Shared liability for an accident: clarifications of the Supreme Court

Is there a fine for the very fact of an accident in 2021?

No. There are absolutely no penalties in current legislation for committing a traffic accident. And, if you come across information somewhere on the Internet supposedly about new fines for road accidents, then this is not true.

Of course, we are talking directly about sanctions for getting into an accident - in the current Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation you will not find liability specifically for a collision or any other interaction of vehicles that led to damage to cars, harm to human health or their death.

However, the 2021 legislation includes fines that are issued after an accident directly for violations related to it. Moreover, we are not necessarily talking about traffic violations as the cause of the accident. These may be punishments that were caused by this incident and the associated failure to comply with certain legal requirements.

At the same time, many incidents happen without a fine - that is, none of the participants are issued an administrative order.

In general, sanctions in case of accidents can be divided into the following groups:

• the vast majority of decisions are provided for violations that led to an accident - one or another violation of traffic rules (for example, creating an obstacle),
• but most often, a fine for an accident means imposing punishment on the culprit for the victims,
• drivers may also be at risk of failure to comply with the conditions associated with the incident - for example, if the participant did not display an emergency sign or completely left the scene of the accident,
• and a number of other violations further toughen those penalties that would have been milder without additional conditions - again, an example: if a driver hits a pedestrian while drunk, he may face a longer prison term than if he were sober.

Below we will consider, in order, all these fines for road accidents in the context of what their sizes are and what exactly they are assigned for.

What about guilt in committing the incident?

Just as there is no fine for an accident as for the fact of getting into it, there is no punishment for guilt in committing an accident. In this case, the culprit may be issued a decree for a specific violation of the Rules (for example, for unsafe reversing). However, there is no additional sanction specifically for causing an accident in 2021.

Let's look at what penalties may be in case of an accident, depending on the violations and the specific circumstances of the incident, in a convenient tabular form!
What are the fines for a specific type of accident?

Punishment for road accidents with moderate injuries

If, as a result of a forensic medical examination, it was established that the victim’s health was caused by an accident of moderate severity, then the person responsible for the traffic accident will be held accountable in accordance with Part 2 of Article 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

This article provides for the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of 10,000 to 25,000 rubles, or deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for a period of 18 to 24 months.

How to distinguish between mild and moderate harm to health?

By studying the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, you can easily find the answer to this question. Thus, mild harm to health is usually understood as deterioration in health for a short period of time, or loss of ability to work, again for a short time.

Harm to health of moderate severity means deterioration in health for a long period of time, if such deterioration does not pose a threat to the life of the victim, or prolonged loss of one-third of the ability to work.

In this case, the treatment process should not exceed three weeks. An example of moderate harm to health is a concussion resulting from an accident.

Let us emphasize once again that the severity of the harm caused to the victim’s health can only be determined during a special forensic medical examination.

What should a victim of an accident do if the culprit does not admit guilt? What is the amount of insurance payments if you are a victim, read here.

Find out what to do in case of an accident with victims at the following link:

What does the culprit face for an accident with victims?

So, we will start with those punishments that are often meant by fines for road accidents - for culpability in an accident with injured people. The amount of punishment here directly depends on the degree of harm to health, as well as on the presence of dead and their number. Let's look at these cases in detail.

Minor accident without injuries

Here, as we noted above, the only responsibility can be as follows:

• the culprit of the accident will be fined for violating traffic rules as the cause of the accident,
• a decree can also be issued for failure to comply with the requirements of the Rules of Conduct after an accident on the road - both participants are already at risk,
• in addition, any other violations identified upon arrival by the traffic police may result in a fine (no MTPL insurance, drunkenness, lack of license, and so on) - here the victim may also bear responsibility.

Mild severity

Amount of fine for an accident : 2,500 – 5,000 rubles or deprivation of rights for a period of 1 to 1.5 years.

The specified amounts and terms are established by part 1 of article 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Please note that the fine for minor injury to the health of a victim in an accident is established regardless of the main punishment for the specific cause of the accident. For example, the culprit may be fined 1,000 rubles for obstructing an intersection and an additional 5,000 for the person injured in this incident.

