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Road Traffic Accidents

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The basics:

Duty of Care
Negligence
Safety When Driving
- Seat Belts
Tyre Law
Mixing Tyres
Correct Tyre Pressures
Faulty Tyres
Mobile Phones
Drinking and Driving

The basics:

Duty of Care | Top
Every road user (driver or otherwise) owes a duty to take reasonable care not to cause accidents that injure someone or damage another person's property. Not that just being in an accident means you are liable. It has to be proved that on a balance of probabilities you were negligent.

Negligence | Top
Unless the accident is very clearly one person's fault eg. they drove through a red light and crashed into a car driven lawfully through the other green light, you must examine the actions of all those involved in the accident to see if fault lies with one part or with one party more than the other. So what you do immediately after the accident can be vital. Here are some of the things:

Stop
Exchange names and addresses with the other driver
If available exchange insurance details.
Vehicle registration number
Vehicle make, colour and condition
Exchange telephone numbers
If dark was it correctly lit?
Did you see vehicle give correct signals?
Apparent damage
Personal injuries
Take names, address and phone numbers of all witnesses
Draw a simple plan of the scene of the accident. Show where the vehicles were before the accident and where they ended up. Show road signs; road junctions and skid marks.
If you have a camera take photographs of the scene and damage.
Date and time of accident
Weather conditions
Speed limit
Name, Collar Number and Police Station of any police officer attending
If the accident was reported to a Police Station its address and the time and date reported
Was the driver wearing a seat belt?
Was a passenger injured? was he wearing a seat belt?

Safety When Driving | Top

Seat Belts

Any award of damages may be reduced if you were not wearing a seat belt.

Summary of the law:

	Front Seat	Rear Seat	Who is responsible?
DRIVER	Seat must be worn if fitted		DRIVER
Child under 3 years of age	Appropriate child restraint must be used	Appropriate child restraint must be used	DRIVER
Child aged 3 to 11 and under 1.5 metres height	Appropriate child restraint must be worn if available. If not adult seat belt must be worn.	Appropriate child restraint must be worn if available. If not adult seat belt must be worn.	DRIVER
Child aged 12 or 13 or younger child over 1.5 metres in height	Adult seat belt must be worn	Adult seat belt must be worn	DRIVER
Adult passenger	Seat belt must be worn if available	Seat belt must be worn if available	Passenger

For further and fuller details click:

http://www.nelincs.gov.uk/IC?noframes/traffic/rsseatbelts.htm

Tyre Law | Top
The legal minimum tread depth for a car and similar tyres in the UK and the European Community is 1.6 mm throughout a continuous band comprising the central three quarters of the breadth of the tread and round the entire circumference of the tyre.

Simple tyre gauges are available to help.

Mixing Tyres | Top
It is illegal and certainly dangerous to mix radial ply and cross ply tyres on the same axle or to have radial ply on the front axles and cross ply on the rear axle.

Correct Tyre Pressures | Top
Vital for balanced braking, maximum grip and tyre life. Check them every two weeks at least.

Faulty Tyres | Top
Cuts, lumps; bulges; tears; exposed ply or cord are all faults.

Mobile Phones | Top
It is unsafe for a driver to use a hand held phone. Making or receiving a call even with a hands-free phone, can distract your attention and lead to an accident. Responsibility for the safe control of a vehicle always rests with the driver.

You must have a proper control of your vehicle at all times. If your use of a mobile phone causes you to drive carelessly or dangerously you will be liable for the accident and to prosecution.

Never use a hand-held phone whilst driving.

It is safer to use a hands-free phone whilst driving.

Employers should not expect employees to use a mobile phone whilst driving.

Drinking and Driving | Top

If you are convicted of:	The maximum penalty is:
Causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs	10 years imprisonment and banned for at least 2 years
Driving or attempting to drive whilst above the legal limit or unfit through drink	6 months imprisonment plus a fine of £5000 banned from driving for at least: 12 months (3 years if you are convicted twice in 10 years)
In charge of a vehicle whilst above the legal limit or unfit through drink	3 months imprisonment plus a fine of £2,500 and a ban from driving
Refusing to provide a specimen	6 months imprisonment plus a fine of £5,000 and a ban of at least 12 months