Tips for a Hit & Run Accident

Great news! Today marks the conclusion of my hit and run incident which took place on 16 July 2016. =) Davin Wong requested for details that might help others who fell in a similar situation. So here it goes! Just a few tips and pointers if you find yourself in a hit and run situation where the driver refused to stop (hence, a hit and run case).

1.       ALWAYS record the No. Plate. Otherwise police probably won't take action for a hit and run case.

2.       Try to snap a picture of the car who hit you. This is VERY helpful to prove that the car was there and you're not making up some random story.

3.       Take pictures of the position of your car on the road, which lane, etc to show that you were in the right lane. Or better still, take a video as well to explain or record down the exact incident that just took place. This will help you remember every single detail especially the date and time this took place. This is also helpful to record down any other car no. plate that might have witnessed the accident. (potential witnesses!)

4.       Make a police report on the day itself, ASAP.

5.       You will probably meet witht the Sarjan right away if he is in. Explain your story carefully and with precise details. Use the pictures and videos to help you if you are having difficulty remembering or explaining the scene to the Sarjan. Show the Sarjan a picture of the car who hit you. This is helpful because there are apparently cases where no. plates are being used on stolen cars etc. With the picture and description of the car, the Sarjan will know which car to look out for if the other party comes to the station.

6.       Sarjan in charge will tell you that he will try to contact the other party. Take photographs of the damage with the officer in charge and if it is a weekday, you should be able to collect your police report and pictures/ sketch on the day itself.

7.       Constantly follow up with the Sarjan on the situation of the case.

8.       My Insurance requires me to send my car to a panel workshop within 7 days, otherwise you'll have to write a reason for delay. So i sent my car to the panel workshop for the damage to be assessed and told them that I wanted to claim the 3rd Party's insurance for the damages incurred.This is called "ODKFK" claim. If your claim is successful, your NCB will not be deducted. Documents you will need to provide to your insurance panel workshop:

-          Police report

-          Photocopy of Registration Card (both sides)

-          Photocopy of IC

-          Photocopy of Driving License

-          Photograph taken by the police of the damage

-          Sketch Plan by the Police

-          Police investigation outcome report (to state who is at fault)

-          Your insurance policy (photocopy)

-          3rd Party's police report (if he made a report)

-          Signed Statutory Declaration of the incident that took place

9.       You will have to fill up a form where there is a claim form for your loss of use and claims for the documents you had to pay for (police report, sketch plans, etc). This is where you statutory declaration will come in handy. Refer to point 11 below.

10.   The decision of the Sarjan for the outcome of investigation will usually only be ready after 14 days from the date of your report. As such, you will have to go back to the panel workshop to give them the decision as soon as you collect it from the police station. You need to follow up closely with the Sarjan on this. This decision is important to determine whether you can make an ODKFK claim. If the decision states that the other party is at fault or rather states that no decision can be made as the other party did not come to make a police report, you can make an ODKFK claim. But as long as you are considered at fault, you cannot make an ODKFK claim. Then it's up to you whether you still want to fix your car at the panel workshop. But your NCD will be deducted in such cases.

11.   Once you've submitted your claims (usually your panel workshop will do this for you) and if the claim is approved by your insurance to make an ODKFK claim, the 3rd party's insurance will probably request for a statutory declaration from you in order to decide whether your loss of use claim, etc will be approved by them. (learn from my mistake and submit this as early as your first visit to the panel workshop! This will speed up your claim process immensely!)

12.   In my recent case, after providing them with the statutory declaration, they approved the claim and sent me a cheque (today) for the claims made. But there will be some insurance who will make it so hard for you to claim for loss of use and costs incurred for the documents etc. by stating that "as their insured did not notify them of any accident, your claim is disputed and should you wish to pursue the matter, file a civil action" or something along those lines. In such cases (which happened to me before) I decided to just forego the claim because it was RM 100.

I am not sure if I missed out any steps, but that is pretty much the bulk of what you need to know if you find yourself in a similar situation as I was in. I was really blessed this time round to have had an extremely helpful Sarjan as well as a responsible 3rd Party Insurance. So everything worked out fairly alright.

If you have any questions, feel free to comment below and i'll try to answer them!

Till next time,

xoxo.!