Those signs that determine one or another degree of harm to health are defined in Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 522, paragraph 3 of the document.

With moderate harm to health

Amount of fine for an accident : from 10,000 to 25,000 rubles or imprisonment for 1.5-2 years.

Here the driver is already charged under Part 2 of Article 12.24 of the Administrative Code. We discussed in more detail the various degrees of harm suffered by victims and the responsibility for them in a separate article about deprivation of rights for an accident.

With grievous harm

Possible penalties:

• restriction of freedom for up to 3 years,
• forced labor for up to 2 years,
• arrest up to 6 months,
• imprisonment for up to 2 years.

As it becomes clear, the Russian Criminal Code is already at work here. These are the penalties established in 2021 for grievous harm to the health of victims caused by guilt in the incident, part 1 of Article 264 of the Criminal Code. And let us remind you again that in this case the culprit will not always avoid a fine for an accident - in addition to the criminal article, a punishment will be imposed for the violation that led to the accident.

And the penalties listed above will only apply if the culprit was sober and did not flee the scene of the incident.

If the victim died

If an accident leads to the death of people, then 2 types of punishments are possible depending on their number.

If 1 person died:

• forced labor for up to 4 years,
• imprisonment for up to 5 years.

If 2 or more people died:

• the period of forced labor increases to 5 years,
• and in case of imprisonment, its term will be up to 7 years.

This is regulated, respectively, by parts 3 and 5 of Article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Please note that these penalties apply in cases of death in an accident due to the negligence of the culprit. If intent is proven, then other criminal charges will be imposed.

Important note!

• This article describes the basic principles of how legislation works. Meanwhile, in judicial practice everything depends on specific circumstances.
• In 96% of all cases there are subtleties that can affect the outcome of the entire case.
• Therefore, we recommend entrusting the matter to professionals who will study your business and select the right winning strategy.

The TonkostiDTP website employs professional road accident lawyers with experience in all major types of disputes (MTPL, guilt, administrative penalties).

Ask a lawyer

or get a free consultation by calling the hotline: 8.

If only the culprit suffered

The above penalties apply if other people were injured and the driver was the culprit. But what if the person at fault in the accident was the only one injured? Will he face a fine for an accident in this case?

No. Neither Article 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, nor 264 of the Criminal Code applies if, as a result of the incident, harm to health was caused only to the culprit. The fact is that, according to modern legislation, a person cannot be both a victim of an accident and a culprit.

This state of affairs is confirmed by judicial practice. Thus, the Supreme Court, in its Resolution of the Plenum No. 20 of June 25, 2019 (paragraph 19), indicated that in this case there should be no punishment for the culprit.

In addition, if as a result of the accident several people were injured with varying degrees of severity, which implies punishment under different parts of Article 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (under the first and second simultaneously), then only one punishment is applied - with a more severe sanction (that is, part 2), because that one violation cannot be punished twice, even if it contains signs of 2 or more offenses. This also follows from the provisions of the PP of the Supreme Court (same paragraph 19).

The new Code of Administrative Offenses has changed the wording “creating an emergency situation.” What does this mean for drivers?

• 7795
• 13 March 2021, 08:25
• Code of Administrative OffensesBelaruscaraccidentsimportant to know

Photo: TUT.BY
On March 1, a new Code of Administrative Offenses came into force, which, on the one hand, allowed conscientious drivers not to pay a fine for minor violations, but, on the other hand, toughened liability for deliberate blocking of roads, increased fines for reckless drivers, and also introduced deprivation rights for giving a signal during mass events, writes AUTO.TUT.BY. But it turned out that the document also provides for another new opportunity to lose a driver’s license. You can be left without a license even after an accident that seems insignificant at first glance.

Lawyer, Master of Law Pavel Latyshev noted that the concept of “creating an emergency situation” has changed since March 1. Let us remind you that liability for it is provided in the form of a fine from 5 to 20 basic units with deprivation of the right to engage in certain activities for up to 2 years or without deprivation (Part 12 of Article 18.13).

