A traffic accident is an event whose occurrence occurred during the movement of a vehicle on a road and with its participation. As a result, there were dead or wounded people. At the same time, the vehicles themselves, cargoes, structures are damaged, or other material damage has been caused to them.
Sanctions for leaving the scene
According to the law, leaving the scene of an accident, the punishment for which is provided in the form of deprivation of the right to drive vehicles (for 1 - 1.5 years) or administrative arrest for up to fifteen days, forms the offense.
The driver is responsible for leaving the scene in certain cases. For example, if he realized that he was leaving the scene of an accident without the intention of returning.
Types of accident
Traffic accidents there are several types.
- Collision - an action in which moving vehicles come into contact. Collision can occur between themselves, with a vehicle suddenly stopped or with a rolling stock of a railway. It can be passing, oncoming and lateral.
- Hitting an obstacle - occurs when the vehicle in the process of moving hit or collided with a stationary object. For example, building, tree, pillar, etc.
- Tipping over, i.e. when the vehicle overturned while driving. There may be several reasons. For example, due to a technical malfunction or incorrect control methods. Due to adverse weather conditions, improper fastening of the cargo or its placement, an accident can also occur.
- Hitting a cyclist is an action. For example, a bicycle rider was hit, or he himself came across a vehicle in motion.
- Pedestrian collision during which a person came across a vehicle in motion. Or vice versa. A vehicle in motion collided with a person. Also, when there is an injured person from a cargo carried by a car, which is in favor of its dimensions.
- Hit the animal. A situation in which a vehicle in motion has run over animals as well as birds. Or they hit the car on their own. And the result was material damage or people were hurt.
- Hit a vehicle that was not in motion.
- Other incidents: hitting obstacles that suddenly appeared on the roadway (a wheel fell off, a load fell, etc.), etc.
The actions of the driver in an accident
In the event of an accident, the driver involved in it must immediately stop the movement of the vehicle. Items related to traffic accidents must not be moved. If necessary, the driver must call for medical assistance and provide pre-medical care before her arrival. You must immediately report the incident to law enforcement agencies, record eyewitness accounts of the incident and wait for the arrival of police officers.
The driver is not allowed to leave the scene of the incident, except in emergency situations.
The driver is forbidden to take alcoholic beverages, psychotropic or narcotic substances immediately after the accident, until he passes the examination, or until the decision is made.
When the driver may not wait for the traffic police
If, due to the accident, the movement of other drivers is impossible, then the carriageway must be vacated.
What to do if you need to move the car? It is necessary to fix in advance the position in which the vehicle was located, objects and traces related to the accident. For this purpose, an incident diagram is drawn up. It is necessary to indicate the relative position of the vehicles, orient them on the terrain (houses standing on the road, signs), indicate the signs of braking, the width of the route and the number of lanes on it.
When drawing up a traffic accident scheme, the presence of witnesses is mandatory. They are required to certify it with their signatures indicating the initials and address.
Limitation period
There is a three-month limitation period for leaving the scene of an accident. Leaving a place of an accident is punishable only by deprivation of a driver’s license or administrative arrest. And this is if within three months the guilty person will be exposed. If the driver is not found, then after the statute of limitations the case will be dismissed.
Emergency situations
In emergency situations requiring immediate medical attention, the driver must stop the passing vehicle or take the injured to a medical facility in his car. After that, he is obliged to return to the scene of an accident. There is no liability for such an act involving the deprivation of rights. Leaving the scene of an accident in such a situation is an absolute necessity, since the victim must be taken to the hospital. And there was no opportunity to do this using other transport. After the victim is taken to the hospital, the perpetrator must return.
Leaving an accident in a parking lot
One of the most difficult proceedings are cases when there was a crash site left by a driver who is not aware of the fact of the accident. But at the same time he is the culprit. For example, I scratched someone else's car in the parking lot and drove away. Either the driver touched the pedestrian with a mirror, leaving him a bruise, or did not find any visible damage on someone else's vehicles and left the scene.
In such situations, it is difficult for the driver to prove lack of intent in the actions. In fact, damage was caused and hiding from the scene of the accident was revealed. It is recommended to use the services of a specialist for competent protection, since there are many nuances related to a particular situation.
Parking accident abandonment situations
For example, in the event of an accident in a parking lot, drivers agreed on the spot verbally without calling the traffic police and left. Consider this situation. What threatens the abandonment of the accident scene? There may be trouble in connection with the application of one of the drivers to the traffic police. It is practically impossible to prove that the situation was resolved on the spot, and no one left the scene of an accident.
