Section 170 Road Traffic Act

Failing To Stop Or Report An Accident?

Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 covers stopping at the scene of an accident. UK motoring law requires all drivers to stop at the scene of an accident when damage is caused to another vehicle, when personal injury is caused to any other person, if damage occurs to a roadside fixture such as a sign or fence or damage/injury is caused to animals* .

You should instruct the services of an experienced motor defence solicitor as soon as possible, especially if you already have a large number of penalty points on your licence. Caddick Davies Solicitors specialises in the representation of motorists who find themselves up against the charge of failure to stop after an accident and can help you.

When Do You Need A Lawyer?

Caddick Davies is a firm of experienced motor defence solicitors specialising in representing motorists who find themselves charged with offences of failing to stop and report an accident, contrary to Section 170(4) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Keeping driving endorsements to a minimum is important to protecting your ability to drive legally. Without your driving licence, the impact on your work, livelihood and family could be devastating. The services of an expert motoring defence solicitor will give you the best chance of keeping your driving licence when facing motor offence charges.

We have successfully defended many motorists charged with this offence and so If you have been sent a Court Summons for failing to stop and report an accident, or for driving without due care and attention, which are offences that are often paired together, then please contact our friendly team for advice and no-obligation consultation.

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Contact Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for friendly advice

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Our team works to give drivers the best chance of overturning the charges or fines made against them by establishing the facts to build a strong defence or appeals case with an expert defence counsel that can be relied on in court.

Read on to understand more about failing to stop after an accident and how a Solicitor can help you.

Section 170 RTA Legislation

The offence of failing to stop and report an accident is outlined in Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which states this offence has occurred if;

• Personal injury is caused to a person other than the driver of that mechanically propelled vehicle, or
• Damage is caused –
  (i) to a vehicle other than that mechanically propelled vehicle or a trailer drawn by that mechanically propelled vehicle or
  (ii) to an animal other than an animal in or on that mechanically propelled vehicle or a trailer drawn by that mechanically propelled vehicle or,

(iii) to any other property constructed on, fixed to, growing in or otherwise forming part of the land on which the road or place in question is situated or land adjacent to such land

Section 170 RTA 1988 (2) further states that the driver of the mechanically propelled vehicle involved in the above, must stop and if so, required to do so by a person with reasonable grounds, provide his name/address and vehicle registration. A reasonable person would be for example, the driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident/whose vehicle you have damaged.

If the driver of the vehicle does not provide their name and address under subsection 2, he must report the accident, pursuant to Section 170(3) of the RTA 1988. This would be relevant in circumstances, where an individual had caused damaged to an empty parked vehicle or to a roadside fixture and would face difficulty exchanging information.

If the driver of the vehicle fails to comply with subsection two or three of this act then he is guilty of the failing to stop/report.

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Contact Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for friendly advice

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What Is The Penalty For Failing To Stop Or Report An Accident?

The Sentencing Guidelines for failing to stop or report an accident vary dependant on the circumstances of the case. The offence is a triable only summarily offence, with a maximum sentence of 26 weeks in prison.

The Sentencing Guidelines for this offence are split into three categories as follows:

Category 3: Carrying a sentence of 5-6 penalty points and a Band A – C fine

Category 2: Carrying a sentence of 7-8 penalty points or disqualification of up to six months and/or a medium level community order or Band B fine.

Category 1: Carrying a sentence of a 6-12 month driving disqualification or 9-10 penalty points and/or a low- high level community service order or up to a 26 week custodial sentence.

The category you fall in to as an offender, is subject to the culpability and harm present during the commission of the offence. If an offender has demonstrated lower culpability and lesser harm, they would fall within category three. If an offender has demonstrated higher culpability and lesser harm or lower culpability and greater harm, they would fall within category two. If an offender has demonstrated high culpability and greater harm , he would fall within category one.

In cases where injury or significant damage has been caused, this would demonstrate greater harm. In cases where the offender has sought to avoid arrest for another offence, left an injured party at the scene when they knew/suspected injury, when an offender had provided false details and where a request for a sample of breath/blood/urine would have been made, had the offender stopped – this would indicate higher culpability.

