Immediate action
The guide puts the first call, photo, witness, police and insurer steps before background reading, so readers can act while evidence is still fresh.
search intent
Article · 11 min read
PHV driver had an accident: the complete guide for private hire drivers (UK)
If you drive for private hire and have been involved in an accident, your obligations are wider than those of a private motorist. This guide covers TfL reporting, operator notification, licence implications, and how to protect your income and vehicle.
Ranking factors
Why this guide is useful
These ranking factors show how the article has been structured for real accident-claim decisions: immediate action first, UK-specific process detail and a clear compliance boundary.
UK process fit
Advice is framed around UK accident management, credit hire, credit repair, engineer inspection and at-fault insurer dialogue rather than generic motoring tips.
local relevance
Evidence window
Where CCTV, dashcam, witness memory or repair inspection timing matters, the article explains the window and why delay weakens the file.
freshness
Compliance boundary
The page separates non-fault accident management from legal advice and personal injury referrals, with consent and disclosure kept visible.
trust
Operational detail
Each section links the claim step to practical handler work such as recovery, storage, replacement vehicle, engineer report or insurer negotiation.
experience
Reviewed entity
The byline, review date, editorial-team entity and schema help visitors and crawlers verify who produced the guidance.
E-E-A-T
PHV driver had an accident: the complete guide for private hire drivers (UK)
An accident involving a private hire vehicle (PHV) creates a set of obligations that goes beyond what a private motorist faces. In addition to the standard road-traffic duties - exchanging details, reporting to police where required, notifying your insurer - a PHV driver must report the incident to their operator and, depending on the circumstances, to Transport for London (TfL) and potentially the DVLA. Failure to comply with these additional duties puts your PHV licence at risk, independently of the accident claim.
This guide covers the immediate steps after a PHV accident, the reporting obligations, the insurance position, how to protect your licence, and how to claim recovery, repairs and replacement-vehicle costs as a non-fault driver without jeopardising your working status.
Immediate steps at the scene
Your first duty is to your passenger if you have one. Ensure they are safe, assist them to a safe position if the vehicle is in a dangerous location, and call 999 if anyone is injured. You have the same section 170 Road Traffic Act 1988 duties as any driver: stop, exchange details, and report to the police within 24 hours if details cannot be exchanged or if someone has been injured.
Exchange details with the other driver: name, address, vehicle registration, insurer and policy number. Photograph both vehicles, the damage, the road layout and any relevant signs or signals. If you have a dashcam (which most PHV operators require), note the card reference and do not allow it to be overwritten.
Note your app status at the time of the collision: were you carrying a booked passenger, travelling to collect a booking, or on the return from a drop with the app active? This determines which insurance period applies, which is critical for PHV drivers working with app platforms such as Uber or Bolt.
Call your operator before you call the app platform. Your licence condition requires you to operate under an operator's licence, and the operator has a duty to their own regulator to maintain records of vehicle incidents. Most operator agreements require immediate notification of any collision involving the vehicle while in use for hire and reward work.
DETAIL
03
Section 3 of the walkthrough.
Reporting to TfL
Transport for London's PHV licensing conditions, set out under the Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 and the associated TfL conditions of licence, require a PHV driver to notify TfL of any conviction, endorsement, fixed penalty, or event that may affect their fitness to hold a licence. A road traffic accident that resulted in prosecution, an endorsement, or a conviction must be reported to TfL within 72 hours under the standard licence conditions.
An accident that did not result in a criminal or traffic offence being committed by the PHV driver does not in itself require TfL notification. However, if the police attended and any offence is alleged - even if not yet charged - notification to TfL is advisable, as TfL may learn of the incident through police intelligence sharing and a failure to self-report is treated more seriously than a timely disclosure.
Outside London, licensing authorities - local councils - maintain similar conditions for PHV licences. Check the specific conditions of your local authority licence. Many councils require notification of any accident involving the licensed vehicle within a specified period (often 24 to 72 hours) regardless of fault.
TfL's assessment of whether an accident affects your fitness to hold a licence focuses on your driving conduct, not on whether you were the non-fault party. A non-fault accident where you followed all road rules and reporting duties is unlikely to raise fitness concerns. An at-fault accident, particularly one involving injury, requires more careful management.
Insurance: what cover applies to PHV work
Standard private motor insurance does not cover hire and reward use - carrying paying passengers for money. A PHV driver must hold specific hire and reward insurance, either as a standalone policy or as an extension to a private policy that expressly covers PHV use. Many PHV drivers hold public hire or private hire policies specifically rated for that use.
App-platform PHV drivers face a more complex picture. Uber, Bolt, Free Now and similar platforms have their own insurance arrangements that operate in conjunction with the driver's own policy. The periods are typically: Period 1 - app off (driver's own policy covers all use); Period 2 - app on but no booking accepted (platform's policy covers the vehicle to at least the RTA minimum); Period 3 - en route to pickup or carrying a passenger (platform's policy provides enhanced cover).
The specific limits and conditions vary by platform. Uber provides a comprehensive insurance product in the UK underwritten by Uber Insurance. Bolt's insurance arrangements in the UK operate through partner insurers. Check the current policy documentation for the platform you work with, as terms are updated regularly.
