Nearly got hit by car today - What kind of legal recourse can I take?

[jw5]

Hello jw5. I took the time to make a police report today.

Btw, I don't watch this series, but I went to google it; it looks pretty interesting!

Keep us updated.
I really can't stand those who drive about on the roads with scant regard for the safety of pedestrians and other motorists. I particularly abhor drunk drivers, and I'm not totally joking when I say they should suffer the death penalty if they knock down and kill someone.
Generally I detest all types of injustice and the failure to uphold justice, that's why I love the series Leverage, even though it's fictional and frankly, rather "fairy-tale like".

 

[Meltdown]

My question here is: I caught a glimpse of the car's license plate before it escaped the scene. It was S??5913?. Fortunately, nobody was run down. What kind of legal recourse (if any) can I take against this errant driver who beat the red lights and endangered the lives of the pedestrians?

Since no pedestrian was hit, none of the pedestrians can legally sue the driver bec there was no civil damages involved.

However, it's still a traffic violation which you can report to the police. You can provide the partial license plate number, car make, car model, car colour, approximate time & date of the incident to the police and they should be able to trace the car. If it was caught on CCTV, it will be extremely difficult for the driver to deny the incident. If not on CCTV and if the driver denies the offense, you'll need to testify in court if the prosecutor decides to charge him. If he pleads guilty, then it's a sure conviction & you won't have to testify in court but he will receive lesser penalty.

What penalty the driver will receive if convicted depends on if he pleads guilty or not, and depending on how much penalty the judge will hand him.

If the driver turned out to be a diplomat, he will be under diplomatic immunity & there's nothing the prosecutor can do about the offense!

 

[Maverick01]

Just want to applaud you for taking the trouble to make a police report. Whatever the consequence, you have done your part.

not much of a trouble..sit in front of your computer..type and submit...pretty easy to make police report..

 

[NoNewsGood]

If the police does nothing and money is not a concern for you, you may sue the driver for nervous shock if you had suffered nervous shock as a result of the incident.

Like suing for personal injury, you need an psychiatric (injury) report.

 

[sadfcuk]

Just want to applaud you for taking the trouble to make a police report. Whatever the consequence, you have done your part.

Keep us updated.
I really can't stand those who drive about on the roads with scant regard for the safety of pedestrians and other motorists. I particularly abhor drunk drivers, and I'm not totally joking when I say they should suffer the death penalty if they knock down and kill someone.
Generally I detest all types of injustice and the failure to uphold justice, that's why I love the series Leverage, even though it's fictional and frankly, rather "fairy-tale like".

Hi ashjaw/jw5: Thanks for the words of encouragement.

If the driver turned out to be a diplomat, he will be under diplomatic immunity & there's nothing the prosecutor can do about the offense!

That would simply really stink and just underscore the legal system that we have here in Singapore.

If the police does nothing and money is not a concern for you, you may sue the driver for nervous shock if you had suffered nervous shock as a result of the incident.

Like suing for personal injury, you need an psychiatric (injury) report.

I believe the chances of winning in this case is really very slim... the time/cost spent vs outcome would definitely be too expensive for me.

 

[sadfcuk]

OK, so until now, I have yet to hear from the police regarding the report I made last year..

However, just a couple of weeks ago, I had another near-miss incident near the place where I stay. I was in the middle of a zebra crossing that spanned a 4-lane road when this car sped past me just inches away.

This time, I caught the plates, together with the color and make of the car.

And so this time I lodged another police report with all the details.

 

[Coolsaint77]

Sigh... if i had seen your post few months back i would have advised you to forget about it. ABSOLUTELY NO CASE since no one was injured.

Even if the matas had witnessed the incident themselves, they would have chosen to ignore it if they could, they will not find more work for themselves.
There are some retired police officers in this forum who could surely give you their valuable insight.

 

[sadfcuk]

Why is that so? Does the police take the case from their inbox, and chuck it away?

 

[Charlie258]

Hello folks. I just wanted to relate an experience I had this evening.

Today at around 5.15pm, I was at the traffic junction in front of the Thai embassy waiting to cross over to Far East Shopping Centre......(abbreviated....)

That stretch of road very dangerous. Never assume just because you got green man, you are safe to cross the road. Many drunk drivers hang out there. They drink in the hotels bars, then drive their car home. What happened to you also happened to me many times. The guy was driving so fast, I could not even get a look at his license plate.

Now, all roads in Singapore not safe. Really, it is more like Cowboy Rodeo on the Streets. Witness the latest accident in Raffles Place!

 

[Charlie258]

Sigh... if i had seen your post few months back i would have advised you to forget about it. ABSOLUTELY NO CASE since no one was injured.

Even if the matas had witnessed the incident themselves, they would have chosen to ignore it if they could, they will not find more work for themselves.
There are some retired police officers in this forum who could surely give you their valuable insight.

Traffic case is different from street brawling case. Traffic case, they will issue summons, fine and points. Brawling? File yourself your own Magistrate's Complaint!

 

[singveld]

without photo evidence, very hard to pursue, in fact if no one die, the poodle will do nothing.
forget it.

 

[jw5]

That stretch of road very dangerous. Never assume just because you got green man, you are safe to cross the road. Many drunk drivers hang out there. They drink in the hotels bars, then drive their car home. What happened to you also happened to me many times. The guy was driving so fast, I could not even get a look at his license plate.

Now, all roads in Singapore not safe. Really, it is more like Cowboy Rodeo on the Streets. Witness the latest accident in Raffles Place!

