释义 |
road traffic accidents If an accident has been caused by the presence of a motor vehicle on a road and results in injury to anyone or damage to anyone else’s vehicle or to property on the road or neighbouring land (e.g. someone’s garden wall), it is an offence for the driver of the vehicle not to stop, unless he can show that he did not know that the accident happened. It is also an offence to refuse to give one’s name and address to anyone who reasonably requires it (e.g. a police officer or another driver or pedestrian involved in the accident), unless one reports the accident to the police as soon as possible (not later than 24 hours after it occurred). If a person has been injured in a road accident, it is an offence not to produce one’s certificate of insurance (see third-party insurance) for a police officer or anyone else with reasonable grounds for asking for it, unless one reports the accident to the police not later than 24 hours after it occurred (DPP v Drury [1989] RTR 165) and, at the same time or within five days, produces the certificate of insurance at any police station one specifies. See also accident record book. Failure to stop after an accident or give particulars is an endorsable offence (carrying 5–10 penalty points under the totting-up system) and is subject to a fine at level 5 on the standard scale and to discretionary disqualification. |