Therefore, in such situations, it is necessary to draw up an explanatory paper. It necessarily says that the situation with the accident appeared. In fact, nothing happened, and has no complaints against one another. The fact that both drivers agreed among themselves and the fact of an accident had a place to be, does not need to be indicated. The explanatory paper must be signed by both drivers and the date. A similar situation with pedestrians.
There are situations when in the parking lot the driver catches a strange car without causing him any damage. After which he commits leaving the scene of an accident. And the driver of the second car, seeing this situation, being, for example, a few meters away or on the surveillance camera, cannot stop the culprit. After which he writes a statement to the traffic police. In such a situation, it is important to prove either that the fact of the accident did not occur, since the car was not damaged and there were no injuries, or to refer to the insignificance of the act. And the actions of the driver of the second car must be exposed as unlawful acts. This is because in fact there are no damages to the car and injured persons.
Leaving accident scene for victims
There are situations in which the victim himself left the scene. For example, he did not notice the damage caused to his car, and the perpetrator did not report it and left the scene or did not know about the damage inflicted on him. The victim, even if he did not notice the damage, after leaving the scene of the incident has the right to apply to the appropriate authorities. Responsibility for leaving the accident scene of the Code of Administrative Offenses for the victim does not provide, unlike the culprit.
Driver actions
In the event of an accident, drivers have the right not to call the traffic police. They can independently draw up a detailed diagram of the accident and sign it. After that, the driver is allowed to leave the scene of an accident in order to go to the post of the road patrol service to report on the incident. It is important that there are no casualties in this situation.
Euro protocol compilation
If an accident occurs between two cars, there are no injuries, and the drivers estimate the material damage caused during the accident in the amount of not more than twenty-five thousand rubles, then it is allowed to independently compose a Euro-protocol. You can not call the traffic police officers to the place of events.
When compiling a Euro protocol, the following steps must be performed. It is necessary to draw up a diagram of the scene in two copies (one in each hand) and sign by both parties. It is necessary to make sure that there are no injuries to the participants in the incident, and only property is damaged. Also, experts recommend making sure that no more than two vehicles are harmed in the accident, and make sure that both participants in the accident have an insurance policy. It is worth noting that damage should be equally assessed by both parties to the accident.
After drawing up the Euro Protocol, both participants in the incident have the right to leave the scene of the accident. Responsibility for leaving the scene of an accident in the event of the preparation of the Euro Protocol is not provided. Because the accident participants themselves decided to resolve the situation.
When is there no liability for leaving the scene of an accident?
There are situations in which the punishment for leaving the scene of an accident can be avoided. For example, when a driver guilty of an accident did not notice this (collision, collision). After which he left the scene, not knowing that he was leaving the scene of the accident. In such a situation, it is important to prove that the driver did not really notice the accident he committed and unintentionally left the scene. Responsibility for leaving the scene of an accident occurs only in the event of a deliberate desire to escape from the scene of the accident. For example, when the driver knew about what had happened and consciously left the scene. Also when he acted in an emergency situation. It is important that in such a case the prevented harm should be greater than the harm done.
For example, when a seriously ill person must be immediately taken to a medical facility. On the way, the car gets into an accident, in which there are no injuries and serious damage to vehicles. After the car continues to move and delivers the patient to a medical facility. In such a situation, the damage caused as a result of the accident is a violation of the driver’s legal obligations to take certain actions after the accident. And the prevented harm is the elimination of the threat to the life of the patient. Such actions are an absolute must.
When is it forbidden to leave the scene?
There are situations when drivers try to pass off an accident as an emergency. For example, being late for work, plane, train, meeting, etc .; a trip to the hospital for vaccination and even chasing the second participant in an accident in order to force him to return to the scene of the accident, etc. All these reasons are not absolutely necessary and are not recognized as such by the court.
Also, it will not be possible to prove that the driver who left the scene of the accident did not know about the incident. This cannot be done if there are witnesses and eyewitnesses who saw that he got out of the car, examined the injuries and, having waved his hand, left.
A note with its coordinates, left, for example, under the wipers of the second participant in the accident, who is not in place, is not a weighty argument. Such actions may result in the removal of a driver’s license or administrative arrest.
It is important to remember that if the second participant in the incident is absent, then it is necessary to invite law enforcement officers and not leave the scene of the accident.
The situation lies in the fact that if the second participant in the incident, after detecting injuries and due to the absence of the culprit, filed a complaint with the police, it will be impossible to agree with him. Leaving a place of an accident has a formal composition. Therefore, if he left the scene, it means he committed an offense. Such a case cannot be terminated on the occasion of the reconciliation of the parties. After his excitement, the victim will not be able to pick up the application.
For leaving the scene of an accident, the punishment can also be mitigated if, for example, the perpetrator compensates the victim for damage.
