There are actually many cases when a driver leaves the scene of an accident. Of course, most of them happen for certain reasons, for example, the driver did not have a driver's license or insurance, he was drunk, or there was a serious accident with loss of life.
In such cases, the driver faces serious punishment, including criminal prosecution and prison time. However, there is a small percentage of drivers who do not understand that an accident has occurred, and accordingly leave the scene, being fully confident that they have not violated anything and have not offended anyone.
What could threaten a person in such a situation who has left on his own business without understanding what he has done, and how can such issues be resolved? Let's figure it out.
What to do if you left the scene of an accident without noticing damage
Not every contact with another vehicle may be noticed by the driver. As a result, most problems arise for responsible car owners. Most often, they are faced with a situation where they scratched someone else’s car, but did not notice it themselves and left the scene of the accident. That is, in a particular case there is an unintentional offense.
Leaving the scene of an accident, regardless of its severity, is an administrative offense. Responsibility for it is regulated by the Code of Administrative Offenses (Administrative Code, paragraph 2 of Article 12.27). Therefore, the perpetrator needs to know how to minimize the severity of the consequences of his unintentional offense. In this case, everything depends on the efficiency of the victim. If he realizes that he has become involved in an accident and promptly addresses this problem to the relevant authorities, then he must be prepared to bear responsibility.
However, in some cases, luck may smile on the offender. If the driver hit the car and disappeared without causing heavy damage to the victim’s property or causing harm to human health, then this offense has the status of an administrative one. There is a certain statute of limitations for it, after which claims cannot be brought against the culprit. This is stated in Art. 4.5 Code of Administrative Offenses (clause 1) :
A decision in a case of an administrative offense cannot be made after two months (in a case of an administrative offense considered by a judge - after three months) from the date of commission of the administrative offense... for violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation on road safety...
That is, if more than 2 (or 3, if the case was heard in court) months have passed since the moment of a minor accident, then the culprit can simply forget about the incident.
If the statute of limitations has not yet passed, then the law-abiding citizen who is at fault for the accident, in order to mitigate the punishment, must voluntarily appear at the traffic police and report the act committed if he somehow learned about it. According to Art. 4.2 (parts 1.3, 1.4) of the Administrative Code , this is a mitigating circumstance:
Circumstances mitigating administrative liability are recognized as: ... 3) voluntary reporting by the person who committed the administrative offense to the body authorized to carry out proceedings in the case of an administrative offense, about the administrative offense committed;
4) assistance by the person who committed the administrative offense to the body authorized to carry out proceedings in the case of an administrative offense in establishing the circumstances to be established in the case of an administrative offense.
conclusions
Unless the drivers came to an amicable agreement after the accident, or drew up a European Protocol, you need to wait for the inspectors to arrive. For unauthorized leaving, the county faces liability. This is a fine + deprivation of rights/arrest. Punishment can be applied to the perpetrator within 3 months if there are no serious consequences and within 2-10 years if there are victims. Damages can be recovered within 3 years.
What happens if you flee the scene of an accident without knowing that you hit a car?
The consequences of such an incident can be more than serious. For those who still do not know the consequences of unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident in 2021, we recommend that you refer to the legislative framework. The essence of paragraph 2 of Art. 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses has an unambiguous interpretation:
Leaving by a driver, in violation of the Traffic Rules, the scene of a traffic accident in which he was a participant, in the absence of signs of a criminal offense, entails deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of one to one and a half years or administrative arrest for a period of up to fifteen days.
The punishment for the culprit of an accident for escaping from the scene of an accident in a parking lot is similar to the punishment for the same violation on the road. At the same time, no consideration is given to the fact that the perpetrator may not have noticed the incident. If there were witnesses to the accident, the culprit can be determined quite quickly.
However, this is not all the consequences of the offense when the driver left the scene of the accident without permission. In such a situation, the insurance company has the right to shift the responsibility for making insurance payments to the driver who did not notice the accident and disappeared.
How to prove innocence
In order for the court to believe that leaving the scene of an accident was unintentional, and the accident was caused by negligence, a certificate from the meteorological service about heavy precipitation or fog on the day of the incident is presented, which explains the difficulty of reviewing the road situation.
Prove that when minor damage was caused, you did not hear any characteristic metallic sounds or loud music playing inside the car.
A big plus in court proceedings is the absence of claims from the injured party. For this purpose, damages caused are compensated.
