4 ways to avoid liability for leaving the scene of an accident

What does it mean

First you need to understand the concept of “left the scene of an accident.” When it comes to a traffic accident, it would be more correct to say “left the scene of the accident.”

This is a situation where the driver who violated the rules left the scene of an accident in which he was directly involved. This is a serious driving violation that results in the loss of your driver's license.

Also, along with the term “left the scene of an accident,” it is worth examining the accompanying concept “road accident.” Typically, people perceive an accident as a situation on the road in which people and vehicles were involved.

This is not entirely true. According to the definition (clause 1.2 of the traffic rules), an accident is an incident that occurred when any vehicle was moving along the road lane and led to an accident.

As a result, cars, buildings, structures were damaged, other people's property was damaged, and people were also injured (killed, injured, etc.). All of these factors relate to an accident, but not all of them are required.

For example, an ordinary incident is a collision between two cars. This should be followed by registration of an accident involving two drivers.

The car fled the scene of the accident, what should I do?

This situation is considered common. In every tenth accident, the at-fault driver flees the scene of the accident. Therefore, every driver needs to know the procedure in this situation:

1. Compliance with traffic regulations. First of all, you need to turn on the hazard lights, then put up a warning triangle, call the traffic police and, if necessary, an ambulance. If the damaged car is blocking traffic, you need to move it first by sketching it on paper, taking a photo or video of the accident.
2. Search for witnesses. It is necessary that they provide their contact information or remain until the traffic police arrive. You should find out whether witnesses have a DVR or street CCTV cameras near the accident.
3. Registration of the incident. Traffic police officers require you to fill out a number of necessary papers. It is important to indicate the fact that one of the drivers left the scene of the accident. Then you should submit an application to search for the driver at the police station. If he returned before the arrival of the traffic police, then he cannot be considered absconded.
4. Notifying the insurance company about the fact of an accident. The documents prepared by the traffic police officers must be submitted to the insurance service and a corresponding application must be written. But in this case, there will be no opportunity to receive insurance compensation until the culprit is caught.
5. Recording traces of damage. It is not advisable for the injured driver to repair his car until the culprit is detained. It is possible to restore the transport, but at the same time record the damage caused. This could be photos, auto technical expertise, saved receipts and other evidence of the costs of restoring the car.

You should never chase a driver who has left the scene of an accident. Such races can result in another accident. You need to write down the license plate number of the offender's car. You should also not leave the scene of the incident, since the culprit may return earlier and turn the situation to his advantage. In this case, it will be almost impossible to prove that you are right.

Penalties

When an accident occurs, drivers are required to call the traffic police. If this does not happen, the law provides for serious liability.

There is no need to worry about the size of the fine for non-compliance with the rules, you will not face one (depending on the circumstances, but usually no fine is imposed).

For individuals

According to legal norms, such a situation is considered a very serious violation, therefore the guilty driver will be held accountable to the fullest extent.

Attention! If two drivers were involved in the incident, who subsequently fled the scene of the accident, and later went to file a statement with the police without properly registering the incident, the responsibility falls on both participants in the same amount.

Sanctions for leaving with an accident. What are the dangers of leaving the scene of an accident? Punishment:

In practice, arrest is almost never applied to the driver. This is a special measure that law enforcement agencies try not to resort to.

But, nevertheless, full responsibility for leaving the scene of an accident can be assigned if the driver violated a number of rules, or if the accident led to serious consequences. For example, an aggravating circumstance is alcohol or drug intoxication.

Attention! If you are still unlucky and become involved in an accident and then escape from it, you do not need to drink alcohol. It will be worse when you are discovered.

Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides a clause that stipulates that it is prohibited to drink alcoholic beverages after an accident and before undergoing a medical examination.

The preventive measure for violation, if there were no injured persons, is the same as in other cases. The only thing is that it can be slightly softened. For example, a driver can only be deprived of his license through a judicial procedure.

It turns out that participation in the process, respect for the law and willingness to help the court can reduce the sentence to a minimum.

For legal entities

It will not be possible to avoid the liability of legal entities when leaving the scene of an accident. Any violation of traffic rules leads to the payment of a fine, credited to the account of the traffic police service.