“The Code of Administrative Offenses, which was in force until March 1, 2021, stated that the creation of an emergency situation means the actions of road users that forced other participants to change speed, direction of movement, or take other measures to ensure their own safety or the safety of others,” recalls advocate. “Now the following phrase has been added to it: “as well as causing damage to another vehicle or the property of other road users.” And this phrase can have far-reaching consequences for drivers.

This definition, as noted in the Administrative Code, applies to several articles. This is deliberate blocking of transport communications (Article 18.1), failure to comply with the requirements of traffic control signals, violation of the rules for transporting passengers or other traffic rules (Article 18.13) and violation of traffic rules by pedestrians and other road users (Article 18.20).

— It turns out that now even a small accident in which a vehicle was damaged (for example, a driver hit someone in a parking lot or drove into another car at a traffic light), even if it received minor scratches, can be classified as a violation of the corresponding clause of the traffic rules with the creation emergency situation. This means the driver may lose his license.

How to be? Proceed from the fact that when imposing a penalty, the nature of the offense, the identity of the offender, the consequences and other mitigating or aggravating circumstances must always be taken into account. Therefore, with an objective approach, a conscientious driver who, for example, simply did not keep his distance and caused an accident without injuries, should receive a fine and continue driving further.

It is obvious that, taking into account the innovations, drivers after minor accidents will begin to more actively use the European protocol and drive away without calling the traffic police. Here, we note, there will be no administrative offense (see Note to Chapter 18 of the Administrative Code) and there will be no talk of a fine or deprivation of rights in principle.

// TUT.BY

What are the fines immediately after an accident?

Now we move on to the amounts of penalties when you were in an accident, but did not fulfill certain conditions or committed other violations after the accident.

For not displaying an emergency sign

What is the fine : 1,000 rubles.

According to traffic regulations, you need to display an emergency stop sign:

• at least 15 meters before the car in a populated area,
• no less than 30 meters on a highway outside a populated area.

For failure to comply with this requirement of the Rules, the participant will be fined in the amount of 1,000 rubles under Part 1 of Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Moreover, it does not matter whether the culprit did not display an emergency sign or whether the victim was in an accident. It also doesn’t matter whether you don’t have an emergency sign at all, or you were simply too lazy to put it on, or didn’t know about such an obligation - punishment can follow in all these cases.

Please note that in practice in 2021, traffic police officers are unlikely to issue a fine for a sign to the second participant if at least the first driver posted one. Although the obligation applies to all participants (even if, for example, 10 cars collided in one pile, everyone must put it up). And in general, this traffic police fine is not always issued at the scene of an accident.

Let’s not forget all the driver’s responsibilities after an accident:

• immediately turn on the emergency lights after an accident,
• do not touch the car in certain cases,
• call the traffic police,
• and a number of other requirements of paragraphs 2.5-2.6.1 of the Rules.

For moving the car

What is the fine : 1,000 rubles.

If you got into an accident and removed the car when it was impossible to do this, then Part 1 of Article 12.27 also applies here.

But the responsibilities of the traffic rules establish the following:

• The driver involved in the accident must stop and not move the car immediately after the collision,
• if there are no injuries or fatalities, then all participants must photograph or video record the circumstances of the accident and remove cars from the road if they interfere with the flow of traffic,
• if there are injured/dead, then do not touch the car,
• but if there are victims, if they need to be taken to the hospital and it is impossible to do this by passing cars, then you can go with them to a medical facility, but then be sure to return to the scene of the accident.

For blocking a road or tram tracks

What is the fine : 1,000 rubles plus payment for tram downtime (if there was one).

The same fine is provided for failure to fulfill duties after an accident in the form of, on the contrary, an uncleaned car. From the list above you understand that the driver is obliged to remove the car from the roadway if 3 conditions are met:

1. there were no injuries in the accident,
2. the vehicle blocks the road - that is, interferes with the movement of other cars (forces them to change speed or trajectory) - including even in courtyards, parking lots and parking lots,
3. Before removing the car, photos or videos of the circumstances of the accident were taken.

