The other driver did not stop

When a driver does not stop, most people are left with part of the picture. That is usual and it does not make a record worthless.

Write down only what you actually saw, and say plainly where you are unsure. An honest "silver estate, plate began with a K, not certain" is more useful than a filled-in guess that later turns out wrong.

Prioritise your safety and medical help. In an emergency call 999, do not put yourself in traffic or delay treatment to collect details, and follow any instructions from the emergency services.

Do not follow, chase or confront the other driver. Nothing you could gain from it is worth the risk, and evidence gathered later through the police and witnesses is a safer route.

Photographs are only worth taking when it is safe to stand where you are. Do not step into live traffic, and do not move a vehicle only to get a picture. There is no expectation that an injured person returns to the scene, least of all at night.

GOV.UK guidance written for drivers says a driver involved in an accident must give their name and address, the vehicle registration and the owner's details if different, and that where those details were not given the accident should be reported to the police within 24 hours. Drivers are also told to notify their own insurer even if they are not claiming.

Those duties are written for drivers. If you were a cyclist, a passenger or on foot, do not assume the same duties applied to you. What helps in every case is reporting promptly and keeping the reference number you are given.

The Motor Insurers' Bureau operates the official routes for untraced and uninsured drivers. Those schemes have their own criteria, and its guidance is the place to check whether your situation fits.

Ask people who stopped for their name and a contact number. A short factual account written on the day is more useful than a fuller one recalled weeks later.

Shops, homes, buses and passing vehicles may hold footage, but there is no guarantee any recording exists or can be released. Retention periods and access rules vary between holders, so ask politely and early rather than assuming anything is preserved for you.

On a bicycle or on foot you may have had a clear view of the vehicle but no chance to note the plate. Record the layout, your position, and the direction the vehicle took, plus any camera you can picture nearby.

Damaged clothing, a helmet, a bicycle or a phone are a record of the impact. Keep them as they are and photograph them. Official Injury Claim is a direct route for some lower-value driver and passenger claims in England and Wales and is not a cyclist route, so check its eligibility rules rather than assuming.

An injury and damage to a vehicle, bicycle or belongings are different types of loss from the same incident. What each official route covers, and whether a given situation qualifies at all, is set by that route's own criteria.

This site does not decide eligibility, promise any outcome or estimate any amount. Explain both types of loss to a provider you consult, and say if you are unsure.

The Motor Insurers' Bureau says people can register a claim themselves, or appoint an independent solicitor of their own choosing. Its own registration page is the direct route, and using this service is not a requirement.

It also indicates that some lower-value uninsured injury cases in England and Wales may be directed to other routes, so do not assume every claim follows the same portal. Check the official criteria for your situation.