Write It Down!
Picture: Bournemouth Echo |
This is the second Legal Eagle article by our guest writer Tony Carter. Tony is a former Police instructor and RoSPA examiner and is a trained accident investigator. He works for the well-known legal firm of McMillan Williams, whose highly qualified team specialises in motorcycling and the law, from insurance claims to motoring offences.
While an accident can be a mind-jangling experience, it’s vital to try and keep cool, and remember things that you may later need for insurance or legal purposes. As memory can be affected by stress, it’s no use just making a mental note – this is one occasion when you really do need to physically – ‘write it down!’ |
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Recording Evidence I often get asked why I recommend that riders who’ve been involved in crashes make on-the-scene notes. Well try this: remember something significant that happened within the past few months. Search the grey cells and dredge up as much detail as you can. Then ask yourself what time did I get up? What did I have for breakfast? What clothes did I wear? What was in the post? What time did you I go out? What was the weather like? The truth is that many of us will struggle to recall many of these details. Could we swear that what we do know is 100% accurate? In a court, we might have to. It would be handy if there had been someone there to take notes…well of course there was, and that person was you. Now let’s say that this event was a road traffic accident. It may seem unnatural and even unfair to expect someone under those circumstances to go through a detached and mechanical recording of the scene. However its vitality important that you force yourself to do so if you can. Your account of events could be all that stands between achieving a satisfactory insurance claim to make good potential devastating losses or injuries, or even of avoiding prosecution. You might be surprised at how valuable such notes can be. Sure, they’ll help you to recall exact circumstances, which can be an asset in explaining what happened – very useful when it comes to filling in forms. But not only are notes a helpful prompt, they can help keep your story consistent, which will boost your credibility as a witness.  Image: Wikimedia But there’s even more to it than that. Courts and insurance companies put great store by notes taken at the scene – a type of evidence known as ‘contemporaneous evidence’. In fact, notes taken at the scene are regarded as nearly as credible as video or other recorded non-human material. If someone, whether the police or an third party, wants to challenge your version of events, a few scribbles on some paper can be very helpful ammunition to have.
So what information should you record? Here are some suggestions.
What Happened First start with a short description of what actually happened, indicating who you think was to blame. Perhaps someone turned out of a minor junction into your path, or they just didn’t see you. Make a record of whatever you feel caused the crash. And note what anyone said. Start this record earlier than the accident. Were you travelling normally? Was this a regular journey? Then describe the accident and immediate aftermath.  Image: Bournemouth Echo |
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