Here, however, there is a small flaw in the traffic rules: tram tracks are not a carriageway. At the same time, clause 2.6.1 obliges the participant in the accident to remove the car only from the roadway. However, in 2021 practice this also works for paths.

In cases where there are injuries or deaths in the accident or it is impossible to record the circumstances of the incident, it is prohibited to remove the car. And therefore, a fine is possible here for stopping on tram tracks and, as a result, trams downtime after an accident.

For malfunctions after an accident

How much is the fine : from 500 rubles to deprivation of rights.

We are talking about damage from an accident, with which you will have to choose: either drive home, risking a fine, or call a tow truck. And the range of punishment amounts here is quite wide, since there can be a wide variety of such injuries.

But most often a fine of 500 rubles is provided under Part 1 of Article 12.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for non-compliance of the technical condition of the car with the Basic Provisions of the Traffic Regulations. Let's list the most common ones:

• after an accident, you are driving without a headlight or taillight in the dark, or without both headlights in the daytime,
• the tires on the wheels or rims are damaged,
• you are driving without a rear view mirror,
• the sound signal is broken,
• the mudguard fell off,
• Seat belts jammed.

Please note that in the event of an accident, a fine for such conditions will be illegal. In this case, you will have the opportunity to repair the damage on the spot, and the traffic rules in paragraph 2.3.1 give you the opportunity to proceed to the place of repair or parking.

But if your bumper falls off after an accident, and license plates are attached to it, and you are driving without them, then you can easily be deprived of your license (Part 2 of Article 12.2). In this case, you can avoid a fine by fixing the registration signs as approximately as possible in the place where they should have been if you were driving with a bumper.

For calling the traffic police in a minor accident

In this case there is no fine and cannot be. Although, in practice, on the roads, when you try to call employees, they will most likely put all possible pressure on you so that you register according to the European protocol. They can also force you to come to the department, instead of going to you when called.

You can refuse the European protocol, even if all legal conditions for the possibility of its registration are met. Just like you can use a loophole in the law to avoid a trip to the traffic police. Everything is very simple - in both cases, when calling the traffic police, simply indicate that you do not have a pen and sheets of paper to record eyewitnesses and participants in the accident, as required by paragraph 2.6.1 of the Rules, and also do not have means for photographic recording.

What is the penalty for leaving the scene of an accident?

What is the punishment : from deprivation of rights for 1-1.5 years or arrest for up to 15 days to imprisonment for up to 15 years.

It is better not to hide from the scene of an accident. This is because, having left, you don’t know if there are people injured in the accident. After all, in this case you will face criminal prosecution.

Meanwhile, there are 2 situations when leaving the scene of an accident is not punishable:

1. if you were forced to take the victims to the hospital, provided that after this you immediately returned to the place,
2. if there is no guilt in leaving the scene of an accident, this is a large number of cases, and all of them are considered individually in the courts (for example, if you did not notice a collision in a minor accident or were forced to chase after a second participant who was hiding).

We discussed in more detail the options for avoiding punishment for driving away with an accident in a special article about this.

As for punishments, they depend on the presence of victims and dead and the degree of harm to health.

• If the accident is minor without injuries or fatalities, or if the harm to health is slight or moderate, and one of the participants (not necessarily the culprit) fled the scene of the accident, then you face deprivation of rights for a period of 1 to 1.5 years or arrest for up to 15 days under Part 2 of Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
• In case of serious harm to health, leaving the incident will threaten the culprit with Part 2 of Article 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation with a maximum penalty of up to 7 years in prison.
• The same circumstances, but if someone died in an accident, will lead to Part 4 of the same criminal article - a maximum of imprisonment of up to 12 years.
• And if several people died, then the culprit can be imprisoned for up to 15 years under Part 6 of Article.

Classification of types of liability

Russian legislation in terms of traffic violations provides for three types of liability for those responsible for road accidents.

