Hit and Run - The BoXa.net hive mind put to the test

[Jimbop90]

Based if nothing else than on the fact you're driving Porsche's, there's some pretty smart people on this forum! I'm hoping you can help me with those big brains.

I messed up big time.

Was crashed into on a roundabout on Saturday evening.
We stopped, I took photos of the cars, police turned up (neither of us called them), officer insurance checked us both, didn't breathalise (possibly not a traffic cop, maybe dog unit?) and told us to get off the dual carriageway. We exchanged phone numbers. He wanted to go our separate ways and pay our own bills, I said no it needed to go through insurance, eventually I relented and said I'd at least get a quote first before going through insurance. We were texting the first day or so after it happened but now he's gone quiet.

My photos don't have his reg, I realised almost immediately, so pulled over again and rang the police, they said nothing had been logged yet and to ring back the next day.
I rang back, they haven't logged it. I'm 99.9% sure its a reg beginning with K, 90% sure its a 13 plate, and don't know about 2nd letter or the last 3 letters.

I've checked the roads for cameras, there are some traffic cameras that the police monitor. The traffic team or whatever at West Mercia haven't been helpful at all, I've basically been telling the woman how to do her job. Her reply when I asked them to call Vlad (the guy who crashed into me) and ask to confirm his details was "if he won't give them to you why would he give them to us?" - now I know some people aren't much for complying with the police these days but I think I would answer a direct question from a member of police staff. That this didn't occur to her did make me laugh.

I've been told by a friend who is a Cheshire traffic cop that even if it was just rang through over radio, there should be an audit of all insurance lookups that an officer requests, which makes sense to me, if nothing else for internal investigations into dodgy police after all the cr*p going on in the Met.

Lets face it, if I'd been murdered 6 hours after this incident they would find Vlad's reg. I feel like it's just about me trying to leverage as much resource as possible being put into this to get a result. My friend has suggested logging a complaint if they don't come up with anything.

I've given the exact locations of several cameras he would have driven through, the time windows he'd have driven through, they have my details so they can look up my reg and just watch the next 2 minutes of footage, it was a one way road we came down after the incident so he HAS to have passed one camera in particular.

I've also given the info on the police car that stopped, they know who was on shift, they know the time, they know the place, there's only so many male coppers even if all of them were 6ft2+, over 40 with a shaved head, so even if they looked at the audit of each one on the insurance lookup "log" or whatever it is, then they'd find Vlads's reg right next to mine in the list either just before or just after. Those cars have dashcams. They would absolutely have Vlad's reg.

I think I've exhausted everything else I can think of, I will try local facebook groups for witnesses but it wasn't very busy and I think anyone who had dashcam and would be interested in helping would already have been in touch.

Is there anything I haven't thought of that I could use to find him? Short of a private investigator or impersonating a police officer, lol.

I've considered asking DVLA for all 2013 Black Audi A3's registered to a Hereford post code with reg starting with K under the name Vlad, there can't be many.

I know I'm an idiot, please don't pile on. I've been beating myself up about it all week. 

Edited May 10 by Jimbop90

[Menoporsche]

@Bike Loon has experience of this  

[CMA]

Do you need to do any of this leg work? Just report it to your insurance, details of the copper and the other parties phone number, they should do the leg work and have more sway with the coppers to get the info? Especially if you have legal fees cover too, you should be able to use that.

Or I might be expecting too much from our over priced insurance companies....

[Menoporsche]

4 minutes ago, CMA said:

Or I might be expecting too much from our over priced insurance companies....

Think we all know the answer to that one  

[Topbox]

If it all goes pear shape don't beat yourself up. Life is too short. Even relatively minor shunts are a shock to the system and it's very easy to make what seem, with hindsight, "stupid" errors. In a years time it will just be a memory  There is a bit of humour there, as you allude to at the end of your post.  You have shared your slip too; we have all done similar. Good luck.

[Davey P]

3 hours ago, Jimbop90 said:

Based if nothing else than on the fact you're driving Porsche's, there's some pretty smart people on this forum!

You're obviously new around here, aren't you.....? 😂

[EXY]

Very easy to get sidetracked in the heat of the moment. 

Have you tried googling his number? Tried calling from a different phone? Tried social media etc.

As said above if all else fails just put it through your insurance with the details you have like you intimidated to begin with. That's one reason we have insurance. Nothing like the possibility of your insurance claiming of his to sharpen your insurances POV 

Good luck 

[Terryg]

Or I might be expecting too much from our over priced insurance companies....

The OP is certainly expecting too much of the police, not that he is being unreasonable, just urealistic in modern Britain.

I am really sorry I don't have anything construvtive, I totally agree with @Topbox even though I wold struggle taking the same advice.

