Good Afternoon all,
I was driving on a one way ring road that circles a town. There are 2 lanes and both are clearly signposted and have road markings showing that the left hand lane is used to turn off the ring road and the right hand lane is to continue going around the ring road. I had been queing in the right hand lane. Many people were driving up the left hand lane and then forcing their way into the right hand lane at the last moment. As I came to the end of the road where people were pushing in I let a car in and then continued forward myself. As I drove into the corner another car came up fast driving over the chevrons and forcing their way in front of me causing me to take evasive action to avoid a collision. This was now forcing me into the wrong lane after the corner as I needed the next exit off the ring road. I did not fully concede and move over into the other lane entirely, but was in the middle of the 2 lanes.
I could see the other driver clearly in my mirror as I was slightly ahead of them. As I was attempting to get in front of him and get back into my correct lane I saw the other driver turn his wheel toward me and speed up causing a collision. No major damage, just his wing mirror crushing against the side of my vehicle. After seeing how the last few seconds had played out and that the other driver intentionally turned into me to cause this collision, I decided to completely move away as I did not want this road rager to cause any more damage to my vehicle. I drove ahead in the other available lane and pulled over one vehicle ahead in order to exchange details.
Rather than pulling up behind or in front of me the other driver pulled up alongside me now blocking both lanes of traffic on the new road we had turned onto. I looked over and the drivers passenger held a police warrant card up to the window and smirked at me. They then told me to lower my window which I did. The driver then leaned over his passenger and cautioned me for undue care and attention whilst driving. He then told me that I would receive a fine letter in the post to my home address and drove off. This confused the hell out of me as I thought when he was reading me my rights that I was being arrested. I also thought I would at least be asked to pull over somewhere else more convenient or follow them. However, as mentioned they simply drove off leaving the scene of a RTC.
The individuals involved were not in police uniform nor were they in a police car or in an undercover police car. This was the drivers personal car and also has a private number plate. At no point did they leave their vehicle. The caution was shouted at me by the driver by leaning over his passenger and shouting through the passenger window. After they drove off I managed to exchange details with the driver behind me who had dashcam footage of the whole incident. He was particularly moved to share this with me after hearing me getting cautioned as he believed the off duty police officer was in the wrong.
I promptly reported the incident to my insurer. For the most part there is no damage on my vehicle. There was a small scuff which completely dissapeared when rubbed with a cleaning wipe. I also reported the incident to the police as I did not know if these people were impersonating police officers and they also left the scene of a RTC. The police call handler told me it did not sound like they were actual police officers as if they were their actions were highly unprofessional.
A couple of days later I was contacted by a PC whom informed me that he was investigating the RTC. He informed me that the other driver had also reported the RTC to the police but he refused to inform me as to whether they were an off duty police officer or not. He told me that if they were they would be automatically investigated by a seperate department in addition to his investigation. When I asked him if it is a criminal offence to leave the scene of a RTC he said no. He said you can leave the scene of a RTC collision as long as you report it to the police within 24 hours. As the other driver had done so he felt this was suffice. However, my own understanding and subsequent research suggests that this is in fact a criminal offence. I asked if police officers are allowed to caution someone whilst off duty and he informed me that yes in certain instances they can. However upon further investigation this appears to be one of the few instances where they cannot.
He also informed me that both myself and the other driver were being investigated, however, he was splitting it into two seperate cases. The other driver is being investigated for driving over chevrons and forcing their way in front of me. I am being investigated for pulling in front of the other driver seconds later. When I pointed out the fact that these instances were seconds apart and if the other driver did not force their way in front of me none of this would have happened the investigating officer was not interested. My entire interaction with this investigating officer made me believe that the other driver was in fact an off duty police officer and is trying to protect him.
I believe the investigating officer is downplaying the severity of leaving the scene of a RTC and also misleading me about when an off duty police officer is allowed to caution a member of the public. I also believe the fact he is deciding to split the case into 2 further serves to protect the other driver. I also have suspicions that I am being misled when he said if the other driver is a police officer he would be investigated by an independant team.
I have since learned through my insurer that the other driver is in fact a police officer. Once my insurer gave me his name I was able to find him online and I was also able to identify him via photos and confirm the fact he is a serving police officer. Also his private number plate which I recorded at the time of the collision contains the initials of his name. I have also discovered that he is part of the "Road crime team" and his role is "Roads policing Intelligence & problem solving" (Ironic?). He is also working in the same constabulary as the officer who contacted me and is investigating the RTC.
The only positive I have at the moment is that the investigating officer told me that because it was a minor collision and nobody was injured and because I am co-operating with the investigation by providing dashcam footage the charge would be minor. He has told me that he will most likely be suggesting a driver awareness course and did not feel points and a fine were necessary from the footage he has reviewed. Also worth mentioining that I have received an NIP in the post which I will be completing and returning shortly. However the location on the NIP is not correct. The road name and borough is correct however the town is not. The town on the NIP is actually 10 miles away from where the incident actually took place. I had thought perhaps this may invalidate the NIP especially if I were to delay responding until 14 days has passed however, when I read the stickied thread before posting on this forum it seems this would not be enough to invalidate the NIP.
Apologies for the wall of text, I am neuro divergent and I struggle with being concise when communicating. I have tried to include as much detail as possible without giving away too many identifying details that could potentially lead back to me (Not sure if I'm being silly here but I am trying to be cautious).
I have hundreds of questions that have been racing through my mind since this all unfolded however I will try to stick to the more important ones.
- What should I do?
- Should I be seeking legal advice?
- Should I raise a complaint against the officer?
- Are off duty police officers allowed to caution a member of the public in regards to a RTC? Taking into consideration they were in their own personal car, not in uniform, the driver did not formally identify himself as a police officer (Only the passenger showed their warrant card), they did not leave their vehicle and then left the scene of the RTC.
- Is it a criminal offence to leave the scene of a RTC?
- Is it a conflict of interest for the investigating officer to be from the same constabulary?
- Is it true that the off duty police officer will be investigated by an independant department?
- Is it normal procedure to split a case into 2 seperate instances? Especially when they took place and were ongoing over a period of no more than 8 seconds.
I would greatly appreciate any guidance and feedback on this matter. If anyone has any questions or requires more clarification please do not hesitate to ask and I will try to respond promptly.
Kind regards,
Nick