Civil responsibility

According to it, the culprit of the incident is obliged to compensate the injured party for the harm he caused in full (Civil Code of the Russian Federation, Article 1064. “General grounds for liability for causing harm”).

Administrative responsibility

Applies to those responsible for road accidents who also violated traffic rules. According to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, Chapter 12: “Administrative offenses in the field of road traffic,” four types of liability may be applied to the perpetrators:

1Fine from 500 to 30,000 rubles.

2Deprivation of driving privileges: from one month to two years.

3Arrest for up to 15 days.

4 Mandatory correctional labor for a period of 100 to 200 hours.

These types of liability apply in cases where there are no fatalities in an accident and in the case of no serious harm to health. It should be remembered that the fine to the culprit of the accident for an accident can be paid in half within 20 days from the date of the decision on the fine (Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, Article 32.2, Part 1.3).

Criminal liability

Occurs for the culprit in an accident when serious harm to health is caused to one or more persons or when the death of this person or persons occurs. Alcohol intoxication aggravates the guilt and increases the punishment of the culprit (Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, Article 264. “Violation of traffic rules and operation of vehicles”).

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How much is the sanction if the culprit was drunk?

How much is the fine : from 30,000 rubles with deprivation of rights from 1.5 to 2 years to imprisonment for up to 12 years.

And now we look at the same list above - the same measures of responsibility will be applied to the culprit if he did not leave the scene of the accident, but also turned out to be in a state of intoxication based on the results of an examination by the arriving traffic police officers. Of course, except for cases where there were no injuries in a minor accident or there were moderate or minor injuries. In this case, Part 1 of Article 12.8 of the Code of Administrative Offenses is applied with a fine for driving while intoxicated in the amount of 30 thousand plus deprivation of rights for 1.5-2 years.

Let us note that a separate sanction will also follow for a traffic violation that caused an accident (the state of intoxication itself cannot be such a cause).

That is, in fact, for a drunken accident there will be more stringent penalties than if the culprit was sober.

What is the fine if you get into an accident without a license?

And in this case, no more severe punishments will follow for those injured or killed in road accidents, as well as for property damage caused. However, in addition to the fine for the violation that caused the incident, the culprit will be fined for driving without a license.

But here you should understand what exactly is meant by lack of rights:

• if you forgot your driver’s license at home or lost your driver’s license (even though you have the right to drive), you face a fine of 500 rubles or a warning under Part 2 of Article 12.3 of the Administrative Code,
• in the event that you have never received a license, or your license has expired, or your license was suspended for medical reasons, then the fine after an accident will be from 5 to 15 thousand under Part 1 of Article 12.7,
• if you are deprived of your rights (provided that you are driving sober), then Part 2 of the same article is applied with a sanction of 30,000 rubles (or administrative arrest for up to 15 days or compulsory work for 100-200 hours).

What happens if you get into an accident without a license?

If a citizen, while driving a car without a driver's license (VL), becomes a participant in a road incident, then the extent of responsibility will depend on whether he is the guilty party or the victim. Let's consider both options.

1. A citizen without rights is an injured party. In this case, he will be charged under Part 2 of Art. 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses: “Driving a vehicle by a driver who does not have documents for the right to drive it ... entails a warning or the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of five hundred rubles.” A fine of up to 15,000 rubles if the citizen does not have a driver’s license at all or they are expired (Part 1 of Article 12.7 of the Administrative Code). The consequences of an accident for a driver deprived of his license are a fine of up to 30,000 rubles (Part 2 of Article 12.7 of the Administrative Code).
2. Cause of an accident without a license. This scenario involves imputation of guilt according to the following legal norms:
   compensation for damage (Read the article on the legal portal www.consultant.ru, Article 1064 of the Civil Code);
3. administrative liability for violation of traffic rules resulting in a collision (Chapter 12 of the Administrative Code);
4. criminal punishment if serious harm to health is caused or in the event of the death of one or more people (Article 264 of the Criminal Code);
5. penalties described in the previous paragraph (for the injured driver).