[Araf]

So if you may have each been paying for your own damage, I don't understand your problem.  Reporting the accident to your insurance company, as a fault accident with an unidentified car will mean they just repair yours - as they would in a knock for knock situation.

[Jimbop90]

21 minutes ago, Araf said:

So if you may have each been paying for your own damage, I don't understand your problem.  Reporting the accident to your insurance company, as a fault accident with an unidentified car will mean they just repair yours - as they would in a knock for knock situation.

I have a video of Vlad admitting he was in the left lane of a dual carriageway (I know technically definition of a dual carriageway is any road a divider in the middle, so this is technically a 2 lane dual carriageway) entering a roundabout, but then turned right on the roundabout, cutting across the lanes and therefore hitting me in the side. He doesn’t know the Highway Code. He even states that he thinks he can do that.
 

In the situation I didn’t go full d**khead on him, because I thought it would be more helpful to be nice to him, and let him explain what happened to his or my insurance company and by him just saying what happened would essentially win the claim for me, as he is 100% at fault. I know I’m naive to think that given insurance companies are slimy, and he could change his story, but he didn’t seem like an arsehole, just someone who doesn’t know how to drive.

 

[Scubaregs]

Then give the video to your insurance company and if they think he is to blame they will contact his insurers.

To be honest though, sounds lucky you didn't get impaled.

[Bike Loon]

25 minutes ago, Jimbop90 said:

and he could change his story, but he didn’t seem like an arsehole, just someone who doesn’t know how to drive.

 

I have experience of full admission of guilt at the roadside and then him telling his insurers that I reversed out a driveway right in front of him. Fortunately I found a house that had a perfect cctv view of the whole thing which scuppered him.

Sounds like it could be messy, without independent witnesses, or dashcam footage it is unlikely you will get any joy

[Jimbop90]

@Bike Loonagreed. However his behaviour for the last 5 days, refusing to provide details (an offence in itself) to me, my insurer, the police (if they have actually called him) doesn’t reflect an innocent party.

[Carmand]

When I was knocked of my bicycle a couple of years ago the Police were extremely helpful in chasing up the persons insurance details when they did not respond to calls/ texts from me.  They hadn’t reported the accident to either the police or their insurers (who were also very helpful to me) - ended up being paid the price of a new replacement bike for my 10 year old one.  

In Staffordshire all such incidents are dealt with by a particular set of staff which makes it easier.  And no officers attended my incident as my injuries were slight.  So worth persevering.

First thing I did was to take photos of the car and or person - second thing I SHOULD have done was take details of the witnesses to them not giving way at the roundabout and running straight into me!  Didn’t so no chance of a prosecution for careless or dangerous a driving.  As others have said lessons learnt and best to move on without getting too bent out of shape.

[McDonald]

On 5/10/2024 at 4:33 PM, Jimbop90 said:

I messed up big time.

Was crashed into on a roundabout on Saturday evening.
We stopped, I took photos of the cars, police turned up (neither of us called them), officer insurance checked us both, didn't breathalise (possibly not a traffic cop, maybe dog unit?) and told us to get off the dual carriageway. We exchanged phone numbers. He wanted to go our separate ways and pay our own bills, I said no it needed to go through insurance, eventually I relented and said I'd at least get a quote first before going through insurance. We were texting the first day or so after it happened but now he's gone quiet.
 

You didn't mess up at all. Someone crashed into your car & unsurprisingly you didn't perform like a robot while dealing with the aftermath. I'm glad no-one was hurt & I hope the insurance company earn their premium by handling it well on your behalf.

Best wishes.

[McDonald]

36 minutes ago, Carmand said:

When I was knocked of my bicycle a couple of years ago the Police were extremely helpful in chasing up the persons insurance details when they did not respond to calls/ texts from me.  They hadn’t reported the accident to either the police or their insurers (who were also very helpful to me) - ended up being paid the price of a new replacement bike for my 10 year old one.  

You did a lot better than I did in similar circumstances. 

A car pulled alongside me in Central London, then turned left. I was knocked off, crash helmet impacting the kerb & the car drove over my front wheel & forks. As I picked myself up, the driver jumped out protesting, "I was indicating." Two small children in the back of the car were howling, obviously distressed. I turned my attention to the kids, calming them & assuring them I was okay. Moments later the car left the scene & I was left to carry my broken bike in search of a cycle shop. I took no details, none were offered & I paid for the bike repair. 

We don't all handle shock in a rational way.

[½cwt]

You could drop a note to the (possibly newly elected) Police and Fire Commissioner for West Mercia.   I'm sure the force concerned will love having the commissioner involved in them not doing even the basics properly.