Hit And Run Incidents Rarely Lead To Conviction

A cyclist in Cardiff has questioned South Wales police over the alarmingly low number of hit and run drivers that have been apprehended. Many such incidents are not recorded as crimes and this makes it impossible for the victim to be able to submit a criminal injury claim later. Cyclist, John Harris, has found that only 1 driver in 35 incidents between 1st April and 31st December 2012 was apprehended and this was as a result of CCTV footage.

A cyclist being knocked off their bike can lead to serious and long term injuries. It is important that victims of this type of incident report the crime to police as soon as possible. If the crime is not reported in the first place, then CICA will not be able to agree compensation with the victim and this is essential if the culprit is never apprehended.

This type of crime can be reported to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, or MIB, but they will rarely take action if no driver can be identified. This means that victims must turn to the CICA as a means of chasing compensation. However, CICA will not take action if the incident is not reported as a crime. According to Mr Harris, Cardiff police rarely report the incidents as crimes because they do not follow up on them or attempt to make arrests.

A representative for South Wales Police said that incidents of this nature need to be considered a malicious act or one that constitutes dangerous driving in order for it to be recorded as a crime. In instances where this cannot be proven or where the police believe that it is not true, they will be recorded simply as road traffic incidents.

The CICA offers victims of crime the opportunity to seek and claim compensation even when they are unable to identify, or the police are unable to apprehend the criminal that committed the crime. Claimants and their claims need to meet certain criteria to be considered suitable and this means that incidents must be reported to police and recorded as a crime by the police.

CICA Criminal Injury Claims Road Traffic AccidentsDec 7th, 20130 comments