How To Find The Details Of The Driver Who Caused A Road Accident From A Vehicle Registration Number

To make a claim for personal injury following a road traffic accident – you will typically need the details of the driver who was at fault and that driver’s motor insurance. What do you do if you have only got a registration number or the driver made off before you could take any details?

In this article you will discover what details should be exchanged at an accident scene; how you can establish who the driver of the vehicle that injured you is from a registration number only; how your personal injury solicitor can obtain the motor insurance details of the driver at fault and how to claim compensation for personal injury even when the driver at fault was not insured or his/her identity cannot be established.

What should you do if you only managed to get a registration number of a vehicle that caused a road accident?

We set out the details that should be provided following a road accident in our details to be exchanged in motor vehicle accident article

If you are one of the many victims involved in a road accident – you may only have the vehicle registration number of the driver at fault.

As an injured party you should inform the police and, if your vehicle was involved in the accident, your motor insurer.

You may meet with some obstruction from the police or your motor insurer in obtaining details of the driver at fault from only the registration number on the often quoted grounds of Data Protection.

If you have a solicitor helping you make a personal injury claim – your solicitor can obtain these details.

Can the DVLA help when you only have a registration number?

You can contact the DVLA to put in a request for information about a vehicle or its registered keeper. You must have reasonable grounds for the request, but as an injured party (either as another vehicle driver involved in the accident or an injured pedestrian) you should be considered as having reasonable grounds.

Can your solicitor find out the insurance details of a driver?

Your solicitor will be able to access to the Motor Insurers Database (MID) – here enquiries can be mad as to a vehicle’s motor insurance.

Be aware – when instructing a solicitor to claim for personal injury your solicitor must also check your claims history prior to accepting you as a client. The purpose of the check is to help prevent fraud. Those who have made claims in the past for personal injury as a result of road accidents can be quizzed by their solicitor as to those circumstances to ensure that personal injury claim being contemplated is legitimate and not in some way staged.

Your solicitor will do this check online using the askCUE PI service.

What if you cannot find the details of the driver from the registration number or the driver is not insured?

Often the driver of the vehicle that caused your accident may not be able to be found. This may be because the driver was using false number plates, so did not match the vehicle involved in the accident or that you may not have been able to get the registration number at the time of the accident as in hit and run accidents.

Alternatively, the driver may be traced and found not to have motor insurance.

In the event of an untraced or uninsured driver – the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) can meet your claim for personal injury as though the driver was insured.

See our article personal injury claims from motor vehicle insurance & the MIB.

Summary Of Finding A Driver’s Details From A Vehicle Registration Number

In this article – we have set out how the DVLA can provide the details of the driver who caused you injury in a road accident; how your solicitor can use the MIB database to find the motor insurer details and how the Motor Insurers Bureau will meet your claim for compensation if the driver who caused you accident cannot be found or does not have valid motor insurance.

Legal Help If You Are Injured In A Road Accident

If you are injured in a road accident as a pedestrian, vehicle driver or other road user – we recommend you speak to our solicitors direct for a free initial consultation or ask an online question.

See our specialist solicitor free telephone and online help options.