For leaving the scene of an accident, responsibility falls not on the person to whom the car was entrusted, but on the owner of the vehicle.

According to the norms of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Article 12.27), administrative punishment for an offense for a legal entity (arrest for 15 days, a fine of 1000 rubles or deprivation of rights).

Also, if the driver who was driving at the time of the accident later returned to the scene of the accident, the preventive measure will be reduced to a minimum.

The court will take into account all such details when making a sentence. This applies not only to the person who owns the vehicle involved in the accident, but also to the driver who was driving the car at the time of the incident.

At the same time, the last moment may become key for those employees who are involved in an accident on the road, while currently employed, for example, in a position in a transport company.

Penalty for leaving the scene of an accident

It is important to know what threatens a driver who fled the scene of an accident. In this case, the violator may be deprived of his rights for a period of 12-18 months or pay a fine of 1000 rubles. Punishment is applied if the cause of the accident does not fall within the exceptions in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This also applies to those cases where the participants in the incident were unable to come to an agreement on their own, and one of them left the scene of the accident until the traffic police arrived.

Each participant in the accident faces punishment. This measure is applied for leaving the scene of an accident without injuries. If there are any, then Art. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – “Leaving in danger.” The punishment in this case:

• Fine from 80,000 to the total amount of all income for six months.
• Forced work (year) or public work (360 hours).
• Imprisonment from 3 to 12 months.

If people died as a result of an accident, the driver who left the accident will be held criminally liable.

Why you shouldn't hide

Almost always, crimes become known. This is especially true lately, when external surveillance cameras are placed on every corner and cars are equipped with recorders.

In such a situation, finding the culprit of the accident is not difficult. As a result, in addition to responsibility for the accident itself, the driver will also bear the penalty for leaving. It's best to never leave the scene of an accident.

Also keep in mind that for leaving the scene of an accident, both the culprit and the injured person will be punished equally. However, when documents are drawn up in the absence of one of the parties, there is a high probability that she will be found guilty of the violation that occurred.

What else should you not do after an accident?

It is prohibited to consume alcoholic beverages. If you have undergone a medical examination after an accident and have a copy of the relevant report in your hands, then this prohibition does not apply to you. In any other case, the driver may be held administratively liable under Part 3 of Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation - for failure to fulfill duties in connection with a traffic accident:

Failure to comply with the requirement of the Traffic Rules to prohibit the driver from consuming alcoholic beverages, narcotic or psychotropic substances after a traffic accident in which he is involved, or after the vehicle was stopped at the request of a police officer, until an examination by an authorized official is carried out in order to establish state of intoxication or until an authorized official makes a decision on exemption from such an examination -

shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of thirty thousand rubles with deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of one and a half to two years.

Useful links:

Resolution of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated October 24, 2016 No. 127-AD16-5 (The driver returned to the scene of an accident) Resolution of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation dated June 29, 2017 No. 92-AD17-2 (What constitutes an accident)

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Options when the driver’s departure will not be considered an escape

The legislation stipulates situations when a participant in an accident has the right to leave the scene of the accident. In this case, no punishment will be imposed on him.

List of valid reasons that may become grounds for departure (traffic regulations – clauses 2.6 and 2.6.1):

• delivery of the wounded to a medical facility;
• drawing up a mutual consent agreement, registering an accident at the traffic police post;
• a rule clause requiring the vacation of a small section of the road due to complications in the movement of other road users;
• registration of the Europrotocol.

Also, it is impossible to be accused of leaving the scene of an accident if there was none. Drivers can drive away if no accident has been detected (no people were injured, no property was damaged).

Any other reason cannot serve as a basis for a valid departure from the scene of an accident. Even in a very difficult situation, regardless of the accompanying facts, the driver will have to be punished for the violation.

There are also some points that should be taken into account before filing an accident yourself:

• there should be no injured or dead people;
• the parties should not have contradictions and disagreements;
• no more than 2 cars must be involved in the incident;
• transport of both parties must be insured by a compulsory motor liability insurance policy.

