Quick answer
Where the responsible driver or vehicle cannot be identified after a hit-and-run, the MIB Untraced Drivers’ Agreement may provide a route to compensation. Prompt police reporting, proof of reasonable tracing efforts and careful preservation of scene evidence are particularly important.
Key points
- ✓Record any part of the registration and vehicle description immediately.
- ✓Look for doorbell, traffic, business and dashcam footage.
- ✓Keep the police incident reference and evidence of reporting.
- ✓The MIB still investigates fault and causation.
- ✓Untraced-driver conditions differ from ordinary insurer claims.
Immediate tracing steps
Write down the vehicle’s make, model, colour, direction, damage, occupants and any registration characters. Identify witnesses and cameras before recordings are overwritten. Police reporting and lawful insurer or registration enquiries may later show that the vehicle is traceable.
Proving a collision without the other driver
The absence of the responsible driver makes contemporaneous evidence more important. Medical records, scene debris, vehicle damage, emergency calls, location data and independent witnesses can corroborate what happened.
MIB investigation
The MIB can examine whether an unidentified driver probably caused the incident, whether reasonable tracing steps were taken and whether the injury and losses are supported. An application is not automatically accepted because the other vehicle left.
Property damage and exclusions
Property claims under the untraced route can be subject to particular conditions. Check the current agreement and do not dispose of a damaged vehicle or possessions before their condition and value are evidenced.
Authoritative sources
- Motor Insurers’ Bureau: making a claim — Official information about claims involving uninsured or untraced drivers.
- GOV.UK: uninsured or hit-and-run drivers — Official overview of compensation routes.
- Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 — The statutory limitation framework for Scottish personal injury actions.