Driver almost hit my daughter today.

[Nearmisstoday]

I'm trying to be careful with information here for obvious reasons.

Today I was walking down a narrow street with small pavements on each side. It was the kind of street you'd go about 10 mph max down because there are usually a lot of pedestrians walking down there. We saw a car coming down the road so I told my daughter to put her back against the wall and tuck herself in. DD is 5. I notice the car is actually speeding towards us, so shout to her to tuck in. Driver veers towards us and narrowly avoids hitting my DDs head by mm with the wing mirror. We were terrified to say the least. He really was that close and very fast, just kept coming.

Car stops down the road and man gets out. I shout that he almost hit us and he just shrugs. Other pedestrians shout to him that he almost hit a small child. He doesn't say anything, seems completely disinterested and just brushes it off and goes inside his house.

I'm in shock and adrenaline is pumping through my body so make a move to get home. Other pedestrians are asking us if we are okay as DD is crying. Home is only a few minutes walk away. Start walking up the hill and see him drive round the corner again about 5mins later with no care in the world. I'm angry now so I take a picture of his car with VRN and shout I'm reporting you for dangerous driving. That is literally all I say.

Got home and rang 101. Couldn't get through so reported online. Now sitting here feeling tearful at the fact he almost hit my DDs head and imagining the damage he could have done.

Not sure what I want from this thread, just need to share and ask if there is anything else I can do? this guy is a menace and could easily kill someone.

Not sure why voting was enabled

Gosh that gave me chills just reading, OP. I have two young children, and the total disregard of wankers like this scares the shit out of me!
Who the hell voted YABU?!

Oh, I’m so sorry this happened to you and your little girl. Something similar happened to me a few years ago, and it really is terrifying.
I honestly don’t know if there’s anything else you can do. But just wanted to say I hope you and your daughter are both feeling better soon.

Was there a speed limit? If there isn’t one then I’m afraid there are no consequences unless you think he deliberately targetted your dd and I don’t think that’s the case from what you said.

I think your efforts might be better received by getting your council to review the safety of the street in question. We have a very similar street near us and after the upteenth near miss someone organised a protest and hundreds of people attended; within months that entire street was pedestrianised and the houses along it had to find parking elsewhere. I would be pushing for that tbh.

Have you got a local pcso or council you could also report this too? This is very scary for you both. Hope you are all ok now with lots of cuddles.

Well done for getting your DD home, and for reporting the driver. Must have been very scary, be gentle with your self now and lots of cuddles for your daughter. Let her talk about it if she wants, might help her process it. Then when she's in bed call a friend and chat to help you process it. Then try and forget about it, hopefully won't happen again.

Oh you poor thing. Stuff like this is so scary and stays with you for a long time.

About 3 years ago my daughter nearly got run over on a zebra crossing - she was walking a tiny bit ahead of me & a driver only saw me, not her and decided to accelerate to get over in front of me. There were mm in it. I had flashbacks for a long time and still think about it sometimes now.

Well done for reporting to the police, I hope they get back to you about it.

You won’t feel this upset about it forever though, I promise, it will pass.

Yanbu.
When my dd was around 5 she was riding her bike up and the pavement outside our house. I was sitting on the kerb watching her when one of the neighbours came speeding down the road, skidded to a halt just avoiding a cat before starting to accelerate away.
Unfortunately dd heard the squeal of brakes, tried to look and wobbled, falling of her bike into the road. This was right next to me.
I picked dd up but he took off down the road. I was livid. After checking dd was OK I went after him to tell him to be more careful in future, perhaps keeping his speed down would help.
He just gave me a load of abuse. I'm afraid I lost my temper big time and told him that if I saw anything like this again I would cut his fucking balls off!
He was a bit slower when he saw me after that.

It's a horrible experience and you should be proud of yourself for keeping calm and calling the police. Give your daughter extra cuddles and be kind to yourself.

If you have to put your back to the wall because of traffic that isn't a road I'd walk down myself let alone my child.

There is one like that where I live. Never on foot.

Thanks everyone. I just feel sick and shakey right now.

The online portal I submitted the report through said I will get a crime number or they will call me for more information. What actually happens from the Police perspective if someone reports dangerous driving?

I can't go into details on the road and the setup, but suffice to say its normally a street people walk down, families included and cars come down by exception for loading/unloading only. Think historic residential setup. Sorry can't go any further as it would be outing.

If you know where he lives you need to report him. Take his reg number too. You have witnesses. Do you have their details?

Glad your DD had a lucky escape but he could do this again to her or someone else. Sod 101 call 999.

I've reported it online. It says it takes 24 hours to respond.

Has anyone ever reported dangerous driving?

I did once. They said they couldn't take any action without a witness and/or dash cam footage as it would just be my word against theirs. But obv if you were walking down the street, you won't have dash cam footage.

@Nearmisstoday

I've reported it online. It says it takes 24 hours to respond.

Has anyone ever reported dangerous driving?

Yes, they said I needed proof and I didn't have any.

I'd like to make it very clear I am not being ageist here, simply stating facts as I see them. The driver involved was easily between 70-80 years old. From my experience today I believe he is an unsafe driver. Would the police alert the DVLA and get a medical check on him?

I'd feel awful if I didn't follow this through and someone got killed by his wreckless driving

@Nearmisstoday

I've reported it online. It says it takes 24 hours to respond.

Has anyone ever reported dangerous driving?

Yes.

Without proof they won't do anything. My car got smashed (wing mirror taken off) but without dashcam footage or a witness there's no proof of what happened.

Same as the PP. I’ve also reported. Similar incident to yours actually. I had to provide contact details of one independent witness to go forward.

sadly nothing you can do, even if you had video evidence the police are unlikely to take it further.

drivers seem to kill and walk free www.eta.co.uk/2021/04/06/another-week-another-child-on-a-pavement-killed-by-a-driver/ society seems to place drivers above human life, I have no idea why and think it should change.

Does he live in that road? wouldnt surprise me if he thought people shouldnt be walking along his road. arse.

Can I contact the DVLA and report my concerns?

uk.motor1.com/news/388856/drivers-need-glasses-optometrist-study/ you may find the driver needs glasses as he couldn't see your dd

The police may be aware of this person driving dangerously already. Make the report and see what they say.

Call the DVLA on their toll-free phone number at 0844 453 0118

report to DVLA if you think there eyesight isn't correct for driving

I reported dangerous driving around 18 months ago. We pulled up to a roundabout (a normal one with a left turning, straight over or a right turning). We were going straight on so in the left lane. This man well into his 80s was in the right lane. DH was turning off our exit and the old man cut across us, DH had to drive up a verge or he would've hit exactly where my 2 year old was sat in the back. I was furious. The guy didn't stop. We followed him flashing our lights and beeping the horn. Still didn't stop. We ended up following him to a pub car park. He acknowledged he was in the wrong lane but offered no apologies, said he went in that lane so people coming from the left knew he wasn't turning left and he's done nothing Anyway I reported it online. I knew they couldn't do anything, all I wanted was for them to speak to him and make him realise how dangerous it was and not to do it again. They did speak to him, said he seemed safe enough to continue driving but they wound flag it up meaning if a police car is passing when he is driving they will watch him. Whether the last thing was true or they said it to pacify me I don't know but if it stops him doing it again then it was worth me doing IMO. Definitely report it.