When all the nuances are taken into account, drivers can independently register the incident in accordance with the rules. This will not be considered a violation by law.

When can you leave the scene of an accident?

Let's look at when you can leave the scene of an accident without being punished:

• As a result of the accident, there are no people injured, and there are no disagreements between the participants in this incident. In this case, it is necessary to draw up a diagram of the accident, sign it by the participants and get to the nearest traffic police post to complete the necessary documents;
• During the accident, only property was damaged. Then the person responsible for the accident must remove the car from the roadway so as not to impede the movement of other road users. Before removing the vehicle, you need to record the result of the collision in a photo or video, the position of both cars relative to each other and other road infrastructure objects, objects that relate to the accident, as well as damage to property (clause 2.6.1 of the Traffic Rules). Please note that if there are disagreements regarding the circumstances of damage to property or the nature of damage to the vehicle, then the driver who caused the accident must write down the names and contact details of witnesses and report the incident to the police to find out where the accident was registered. Then they receive instructions from a law enforcement representative to leave the scene of the accident in order to arrive at the place where the protocol is drawn up, recording the location of the accident, as well as all traces of the incident and the position of the vehicles relative to each other;
• The list and nature of damage does not cause disagreement among the participants in the accident. Drivers are not required to report the incident to the police department.

Is it possible to avoid deprivation of rights for leaving the scene of an accident? How to compensate for damages from an accident, read here.

What to do if the person at fault for the accident does not have compulsory motor liability insurance, find out at the link:

But in this case, drivers have the right to leave the scene of the accident:

• to draw up documents about the accident with an authorized police officer either at the nearest post of the state road safety inspection or at the nearest police station, providing all evidence of the accident, how the vehicles were located relative to each other and the road infrastructure, all evidence, damage to cars, traces and everything else in the photo and video;
• to prepare documents about an accident without authorized law enforcement officers, including inspectors of the state road safety inspection, by independently filling out an accident notification form, taking into account the rules of compulsory insurance, if only two cars (including trailers) were involved in the accident, which insured their civil liability in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation on compulsory insurance of civil liability of vehicle owners, in cases where damage is caused only to their vehicles, and there are no disagreements regarding the circumstances of the damage to the vehicles;
• There is no need to draw up documents at all about an accident on the road in the event of damage to the vehicle and property of only the participants who do not need to prepare these documents, because the issue is resolved mutually and without disagreement about the damage.

An important point in this provision is that if at least one participant in the accident does not agree with the circumstances of the incident, you cannot do so, and also if a person is injured in the incident, then you cannot leave the scene of the accident, otherwise a case will be filed against the participant about an administrative offense under Art. 12.27 part 2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Federal Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” No. 40-FZ of April 25, 2002 provides for the option of drawing up a European protocol on a road traffic accident without the participation of road police officers.

You can draw up documents about an accident without involving police officers who are authorized to draw up such documents in the manner established by the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, that is, in the presence of the following circumstances:

• as a result of the traffic accident, damage was caused only to the vehicles of the participants in this incident;
• the emergency occurred as a result of a collision between two vehicles (including trailers), and the owners of the vehicles that were participants in this incident insured their civil liability in accordance with the federal law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”;
• The participants have no disagreements either regarding the circumstances of the damage to the cars, or on the nature and list of the damages themselves, which are visible to the naked eye, and all the circumstances are recorded in the notification of the road accident, the form of which is filled out by the drivers involved in the road accident, taking into account the provisions rules of compulsory insurance.

The traffic rules, namely paragraph 2.6, allow leaving the scene of a traffic accident in an emergency situation, that is, in the accident there are injured individuals who need medical care, and leaving the scene of the accident is allowed only to deliver the victim to the nearest medical facility.

After delivering the victim, it is necessary to return back to investigate the circumstances of the incident.

In other words, paragraph 2.6 of the Traffic Rules states that the driver involved in a traffic accident is obliged to provide first aid to the victims, then call an ambulance, and in emergency cases, hitch a ride with the victim.

Sometimes the driver himself must deliver the victim to the nearest medical facility, providing his name, car number, with the obligatory presentation of identification documents for the vehicle, and then return to the scene of the accident.