A PHV driver who was not covered by appropriate hire and reward insurance at the time of the collision faces not only a civil claim gap but a criminal liability under section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. This underlines why confirming your insurance position before starting work is essential.
Claiming recovery, repairs and income protection as a PHV driver
As a non-fault PHV driver, your entitlements from the at-fault driver's insurer include recovery of your vehicle, an independent engineer's inspection, repair or total-loss settlement, and a credit-hire replacement vehicle. For a PHV driver, the replacement vehicle must be a like-for-like replacement: a PHV-licensed vehicle that you can continue working in, not a standard hire car that cannot be used for hire and reward.
PHV-licensed credit hire is available through specialist accident management companies that understand the PHV market. The replacement vehicle must hold a valid PHV licence (or be capable of being licensed for PHV use) and match the class of vehicle you were operating. The hire cost is recovered from the at-fault insurer as part of the non-fault claim.
Loss of earnings during the period when neither your original vehicle nor a suitable replacement was available is a recoverable head of loss. This is addressed in the loss of earnings guide for PHV drivers below. In brief: document your typical weekly income from PHV work (app earnings summaries, bank statements) as the baseline for the loss calculation.
Take action
If you have just been in a non-fault collision, the fastest way to protect your claim is to open the file with us inside the first hour. We dispatch recovery, lodge the relevant CCTV requests inside the retention window, and notify the third-party insurer for you.
We do not provide legal advice. This article is general guidance for UK drivers. Personal injury enquiries are referred only with your consent to authorised legal or regulated partners. Specific limits, retention windows and process steps may change; the position at the date of any individual collision will govern the handling of that claim.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need to tell my operator about a non-fault accident?
- Yes. Most operator agreements require immediate notification of any collision involving the vehicle while it is in PHV service. The operator needs this information to maintain their own records and to comply with their obligations under their operator's licence.
- Will TfL revoke my licence if I have a non-fault accident?
- A non-fault accident that was properly reported and where you complied with all traffic laws and licence conditions should not of itself give rise to a fitness concern. TfL assesses fitness on your overall driving record and conduct. A single non-fault accident properly reported is not a basis for revocation.
- Can I use a standard hire car as my replacement vehicle while mine is repaired?
- A standard hire car cannot be used for PHV work - it is not licensed for hire and reward. You need a PHV-licensed credit hire vehicle. An accident management company experienced in the PHV sector will arrange one. This is a recoverable cost from the at-fault insurer.
- The platform deactivated my account after the accident - what can I do?
- Platform deactivation following an accident - particularly before liability is determined - can be challenged through the platform's appeals process. Keep records of all communications. A specialist solicitor with experience in platform-worker disputes can advise on a challenge where the deactivation was automatic and unfair.
Continue reading
Related guidance
Continue with the most relevant follow-on guides - drawn from the same topic family and the matching guidance family.
What to avoid · 10 min read
Why you should never admit fault at the scene of a UK car accident
Why a casual 'sorry' at a UK accident scene can become an admission, how the third-party insurer uses scene admissions to argue contributory negligence, and what to say instead.
Read the article →
What to avoid · 10 min read
Don't accept the third-party insurer's first offer: spotting an undervalued settlement
Why the at-fault insurer's first offer is almost always lower than the realistic claim value, what they leave out, and how to evaluate the offer using the engineer's report and the recoverable heads of loss.
Read the article →
What to avoid · 10 min read
Don't repair your car before the engineer inspects: how this destroys your claim
Why repairing the vehicle before the engineer inspects removes the evidential basis for the repair scope, the at-fault insurer's standard challenge, and the order of events that protects the claim.
Read the article →
Guidance · 11 min read
The first hour after a non-fault car accident in the UK: a complete checklist
What UK drivers should do in the first sixty minutes after a non-fault collision: scene safety, the section 170 duty, what to photograph, what to say, what not to say, and how to start the claim file correctly.
Read the article →
Guidance · 12 min read
How to gather and preserve evidence after a UK road traffic collision
A practical guide to the seven evidence streams that matter after a UK car accident - photographs, dashcam, CCTV, signal data, witnesses, contemporaneous notes and the police record - and the deadlines for each.
Read the article →
Guidance · 13 min read
How non-fault credit hire works in the UK: legal basis, eligibility and what to expect
What credit hire is, how the basic and 'impecunious' rates work after Lagden v O'Connor, the eligibility tests, the daily-rate dispute that follows almost every claim, and how to keep the schedule recoverable.
Read the article → Talk to a real person
Speak to UK accident supportWe handle it end-to-end.
The fastest way is to call. Or start the digital accident form and our team will pick it up. Available across England, Scotland & Wales.
Calls may be recorded for quality and compliance. We do not provide legal advice. Personal injury enquiries are referred only with your consent to authorised partners.
Visit our team
London office
124 City Road
London, EC1V 2NX
Coverage
- Phone & accident form24 / 7
- Recovery dispatch24 / 7
- Repair coordinationMon-Sat 8:00 - 18:00
- SundaysEmergency only
45+UK cities
9vehicle types
GDPRcompliant
Tip: submit the accident form first - our team will call back with a reference and next steps.