Unidentified Driver

The penalties for driving without car insurance need to be more harsh. When you factor in that the cost of car insurance can range from $3,000-$5,500/year depending on the make of your vehicle and driving record; compared to the $5,000 first time penalty for driving without car insurance, the risk/reward scenario for deliberate offenders who are without any tangible assets is borderline tempting…Especially for those who are struggling financially.

But we aren’t advocating that anyone drive without car insurance.

Section 2(1) of the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act states:

Compulsory automobile insurance

2 (1) Subject to the regulations, no owner or lessee of a motor vehicle shall,

(a) operate the motor vehicle; or

(b) cause or permit the motor vehicle to be operated,

on a highway unless the motor vehicle is insured under a contract of automobile insurance.

What this means is that you need car insurance in order to operate a motor vehicle. What is the penalty if you are caught driving without proper car insurance? Let’s take a look at what the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act says:

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What happens when someone hits you with their vehicle, and they drive off from the accident scene? The at fault driver is unidentified. The collision took place so quickly, that you weren’t able to get a license plate number. The at fault driver obviously didn’t stop to check if you are ok; or to exchange insurance information. Or perhaps the injuries are so bad that you loose consciousness; or you are in so much pain that you can’t track down the at fault driver.

How do you handle these situations? How do you sue a party who cannot be identified?

These are great questions.

These types of unidentified driver situations happen more than you might think.

Often, when they happen, the at fault driver has their nefarious reasons for not stopping. They might be trying to avoid all interaction with the police because they shouldn’t be driving; the are operating a vehicle illegally; they have something illegal/stolen in their vehicle; they are operating a stolen vehicle; or a vehicle which they aren’t allowed to be driving; they are unlicensed; they are uninsured; or perhaps they have so many car accidents on their driving record that one more will result in an automatic suspension of their driver’s license; or a dramatic increase of their car insurance premiums. In all of these situations, the at fault driver is attempting to avoid any interaction with authorities.

In other cases, the at fault driver may not have even known that they were involved in an accident at all. They may have not noticed, or felt any impact resulting from the collision. This can happen when a large vehicle makes the slightest contact with a cyclist or a pedestrian. The impact to the large vehicle is hardly noticeable on account of the size of the vehicle. On the other hand, the impact to the pedestrian or cyclist can be catastrophic

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Articles Posted in Unidentified Driver

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