The driver was unconscious following an accident. The police attended the accident. He was acquitted of later failing to report the accident to the police. The prosecutor appealed. The car had crashed as the police pursued it. No notice had been served on him to produce his documents, and he had argued also that he could not be convicted of driving without a licence or insurance without a request having been made.
Held: The prosecutor’s appeal succeeded. The responsibility was on the driver to prove his entitlement to drive, and it was not a pre-condition of the offence that the documents had been requested. Similarly a driver involved in an accident had placed on him a duty to report it without being asked.
References: Times 13-Jul-2005
Statutes: Road Traffic Act 1988 8177
Jurisdiction: England and Wales
This case cites:
- Cited – John v Humphreys 1955
It was for a defendant driver positively to establish that he had driven in accordance with a driving licence and with an appropriate policy of insurance. . .
([1955] 1 WLR 325) - Cited – Director of Public Prosections v Kayaz 1999
The onus was on the driver of a vehicle to prove that he had a valid driving licence and insurance. . .
([1999] RTR 40) - Cited – Peek v Towler 1945
A driver of a vehicle who had been involved in an accident, remained under a duty to report the accident and to provide his particulars whether or not he had been requested to do so: ‘It would be a remarkable state of affairs if . . The obligations . .
([1945] KB 458)
These lists may be incomplete.
Last Update: 17 November 2020; Ref: scu.228583 br>
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