Car accident - van driver left without stopping

[walktall]

My car was parked opposite St Thomas the Apostle School, Hollydale Road on 13th December. A witness saw a Churches Fire van hit my car at 17.30 and drive off without stopping. A following car saw the accident and flashed the van. If you are that driver and remember the registration number of the van, or part of it would you please let me know. My car is badly damaged.

[singalto]

That horrid but as you know the name of the company the van belongs to you should contact the police and tell them. The company should know which van is damaged and was in that area at the time.

[walktall]

Thanks. I?ve done all that and the company will not help unless I have the reg number. I have filed it with the police and no joy there!

[Sally Eva]

The Motor Insurance Bureau insures cars damaged by hit and run drivers. I should contact them. I would think that they will speak unkindly to Churches. Afterall the implication is that all their vans are so damaged (all the time) that they cannot tell which one has recently been in an accident If they can't be bothered to do that they will have to pay up themselves.

https://www.mib.org.uk

[rendelharris]

That's a terrible response from Churches - they haven't so many vans that they couldn't very easily establish which one was in the area at that time. Making your complaint public on a comapny's Twitter and Facebook pages (Churches have both) often seems to have considerable gee-up power these days.

[walktall]

Churches Fire vans do not have trackers and the driver has not come forward. Churches Fire say they have looked at vans that were in the area but report none are damaged. I have spoken to their customer support and sent emails to their managing director but after 10 days they say they will not do anything. My hope now is to track down the vehicle following the van and also cctv in the area. I will also look at their Facebook page.

[walktall]

I?ll look into this - thanks

[KidKruger]

The company must know which vans they had operating in the area and therefore which drivers at that time.

It?s unlikely they had all their vans there or even more than one so anybody with an inclination to assist should be able to discern quite quickly which vehicle and driver were involved regardless of whether there was any damage to their.

[Lowlander]

Sally Eva Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> The Motor Insurance Bureau insures cars damaged by

> hit and run drivers. I should contact them. I

> would think that they will speak unkindly to

> Churches. Afterall the implication is that all

> their vans are so damaged (all the time) that they

> cannot tell which one has recently been in an

> accident If they can't be bothered to do that they

> will have to pay up themselves.

>

> https://www.mib.org.uk

This - they have helped me in the past.

[solar]

Drivers of fleet vans are usually required to fill in a log book detailing mileage at start and end of shift and any damage on takeover. This is so the company knows who was driving the vehicle in the event of accident or a driving offence. Assuming this procedure was being done correctly the company will know who was driving their vehicles at the time in question.

[walktall]

I suppose this all relies on the integrity of the Churches Fire van driver.

[transalp]

I would have a quick consultation with a solicitor. I expect they would tell you that you don?t need to know the driver of the van (or which van) if you have a witness to confirm that a company vehicle damaged your car (don?t treat it as a motor incident, but as criminal damage).

I?d also make sure the CEO of Churches is involved - he may care more about the potential liability and negative PR than the fleet manager (who probably already knows who was driving - it may even have been him).

Finally, remind Churches that failure to stop after a collision is a criminal offence, and it may be better to resolve this issue now rather than escalate it.

[Ruskin]

transalp Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I would have a quick consultation with a

> solicitor. I expect they would tell you that you

> don?t need to know the driver of the van (or which

> van) if you have a witness to confirm that a

> company vehicle damaged your car (don?t treat it

> as a motor incident, but as criminal damage).

>

> I?d also make sure the CEO of Churches is involved

> - he may care more about the potential liability

Good logic and sound advice.

> and negative PR than the fleet manager (who

> probably already knows who was driving - it may

> even have been him).

>

> Finally, remind Churches that failure to stop

> after a collision is a criminal offence, and it

> may be better to resolve this issue now rather

> than escalate it.