I remember being quite angry when I read the TS's post in May.
The time of the incident was at 5.15 pm, you wouldn't expect anyone to be drunk at that time, it's not as if it was 2 am on a Sat morning.
But you are right to comment that it's not safe to assume that we can cross the road when the green man is flashing. Always wait for all the cars to stop first.
Drunk drivers who injure or kill pedestrians should be treated very harshly. I don't even have a problem with drunk drivers who kill pedestrians facing the death penalty.

 

[silverfox@]

I didn't remember the color; I only know it was a dark color (could be brown, maroon, black, grey). No full plate, I know but I believe it should be easy to narrow it down... then again, I could be wrong.

S??5913?

wa lau, almost every singapore car starts with S?? and you cannot remember what colour. brown maroon black grey.

This kind of details ask police go and find, how many drivers should they haul up to investigate with no evidence. Even if they can line up those cars with 5913, can you be able to determine which car, colour, make, model?

 

[jw5]

OK, so until now, I have yet to hear from the police regarding the report I made last year..

However, just a couple of weeks ago, I had another near-miss incident near the place where I stay. I was in the middle of a zebra crossing that spanned a 4-lane road when this car sped past me just inches away.

This time, I caught the plates, together with the color and make of the car.

And so this time I lodged another police report with all the details.

Not surprising that you have heard nothing about the previous incident.

I don't think you will hear anything about the latest incident either.
Zebra crossings are quite dangerous these days. My estimate is that only half of the drivers these days actually stop for pedestrians, especially if the road is quite deserted and there are few witnesses around.

Always wait for the driver to come to a complete stop before starting to cross. These days, maybe the drivers are so impatient to go and make money or screw somebody, that they either don't stop or only slow down, such that they can just brush by you as you cross.

 

[silverfox@]

I remember being quite angry when I read the TS's post in May.
The time of the incident was at 5.15 pm, you wouldn't expect anyone to be drunk at that time, it's not as if it was 2 am on a Sat morning.
But you are right to comment that it's not safe to assume that we can cross the road when the green man is flashing. Always wait for all the cars to stop first.
Drunk drivers who injure or kill pedestrians should be treated very harshly. I don't even have a problem with drunk drivers who kill pedestrians facing the death penalty.

The extent of what happened is serious, but TS cannot remember the main details.

SB,SC,SD,SF,SG,SJ car number plates.

Still got avg 26 last alphabets, So total roughly 100-120 cars with number plate 5913.

Take out roughly 30% which is black, maroon, grey, brown, still narrow down to 30 cars.

So ask all 30 cars line up and see who is culprit, can pinpoint the car out?

 

[silverfox@]

Not surprising that you have heard nothing about the previous incident.

I don't think you will hear anything about the latest incident either.
Zebra crossings are quite dangerous these days. My estimate is that only half of the drivers these days actually stop for pedestrians, especially if the road is quite deserted and there are few witnesses around.

Always wait for the driver to come to a complete stop before starting to cross. These days, maybe the drivers are so impatient to go and make money or screw somebody, that they either don't stop or only slow down, such that they can just brush by you as you cross.

If you are policeman sitting down writing this report, I seriously don't know how you going to find the offender out with limited info. You would spent hundreds of man hours just to round up all those that fit the requirement.

 

[Ramseth]

Drunk drivers who injure or kill pedestrians should be treated very harshly. I don't even have a problem with drunk drivers who kill pedestrians facing the death penalty.

I think that'd be too harsh for an accident, however culpable. I think a life ban from all classes of driving and 5 to 7 years imprisonment.

This kind of details ask police go and find, how many drivers should they haul up to investigate with no evidence. Even if they can line up those cars with 5913, can you be able to determine which car, colour, make, model?

I agree. First and foremost, there wasn't any accident or injury. The most the police could do is to summon for traffic offence, but even that's not possible since there's no positively conclusive identification of the vehicle.

 

[GoldenDragon]

OK, so until now, I have yet to hear from the police regarding the report I made last year..

However, just a couple of weeks ago, I had another near-miss incident near the place where I stay. I was in the middle of a zebra crossing that spanned a 4-lane road when this car sped past me just inches away.

This time, I caught the plates, together with the color and make of the car.

And so this time I lodged another police report with all the details.

Write in or email Commander Traffic Police Department. Some IOs will sit on cases for months and sweep it under the carpet. Pressure needed at times.

Your luck doesn't seem to be too good. Be cautious when on the road.

 

[jw5]

The extent of what happened is serious, but TS cannot remember the main details.

SB,SC,SD,SF,SG,SJ car number plates.

Still got avg 26 last alphabets, So total roughly 100-120 cars with number plate 5913.

Take out roughly 30% which is black, maroon, grey, brown, still narrow down to 30 cars.

So ask all 30 cars line up and see who is culprit, can pinpoint the car out?

It's not surprising that he can't remember the details of the earlier incident.
The car was speeding and he was nearly run over.
Hence not surprising that the police couldn't do much.

The latest incident is more interesting as he got all the details.
The test now is to see whether they would do something if they could.

Having said that, drivers who are drunk or who speed or drive like daredevils should be severely punished.
Even if they need to be assaulted by a bunch of vigilantes, like you hear about so often in China.

 

[Ramseth]

Write in or email Commander Traffic Police Department. Some IOs will sit on cases for months and sweep it under the carpet. Pressure needed at times.

Must be damn stupid TPIO to sit on it for months. No accident, no injury, no vehicle identification is NOD straightaway!