It’s a clear morning and you are driving your way to your office minding your business. All of a sudden you miss a traffic signal and get hit by a car coming from the opposite direction. You and the driver are seriously injured. You are trying your best to handle the situation and pick up the pieces because you know it was your fault. However, the driver is furious with your carelessness. Now you know what’s coming next for you and you begin to ask “how long can the police charge you after an accident?”
According to the accident lawyers, their seriously injured clients usually end up being upset at the police for not charging against the driver who caused this mess or if that driver, even after placing charges, gets dismissed by the court.
For the person who committed a reckless crime, here is what you should know about police charges.
The Severity of the Accident
If you, by chance, end up being involved in a car accident, you will be charged depending upon the severity of the accident. In case the accident wasn’t severe, the chances are that you may not be charged for it.
On the other hand, serious injuries or death can cause you big trouble. The authorities tell us that it takes about two years following a car accident for your case to be barren from being brought into court.
How are the Investigations Carried Out?
The investigations are carried out based on the lvel of ingury of the victim and the circumstance. What you need to take into consideration is that an investigation will only be carried out if the accident results in the death of the victim or lead to serious injuries. Driving when drunk or a suspicion of an offence can even lead to an investigation.
A Road Policing Senior Officer (RP SIO) will be put incharge to investigate the road accident. He/ she would be responsible to make all the decisions after examining the road traffic accident claims process while having a team to carry out the examination. The team includes:
- Family Liasion Officer, the one who stays in contact with the victims family
- Vehicle examiner or collision investigator
- Investigating officer
The officer and the investigation team would use such a strategy to examine the accident:
- Gather witness and forensic evidence
- Testing and developing hypotheses
- Recording of the scene
- Interviewing the suspects
- Gathering material and identifying them for seizing them later
- Identifying the witnesses and parties
How do They Decide the Charges?
There is a high chance that the suspect would be arrested and would be interviewed under caution. With all the shreds of evidence gathered, the police would take one of three things into account.
First could be the Notice of No Further Action, this is when the police do not have enough evidence to proceed further.
Issuing a caution or formal warning is next. If the crime commited is not severe enough to lead to prosecution, then they would simply let you go.
Lastly, if all the odds are against you, the police has a right to charge the suspect with an offence.