Hit-and-run motor vehicle accidents are governed by section 17(1)(b) of the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996 read with Regulation 2.

Hit-and-run motor vehicles are classified by the negligent party in the motor vehicle accident fleeing from the responsibility of negligence thus making them unidentifiable. However, this does not extinguish the responsibility of the attorney acting on behalf of the injured party, hereinafter, referred to as the Plaintiff’s attorneys, from determining who the owner of the motor vehicle is or the driver. A motor vehicle accident is said to be a hit-and-run only after the Plaintiff's attorneys have ascertained that the negligent driver of the motor vehicle is not the same person as the owner of the vehicle or the driver is unidentifiable.

A hit-and-run claim must be lodged within two years from the date the motor vehicle accident occurred. This is calculated by excluding the first day and including the last day when calculating the prescription period. This means that if someone was involved in a hit-and-run accident on the 1^st of January 2021, the prescription would start on the 2^nd of January and end on the 1^st of January 2024. The prescription of two years applies to minors or persons under curatorship. Failure to lodge a claim within two years means that the matter will be prescribed. Summons must be served on the Road Accident Fund within five years from the date of the motor vehicle accident. There is no condonation for the prescription of claims under the Road Accident Fund

What happens when a claim is lodged as an identified claim and later the driver cannot be found?

In the instance where a claim was lodged as an identified claim, but later it was discovered that the identity of the driver could not be found. The Plaintiff’s attorneys will have to change it to a hit-and-run. Extreme caution should be taken when changing the nature of the claim because, if the claim is changed to an unidentified claim after the two-year prescription has lapsed, the claim will be prescribed. This view was supported by the court of Pithey v Road Accident Fund 2014 (4) SA 112 (SCA).

A hit-and-run can be declared an identified claim if it is discovered that the claimant had submitted the vehicle registration number but did not supply details of the identity of the motor vehicle owner or the driver. The court in SA Eagle v Pretorius [ 1998] 1 ALL SA 131 (A) concluded that a claim will be declared an identified claim if the claimant provides the details of the vehicle registration of the motor vehicle in a hit-and-run. Therefore, the matter will be dealt with as an identified claim. This means that the prescription of the claim is no longer two years but has moved to five years as per the prescription period of an identified claim.

Important information to remember when lodging a hit-and-run claim to RAF?

• Take photographs of the scene, if reasonably possible, or sketch a layout of the scene identifying your surroundings at the time of the accident.
• It is important to request hospital records from your medical practitioner to submit to the Road Accident Fund.
• Open a case at your local police station and submit the contents of the docket to RAF including witness testimonies of what occurred on that day.
• Submit an affidavit detailing your efforts in identifying the driver or the owner of the vehicle.
• Submit documents from your insurer and documents on any settlement made by the insurance company.