When we got back to the bikes, I threw my leg over, and promptly fell over sideways and into a parked car as I had not realised there was a drop curb the other side. To say I was super-embarrassed is an understatement as I just wanted the ground to swallow me up.
Thankfully, there was no damage to my bike as my bar weight had hit the parked car’s rear quarter. I checked the car. It had marked the paint, but it was a battered old Mondeo and to be fair it didn’t look any worse than the rest of it.
So with that, we headed home and I didn’t think any more of it until I received a letter from the Police. They are now accusing me of failing to report an accident. I have no idea how they got my bike registration details as I checked around before I left, and I couldn’t see any camera.
I am thinking of ignoring their letter as to who was riding as there was no damage to my bike and it was only a ding on an old car. However, my gut is telling me this could just make things worse.
Answer
Listen to your gut. You have received a Notice of Intended Prosecution so you should not ignore it. This is because it is an offence under Section 172 Road Traffic Act 1988 to fail to provide the information requested in the Driver Identification Request by completing the driver identity form within 28 days. A person convicted of failing to provide information would be fined up to £1000 and either have their licence endorsed with six penalty points or be disqualified from driving.
As for failing to report an accident, because you hit a car with your bike and caused damage, and then rode off, you have committed an offence. If you are summoned to Court and are found guilty or pleaded guilty to this offence the likely punishment would be a penalty points endorsement of five to 10 points and fine, in addition to Court costs, etc.
Due to the nature of the offence alleged you could be disqualified instead of getting penalty points. If you were disqualified for the offence itself, this could be for up to 12 months. An offender could also be sent to prison for up to six months. However, I would add that this is very unlikely in your case.
At this stage all you can do is identify yourself as the rider and then see if the Police/CPS pursue this further. If they do, I suggest you take legal advice because it is actually a very serious offence. This often catches people as they think it’s ‘just a ding’ on a car etc.
Andrew ‘Chef’ Prendergast
More Bikes – May 2024
