…. chill Winston 😃
Incident types 7.3.2 sheds some light

ps.. someone could just ask a nice traffic 👮‍♀️
Click to expand...
That is an incident response categorisation for the Highway Agency. I appreciate its relevance but it isn’t about an individual motoring accident but the categorisation required to prioritise the response to a highways incident by the emergency services.
Use that to inform how serious an individual accent was and insurance company would rarely need to pay out.
But I get we won’t agree, you and I are viewing this from our different perspectives. But I appreciate you sharing rather than just doing another LOL.
 
A few years ago some kids walked up our street in the early hours wreaking havoc by snapping off wing mirrors, bending wiper blades and running keys along dozens of cars.
I was lucky as I have a longish drive and park up against my garage so they would have had to go ever so slightly out of their way to damage my car.
They obviously took the easy targets on or next to the road.
They never got caught and the whole postcode got hit with huge car and home insurance hikes the following couple of years.

A similar thing happened in the next housing estate shortly after and someone recognised one of them promptly reporting them to the police.
Nothing came of it as nothing could be proved but the poor bloke had buckets of paint with the tops off thrown through his front window destroying his front room.
Police fitted an emergency alarm, had units nearby and fitted hidden video cameras so the lads started shooting out his windows with air guns from a distance over a few months.
Eventually they caught them and prosecuted with one of them getting 6 mths jail time.
BTW this did not stop the onslaught with the blokes kids getting a beating from masked thugs so he moved house.
They still continued following him from work and done the very same thing to his new home so he moved completely out of the area.

This is all a bit long winded I know and I’m not saying this kid is in the same bracket as these nutters! But me personally I’m all for an easy life and I would just claim on my insurance.
In fact when my Garage door was almost bent double once by a burglar use it as an opportunity to get a new and nicer one 😝

On the plus side property is cheap up north if anyone struggling to make ends meet 😂
 
Colywobbles said:
A few years ago some kids walked up our street in the early hours wreaking havoc by snapping off wing mirrors, bending wiper blades and running keys along dozens of cars.
I was lucky as I have a longish drive and park up against my garage so they would have had to go ever so slightly out of their way to damage my car.
They obviously took the easy targets on or next to the road.
They never got caught and the whole postcode got hit with huge car and home insurance hikes the following couple of years.

A similar thing happened in the next housing estate shortly after and someone recognised one of them promptly reporting them to the police.
Nothing came of it as nothing could be proved but the poor bloke had buckets of paint with the tops off thrown through his front window destroying his front room.
Police fitted an emergency alarm, had units nearby and fitted hidden video cameras so the lads started shooting out his windows with air guns from a distance over a few months.
Eventually they caught them and prosecuted with one of them getting 6 mths jail time.
BTW this did not stop the onslaught with the blokes kids getting a beating from masked thugs so he moved house.
They still continued following him from work and done the very same thing to his new home so he moved completely out of the area.

This is all a bit long winded I know and I’m not saying this kid is in the same bracket as these nutters! But me personally I’m all for an easy life and I would just claim on my insurance.
In fact when my Garage door was almost bent double once by a burglar use it as an opportunity to get a new and nicer one 😝

On the plus side property is cheap up north if anyone struggling to make ends meet 😂
Click to expand...

You've certainly painted a rosy picture of it col!
 
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