The traffic accident occurred in such a way that cars blocked the passage of others. In this case, you need to record the scene of the incident in a photo or video, all objects, traces, and the location of the car in the presence of witnesses. It's best to record all the little things.

Circumstances mitigating punishment

It’s worth mentioning right away that it is impossible to avoid punishment for hiding from the scene of an accident. The only loophole is the help of a professional lawyer who will try to prove that there is no violation at all.

But in case of severe injuries or death of a person, there can be no question of avoiding a preventive measure. Especially if you left the crime scene.

Judicial practice on mitigating factors when fleeing the scene of an accident is quite complex. The situation depends on the specific surrounding circumstances.

For example, if the driver slightly damaged another car, but believes that he was not guilty of the incident, therefore he left the scene of the accident, or simply disappeared without noticing the situation, then attempts to mitigate the punishment in court may be successful.

Again, if you have a corpse or a completely wrecked car on your account, then it doesn’t really matter whether the departure was premeditated.

What is the statute of limitations?

The statute of limitations for administrative offenses is three months (based on Article 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). According to the law, it is impossible to initiate a case for an administrative violation after the expiration of the statute of limitations (according to paragraph 6 of part 1 of Article 24.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

In other words, you can open a case against a participant in an accident who fled the scene of the accident no later than three months after the accident.

In practice, the police initiate a case against the driver who left the scene of the collision on time.
But, if a person has been hiding for the entire three months, then a resolution on an administrative offense is either not issued against him or he is issued, but they do not have the opportunity to hand him in person against a receipt. After three months, law enforcement officers will no longer be able to issue or serve him with a resolution on an administrative offense.

So, according to the law, the police will look for a driver who left the scene of a traffic accident for three months from the date of the accident.

Advice from lawyers on avoiding liability when leaving the scene of an accident

Let's start with the fact that if you are really to blame for what happened, it is better to find the victim and compensate for the damage. It will be calmer and more correct this way.

At the same time, your wallet will still suffer, because if your guilt is proven, the insurance company will try to recover from you a recourse for its expenses for payments to the injured party. Also, by mutual agreement, it will be possible to avoid punishment when hiding from the scene of an accident.

Statute of limitations

The statute of limitations established by law (Article 4.5 of the Administrative Code) for evading the scene of an accident is 3 months. After its completion, no one has the right to punish you for violation. It turns out that if during this time the police officers do not find you on the roads, there will be no consequences.

Often the injured party tries to independently find the hiding culprit, often even more successfully than law enforcement agencies, using witnesses and photos from the scene of the accident.

Even if your car was found, and you received a summons from the traffic police with a request to come to investigate the accident, it is not at all necessary to go straight to the police station to turn yourself in red-handed.

In the case of minor damage, such letters are mere bureaucracy and formality; the authorities are not interested in searching for a minor violator.

Receiving a subpoena

When the driver was caught by the police, it wasn't all over for him. The verdict on the appointment of a preventive measure is made only by the court. If you fail to appear, the court does not have the right to consider the case of hiding from the scene.

It is important that the driver is notified in the correct order, which is not always done in practice. Further, for failure to appear on a summons due to an unexcused reason, a fine of up to 5 thousand rubles will be imposed on a person; in the case of an individual, the trial will be postponed.

If the court case is repeatedly ignored, the authorized bodies may receive an order to bring the offender to the courtroom. In any case, no matter what happens, the driver’s failure to appear in court within 3 months of the case will lead to the automatic closure of the case.

Attention! We are talking about minor accidents in which there are no injured, injured or killed citizens. Also, within 3 years, the injured party can request compensation from you for damage; the insurance company has the right to assign recourse for hiding from the scene of the accident.

Meeting with the traffic police after the statute of limitations has expired

It happens that the statute of limitations has expired, but information about a particular car has not been removed from the database of wanted violators. The driver can be stopped even after 1-2 years, notified that his vehicle is on the wanted list, although he did not even know this (he may learn about the accident for the first time)

The whole point is that only the authority that put the vehicle on the wanted list can deregister. In our case, the traffic police. Otherwise, the car will be on the list forever.