What are the fines for traffic violations in road accidents? Table

Now let's look at the list of sanctions for the most common violations, which often directly cause a collision with cars or other vehicles.
Table of fines for violations in road accidents

As we noted above, the traffic police may impose other fines when certain violations are detected after an accident (for example, for the lack of a compulsory motor liability insurance policy).

Fines for road accidents

Let's consider the most frequent and severe fines for road accidents provided for violators. The amounts of all fines can be found in the table of fines.

Provoking an emergency

Fine for creating an emergency on the road (Article 12.14 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) - warning or fine of 500 rubles

Road accident with victims

• minor harm to health: fine 2500 - 5000 rubles;
• average harm to health: fine 25,000 - 30,000 rubles and deprivation of rights for 12 - 18 months;
• serious harm to health: from a fine of 2,500 rubles to, deprivation of a driver’s license and imprisonment for up to 7 years.

Failure to keep distance

The fine for failure to keep the distance is 1,500 rubles (Article 12.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

Failure to comply with road markings and traffic signs

Amount of punishment for ignoring traffic rules when driving along the road lane and making turns, U-turns and other maneuvers:

• driving along the dividing marking line - a fine of 500 rubles;
• failure to turn on the turn signal when changing lanes or other maneuver - a fine of 500 rubles;
• making a turn or U-turn from a lane not intended for this maneuver - a fine of 1,500 rubles;
• driving in a bus lane - fine 1500 - 3000 rubles;
• driving on bicycle and pedestrian paths - fine 2,500 rubles;
• overtaking a vehicle through a continuous road - a fine of 5,000 rubles or deprivation of rights for up to 6 months.

Who will be discharged if the guilt is mutual?

The participants are mutually guilty when they are all found to have violated the Rules. But you should not confuse together violations that did or did not cause the accident. For example:

• if one inexperienced driver was moving in reverse and the other did not turn on the turn signal, then the person driving in reverse will be considered the culprit in the accident,
• if the first participant was driving without a license or drunk, and the other interfered with him, then the one who did not give the advantage to the drunk will be found guilty (although the drunk driver will be charged with a violation),
• and if the first one was driving in reverse, and the second one was changing lanes, then the fault is mutual.

If both drivers are guilty, fines are issued to both drivers. The obligation to compensate for damage is also established for both: either half the amount of damage (if there are two participants), or to a certain extent based on the degree of guilt (this is established only by the court).

How to avoid punishment and leave without a fine?

In 2021, legislation provides the opportunity not to call traffic police officers to the scene of an incident. In this case, the fine will not be issued to anyone, because, in fact, there is no one to assign it to.

Thus, drivers can draw up a European protocol, but subject to the following conditions:

1. damage was caused only to cars (no other damaged property),
2. no injuries or deaths,
3. 2 vehicles collided
4. The accident was not non-contact,
5. both have valid MTPL insurance,
6. the circumstances do not give rise to disagreements, including regarding guilt (or if there is disagreement, the accident was registered using the application).

Drawing up a European protocol is the best working way to avoid a fine for an accident. But please note that you also may not write it, but only if the conditions listed above are met - this is what clause 2.6.1 of the traffic rules says.

Regression under OSAGO

Do not forget also that, in addition to a fine for committing an accident, in some cases the culprit may face a recourse claim from the insurer. This is when the insurance company under your MTPL policy pays compensation to the victim, but then collects the entire amount from the guilty party.

This happens in the following cases:

• if the accident occurred due to the intent of the culprit, and there were injured or dead,
• if the driver fled the scene of the accident or was drunk or refused a medical examination,
• if the participant was not included in the policy as allowed to manage,
• if the person did not have a driving license (not to be confused with a driver’s license),
• if you have drawn up a European protocol, but did not provide your car for inspection at the insurer’s request or have it repaired within 15 calendar days after the accident,
• if your diagnostic card is expired and the accident occurred due to a malfunction of your car (valid only from March 1, 2022),
• When purchasing a policy, you provided inaccurate information in the application for its purchase, which resulted in a reduction in the cost of insurance.