Due to the vast range in sentencing for this offence, it is especially important to seek legal advice if charged with this offence. A solicitor can provide tailored support and advise depending on the sentencing category you are subject to and your objective. For some clients this may be avoiding a custodial sentence and others trying to reduce the amount of penalty points they receive, to avoid a ‘totting up’ disqualification.

Find out more about totting up bans in our blog; totting up ban, what do you need to know.

Should I Report Collisions With Animals Too?

Yes, you should of course report collisions with animals too. Section 170(8) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 defines an ‘animal’ as horse, cattle, ass, mule, sheep, pig, goat or dog*.

If you fail to report an accident involving any of the animals listed, then you have committed an offence.

Whilst you are not legally required to report an accident involving a cat or animal not listed, it is generally morally good practice to do so.  A police log of the incident would mean that the owners of the animal are aware of the incident, can locate their pet and potentially provide it with much needed aid. This could also prevent the animal from suffering further.

What Potential Defences Are Available for this offence?

You were unaware a collision/damaged had taken place/been caused

We have spoken with a number of clients who have come into contact with a vehicle/person without realising. This may sound unlikely on the face of it but imagine this scenario;

Imagine that you’re leaving the car park of the supermarket and gently brush against a trolley or another vehicle when reversing out of your parking space. At very low speeds, with a radio on, you could quite legitimately be unaware that contact had occurred, or that any resulting damage was caused.

If the prosecution can evidence damage was caused, then you would need to demonstrate that it was reasonable for you to be unaware of this damage. In cases with substantial damage, this will of course be more difficult to argue successfully.

In this case, you would still have a legal duty to stop and report the accident but you would also have a potential defence that you did not know that you were involved in an accident, therefore, did not know that you needed to report it. Establishing these kinds of facts is key to putting together a potentially strong defence and is exactly how an experienced motoring defence solicitor can help you when assessing your case.

It is important to note that if you were unaware an accident had occurred, but were made/became aware of this within 24 hours, you are still legally required to report this to the police.

No damage or injury was caused

If in your case no injury or damage occurred, then this may be a defence to the offence, as there is no onus on you to stop/report the incident. If your case makes it to court, then the prosecution team must prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that injury or damage was caused.

This is common where a collision has occurred at very low speed and no damage has been caused or vehicles have come close to each other, but not actually made contact. Other motorists may mistakenly report these incidents to police, as from their perspective they believe the vehicles came into contact.

You were not driving at the time of the alleged offence

If you were not driving at the time of alleged offence, you will generally have the opportunity to address this once you receive a Section 172 notice or Notice of Intended Prosecution, where you can nominate the correct driver.

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Contact Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for friendly advice

_______________________________________________________________________

How Can Caddick Davies Help?

As a highly experienced team of specialist motor defence lawyers, we offer advice and representation for individuals facing motoring offences across the UK.

In any case, relating to a Section 170 offence, we will assess each case presented to us individually and without judgement to identify any factual or technical defence that can be used to overturn the charge in Court or minimise the fines and/or penalty points that you are facing.

The specialist team of lawyers at Caddick Davies will:

1. review all the evidence of your case to establish the facts
2. build a strong defence by gathering evidence and presenting your case
3. provide a defence counsel that you can rely on in court
4. provide legal advice and consultation throughout your case

When working with you to put together a strong defence, we will consider the following arguments and factual defence angles;

• Whether you were involved in an accident;
• Whether there was damage caused;
• If you stopped or reported the accident; and
• If you were unaware of any accident or damage, therefore you were not aware that you should stop or report the accident.

We offer a free initial consultation, where we will discuss the details on your case in depth and provide you with honest advice on how to best proceed with your matter.

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Neil Davies

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I am a criminal lawyer with over 25 years of experience and specialising in the defence of Road Traffic (driving) prosecutions and the founder and Senior Partner of Caddick Davies Solicitors.

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