Received letter from Police

[echat11]

Could the Witnesses be related in some way to alleged 'victim'?

Have the police asked to look at the car?

I would seek legal representation, experts in this field who can carry out some background checks on the alleged victim and Witnesses.

islandgirl

[des8]

If your motor insurance covers legal expenses contact your insurers with a view to covering solicitors costs.

As you say you have no recollection of this incident I wonder if it happened as alleged.
If there are three witnesses who can all testify to seeing a cyclist hit by you, I just wonder how much they actually saw.
Where were they positioned in relation to where the "hit" took place?
Are they truly independent? (is this leading to a substantial insurance claim?)
What was the road surface condition.... did the cyclist hit a pothole or a loose stone just as you were passing?

I think you need a solicitor

crossed with @echat11

[echat11]

If your motor insurance covers legal expenses contact your insurers with a view to covering solicitors costs.

As you say you have no recollection of this incident I wonder if it happened as alleged.
If there are three witnesses who can all testify to seeing a cyclist hit by you, I just wonder how much they actually saw.
Where were they positioned in relation to where the "hit" took place?
Are they truly independent? (is this leading to a substantial insurance claim?)
What was the road surface condition.... did the cyclist hit a pothole or a loose stone just as you were passing?

I think you need a solicitor

Good point on legal expenses insurance.

[BoltStar]

Could the Witnesses be related in some way to alleged 'victim'?

Have the police asked to look at the car?

I would seek legal representation, experts in this field who can carry out some background checks on the alleged victim and Witnesses.

islandgirl

2 witnesses and the 3rd being the party involved. I have called my insurance and they put me through to the legal department and says someone should give me a call later. 1 of the witness statement goes as far as to state that i slowed down, turned my head to look at the damage i caused and then sped off. i don't even know how i feel about this person as i'm trying not to stress myself out.

Advice from my insurance company is that i should send them the documents i've received and they will deal with it. They said the documents should have been sent to them instead of myself? Honestly, i don't know if my insurance company knows what they're talking about or if i'm just not well informed. I asked for a solicitor and they said they will be the one dealing with it

[des8]

If you have Legal Expenses Insurance which covers you in these circumstances (and we don't know that until we see your policy wording) you have the right to appoint a solicitor of your own choosing (The insurance Companies (Legal Expense Insurance) Regulations 1990 sec 6)

So check your policy wording, instruct your own solicitor and write to your insurers telling them that, and send them a copy of the papers you have received.
If you are being charged why would the documentation be sent to the insurers? Who are they anyway?

[BoltStar]

If you have Legal Expenses Insurance which covers you in these circumstances (and we don't know that until we see your policy wording) you have the right to appoint a solicitor of your own choosing (The insurance Companies (Legal Expense Insurance) Regulations 1990 sec 6)

So check your policy wording, instruct your own solicitor and write to your insurers telling them that, and send them a copy of the papers you have received.
If you are being charged why would the documentation be sent to the insurers? Who are they anyway?

My insurance company is hastings direct.

Motor Legal ExpensesInsurer
•Legal costs up to £100,000 for certain types of disputes
resulting from a Road Traffic Accident.
•Legal expenses to defend you in a prosecution for
motoring offences.
•24/7 legal advice.
Allianz Legal Protection,
a trading name of Allianz
Insurance plc

I sent them partial documents as i had to take the pictures with my phone and send it to them before i am able to get to a scanning machine tomorrow. I will chase it up after i have sent them the documents.

[islandgirl]

Just home from a weekend away and trying to get my head round what has been posted!

The advice is GO AND SEE A SOLICITOR (previous post indicates you will do via insurer) As Des8 says why would documents be sent to them? You must take control of the situation as it is your neck on the line. Do they really understand what is going on here? Do not sit back and think they will sort it out!

This is now a serious matter

If you can prove you were totally unaware of the accident or it was not you driving etc you have a chance of not guilty - remember the crown has to prove the case you do not have to prove your innocence.

You may be disqualified from driving and get a large fine if found guilty : https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk...-revised-2017/

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk...-revised-2017/

For fail to stop and report you are looing at a minimum 5-6 points and a fine probably at least 100% of your weekly income or potentially a disqualification

Only a solicitor can tell you if you have a chance of not guilty. Go and see one hopefully paid for via insurance... you may be eligable for legal aid depending on your income.

Edited as I have just seen your post re insurance. You are right to involve them and they may pay your fees.

[echat11]

As you say 'you were not involved and a complete surprise to you', I take your word for that. What we do know is that innocent people get caught up in scams conducted by other people. Car accidents, personal injury etc, so I'd be looking at the possibility that it could be scam being perpetrated on you.

[des8]

In spite of Hastings (who aren't actually your insurers for this claim) saying they are the ones dealing with your claim I would insist on appointing my own solicitor.
Hastings will be using a panel of solicitors who aren't necessarily the best (but the cheapest?).
Find a solicitor who specialises in criminal motoring cases and instruct him as is your right, and do it quickly.

[islandgirl]

Yes it is possible that it is a scam. Or it may have happened and the OP may not have realized it - as I previously posted: I once had a similar case. A cyclist was "knocked off his bike" and the driver was accused (of failt to stop / drive without due care). There was a trial (it is a few years ago so I con't remember the detail) but the cctv clearly showed the cyclist hit something and fell off but thought the driver had knocked him off. It also showed that from his position on the road the driver would not have seen the cyclist fall therefore had not reason to stop. Not guilty verdict.

