Question regarding road incident...

hypermuse

How long do I have to report an incident to the gardai after it has occurred?


Long story short:
Was knocked down on my bike, driver was in the wrong, agreed to pay for my expenses to get the bike repaired.
I would like to not get the gardai involved as its just a hassle I can deal without.
If the driver refuses to pay I know I need to have reported it for the incident to be deemed as "actually happened" should I need it for court.



Apologies if this is in the wrong forum. not seeking legal advice, just the help of people who are law savvy!

coylemj

If there is a motor accident and a person is injured, the driver is obliged to report it to the Gardai regardless of how much information is exchanged between the parties on the spot. That means that if the Gardai are not called out or don't turn up at the scene, the driver is obliged to go to the local station and report it.

That provision wasn't in the original RTA (1961) but was added later, I don't remember which amending act added it.

If the only damage was to your bike than there is no obligation on anyone to get the Gardai involved.

McCrack

Were you injured?

hypermuse

No I was fine other than a few sore ribs...
Could see the car crossing the road in front of me when he shouldn't so was able to protect myself... not a hope of avoiding him unfortunately.

thanks for the info but is there even a time period whereby the gardai will refuse to write up a case?

I mean someone could report an incident the day of said incident but if there is no time limit then whats to stop someone reporting an incident that happened 11 years ago!

coylemj

McCrack wrote: »

Were you injured?

hypermuse wrote: »

No I was fine other than a few sore ribs...

Sore ribs would constitute personal injury for most people, especially when it affects your sleep or stops you doing things like play football or go rolling in the park with the kids.

Did you write down details of the other guy's insurance or just take his name and address? Anecdotal evidence from multiple posts here and in the Motors forum would suggest that people who throw their hands up at the scene and admit liability do so in order to reassure the injured party so they do not call the Gardai. They also say that they will pay for the damage and not involve the insurance which reassures the injured party that they will get paid faster which in turn means they drop their guard and don't write down the driver's insurance details from the disc. Then when the injured party starts to look for payment for damage to their bike/car, the driver has second thoughts, repudiates his admission of liability on the basis that he was in shock at the time and basically tells the other guy to PFO or tries to argue over every penny of the estimate to fix the damage.

If I was you I'd report it to the Gardai.

McCrack

If you wish to seek compensation for your personal injury contact a solicitor.

Do not engage with the driver's insurance company yourself (or him for that matter).

Let a solicitor do it.