As a result, if the responsible employee forgot about your vehicle or the documents were lost, it may remain on the wanted list for a long time. It's not scary. Again, no one can punish you after 3 months.

You will have to go to the traffic service department and send a request to remove the vehicle from the wanted list due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

Attention! They cannot deprive you of your rights in any way, but the victim or the insurance company have the right to issue an invoice for damage compensation.

Unintentional hiding

Convincing the court that you acted unintentionally is difficult. It happens that the court did not hold accountable the driver who left the scene of the accident due to the lack of evidence of deliberate concealment. According to the presumption of innocence, guilt must first be proven.

The court took into account that the damage was not serious, and due to the large size of the vehicle (for example, buses, trucks, etc.) and the heavy flow of cars, the driver really could not have noticed the collision. It also takes into account whether the victim tried to notify the at-fault party about the accident.

The insignificance of the matter

In practice, there are cases that were closed due to their insignificance. The judge rendered a verdict, arguing that the offender’s actions could not cause serious harm, and therefore the proceedings were stopped.

When the damage is insignificant and its connection with a specific accident is doubtful, and the victim has no claims, the court can do without strict measures against the culprit.

Often in such cases, a special role is played by the activity of the party, the correct position and its legislative argumentation. A lawyer or a simple consultation with a lawyer is also of considerable importance.

Consent of the parties

Perhaps the simplest and safest method. Consent must be obtained before identification at the traffic police.

Approximate algorithm of actions:

1. Personal meeting with the victim. We need to come to an agreement so that he does not identify the culprit to the traffic police. The damage will need to be compensated.
2. Come for identification at the traffic police;
3. The victim testifies that he does not know you or your car. He writes a statement to terminate the proceedings.
4. The case is closed, the vehicle is removed from the wanted list.
5. It is easier for the injured party to immediately receive compensation and, as a rule, he is not interested in punishment.

How to receive an insurance payment if the instigator of the accident is found?

If the police have found who is to blame for the accident, the injured party can act in two ways. It all depends on whether the driver had the right to drive the car at the time of the accident and whether he has a valid insurance policy. If the driver had the right to drive the car, he has valid insurance and he pleads guilty, he must contact the insurance company.

To do this you need the following package of documents:

• An accident report drawn up by traffic police officers at the scene of the accident.
• The culprit of the accident writes a statement stating that he has no objections to his guilt (often the insurer does not take into account the presence of such a document. But if it exists, this can significantly speed up the process of receiving insurance compensation for damage in an accident).
• A copy or number of the insurance policy.
• Each party presents a driver's license.

If the driver does not have a license to drive a vehicle, does not have valid insurance, or has never admitted that he is at fault, he must file a claim in court.

When going to court, you need the following documents:

• statement of claim;
• a protocol drawn up by traffic police officers;
• To confirm the act of damage caused, an assessment document is needed, which also confirms the amount of damage.

Appeal for mitigation of sentence

An appeal is drawn up to appeal a court decision or reduce a sentence. It must be correctly composed to bring results. The case will then be appealed to the Supreme Court.

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Completed form.

There is always a punishment for breaking the law. You should not run away from the scene of the accident, especially if you are at fault. If an accident occurs, try to come to an agreement with the other party so as not to bring the matter to court.

On what basis is a decision made to leave the scene of an accident?

If the driver fled the scene of the accident, he will be brought to administrative or criminal liability through the court. To do this, traffic police officers prepare all the necessary documents related to the fact of the accident with the identification of its participants and their cars.

To confirm the offense, a vehicle inspection procedure is carried out. It can be carried out by an employee of the insurance company of one of the parties. And also, in order to avoid bias in the inspection procedure, they resort to the services of an independent examination. As a result, the participants in the accident fill out forms in which they indicate the license plate numbers, technical characteristics of their vehicles and the availability of an insurance policy.

The culprit who fled the scene of the accident receives a summons to court indicating the date and reason for the hearing. The accused has the right to receive defense and provide evidence of his innocence. He can point out circumstances that justify him and appeal the court's decision.