[BoltStar]

Finally got to speak to a solicitor after having been given the run around by insurance since friday. They ended up saying they didn't need the documents since no one was filing a compensation claim against me etc etc and gave me the wrong number again before i eneded up in the right place. Anyway, just got off the phone to a solicitor who said if i was to plead guilty, i'd probably receive 3-5pts but could be worse if i plead not guilty. He said 2 independent witness statement might be enough to convict me without any other evidence. I told him pleading guilty did not sit well with me but i am thinking about pleading guilty to the first offense and not guilty to the other 2? Why? I was on the verge of a mental breakdown on friday and if it wasn't for the support of a friend, i might have lost my mind. I'm scared i will end up in jail if i am convicted of this but maybe if i plead guilty to the first, i'll be able to convince the judge i definitely wasn't aware of the incident and therefore wouldnt have stopped or reported it? I don't know, please advice as my mind isn't clear on what to do.

[islandgirl]

The solicitor is right - you get a lesser sentence if you plead guilty than if you are found guilty after trial (third off). To plead not guilty to the second two you would have to convince the court that you did not know an accident had occured. The big question is, was it you driving the car? Did you do what they say (ie cut up a cyclist and turn left). If you were, plead guilty and ask the solicitor about the other two charges as if you were not aware of the collision it is difficult to say why you should have stopped. More importantly however the witness does say you looked back and saw the aftermath. They seem clear on this point. It will be hard to argue against that observation unless you were not driving and can prove that at the time of the collision you were elsewhere - if you can, go not guilty! It seems to me you have got a standard end of the phone solicitor - perhaps go and see someone local who appears frequently in your local court. You will get more detailed advice. You need to sit down and talk to someone about it, not to speak to someone faceless at the end of a phone. We don't know your history of offending but if you are previously of good character there is almost no chance you will go to prison (though you may not be driving for a while)

[HandyAndy]

I’ve only just read through all of this and a number of things spring to mind.

The big question is, was it you driving the car?

On 3^rd August, you said that you responded to a letter which asked you to identify "who owns the car and might have driven it". You said that "...i am the only one with access to the car, so i put my details down." The police do not normally ask for that information. They are not interested who owns the car and, if you were the person keeping the vehicle at the time of the allegation, you must provide them with the driver’s details. Stating “who might have driven it” is not good enough and will see you on the wrong end of a “Failing to provide driver’s details” charge. Since you have not been charged with that offence, but have been charged with other offences which require the driver to be identified, I imagine you responded by saying you were driving at the relevant time. If that is so, then any defence you might now put forward that you were not the driver will be somewhat problematic. The police will rely on your response to their request (as they do with all charges where the driver was not stopped at the time) and for you to now turn round and say you made a false response not only will not help you with the motoring offences but will also open up the possibility of more serious charges. You might check in your evidence bundle to see whether the police have provided their evidence that you were driving.

From your description of the event (and assuming that description is true), it seems whoever was driving would almost certainly be convicted of careless driving. The fail to stop/report is a different matter. As mentioned, if the driver was unaware that an accident had taken place, he can defend those charges. But the burden is on him to show that he was unaware. That may be difficult from your description.

If you do engage a solicitor I would employ one who has a basic knowledge of Road Traffic matters:

Anyway, just got off the phone to a solicitor who said if i was to plead guilty, i'd probably receive 3-5pts but could be worse if i plead not guilty.

A guilty plea attracts a discount on any fine that may be imposed. It does not see a reduction in the number of points imposed (unless in Scotland). That said, the minimum number of points that can be imposed for failing to stop/report is five and the court cannot go below that as it is the statutory minimum. The biggest crippler after being found guilty at trial will be prosecution costs, which should be a minimum of £620.

The stop/report offence can carry a prison sentence (though definitely will not in your case). But that is to your advantage because if you attend court for your first hearing you are entitled to see the duty solicitor, free of charge, who will advise you on your plea and also represent you at that hearing. He may be able to persuade the prosecutor to drop the fail to stop/report charge in return for a guilty plea to careless driving. That is a big "maybe" but worth a try if the duty solicitor agrees. If you need representation beyond that you (or your insurers) will have to pay for it.

[islandgirl]

OP wrote: I don't think it said that, it was a questionnaire just asking who drives the car, insurance details etc and since i am the only one with access to the car, i put down my details. The location of the supposeded collison is indeed a road i take to work in the morning

He could have been the only person with access to the car but be able to prove he was elsewhere at the time of the collision. The witness did not have a full numberplate I understand. I think duty is not the way to go - see a proper solicitor with road traffic knowledge before the first appearance is my advice.

[HandyAndy]

He could have been the only person with access to the car but be able to prove he was elsewhere at the time of the collision.

The police have raised three charges against him which, to succeed, depend on them having evidence that he was driving. You are suggesting they don't have that evidence. I think that is unlikely but if he examines the evidence he has been served with it should have been supplied. If no such evidence is available (i.e. he has not provided written confirmation that he was the driver) then he should plead not guilty to all charges and is all but certain to be acquitted. He does not have to prove he was elsewhere, the prosecution has to prove that he was driving at the time and place alleged. If he has completed what amounts to a s172 return confirming he was the driver but now attempts to prove that he was not, that may not end well.

It would help, of course, if he had kept a copy of what he had completed and returned, but it seems he didn't. If he has legal cover which will provide a solicitor to represent him (though hopefully one slightly more well versed with Road Traffic law than the one he has spoken to) then I would agree that it would be a good idea to allow them to represent him fully. If not, it will do no harm to consult the duty solicitor on the day and may even be more beneficial.