If, using the results of the examination, it is possible to convince that the damage is minimal, then the judge may close the case due to the insignificance of the harm caused.
If there are victims or dead, it is almost impossible to prove innocence.
It is difficult to defend your rights on your own, so you need to contact a lawyer who specializes in automotive matters.
When can you leave the scene of an accident?
You should know that even moving your car a few meters to the side before the arrival of traffic police officers (or drawing up a European protocol) is interpreted by law as leaving the scene of an accident. Therefore, this cannot be done, even if the incident causes a traffic jam, until the accident is recorded by the traffic police or a European protocol is drawn up.
Section 2.6 of the Traffic Regulations prescribes when you can leave the scene of an accident before performing the above actions:
If people are killed or injured as a result of a road traffic accident, the driver involved in it is obliged to: ... in emergency cases, send the victims on a passing one, and if this is not possible, deliver them in his vehicle to the nearest medical organization ... and return to the scene of the incident; clear the roadway if the movement of other vehicles is impossible, having previously recorded, including by means of photography or video recording, the position of the vehicles in relation to each other and road infrastructure, traces and objects related to the incident.
Conclusion - you can leave the scene of an accident in the following situations:
- The participants in the accident mutually agreed that the damage was so insignificant that the fact of the incident did not need to be recorded. The best option in such a situation is the mutual exchange of receipts confirming the absence of claims against each other. This is necessary to prevent possible misunderstandings in the future;
- The drivers (participants in the accident) by mutual decision decided not to involve traffic police officers, but to draw up a Europrotocol. After recording all the details of the incident using a written description in the Europrotocol, video or photography, drivers can leave the scene of the accident;
- Those involved in the accident called the traffic police. They can leave the scene after the fact of the accident has been recorded by police officers and verbal permission has been received;
- If necessary, take the injured participant in the accident to a medical facility. institution or clear the road for the movement of other vehicles.
All other reasons for fleeing the scene of an accident are illegal, and in such cases you will have to bear responsibility.
Legal terms and requirements for participants in road accidents
As in any legal dispute, first of all, it is necessary to operate with legal definitions, which will become the main criterion determining the severity of the committed act and the degree of responsibility.
We remind you that ignorance of laws and regulations does not exempt you from legal liability.
So, what do the Road Traffic Rules say? First of all, we recommend that you pay attention to the main definitions, and the following provisions should be highlighted under paragraph 1.2 of the current and relevant traffic rules for 2021:
- Road traffic accident
an event that occurred during the movement of a vehicle on the road and with its participation, in which people were killed or injured, vehicles, structures, cargo were damaged, or other material damage was caused.
- Parking (parking space)
a specially designated and, if necessary, arranged and equipped place, which is, among other things, part of a highway and (or) adjacent to the roadway and (or) sidewalk, shoulder, overpass or bridge, or which is part of overpass or under-bridge spaces, squares and other street objects road network, buildings, structures or structures and intended for organized parking of vehicles on a paid basis or without charging a fee by decision of the owner or other owner of the highway, the owner of the land plot or the owner of the corresponding part of the building, structure or structure.
- Adjacent territory
territory directly adjacent to the road and not intended for through traffic of vehicles (yards, residential areas, parking lots, gas stations, enterprises, etc.). Movement in the adjacent territory is carried out in accordance with these Rules.
Based on this, you should not count on the fact that a seemingly minor incident in a parking lot will pass without consequences. The judge hearing the case did not notice the argument and left the scene of the accident will not have any impact, you will be found guilty. This situation can only be corrected with professional legal support.
Legal consultation
Get qualified help right now! Our lawyers will advise you on any issues out of turn!
To get a consultation
Judicial practice on unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident
Judicial practice on hiding from the scene of an accident has many examples. Most often, the occurrence of such situations is provoked by drivers’ ignorance of traffic rules.
Example one . Gr. Ivanov, driving out of the supermarket parking lot, slightly touched the fender of a standing car with no one in it. Gr. Ivanov decided to take his 3-year-old child, who was with him, home and return to the parking lot. To this end, he left a note with his phone number under the windshield wiper of the car he scratched. Arriving at the parking lot, the owner of the damaged car called the traffic police. Despite the fact that the culprit returned to the scene of the incident, he was deprived of the right to drive a car for a year in accordance with Art. 12.27 Code of Administrative Offences. The court did not recognize the reason for leaving the scene of the accident as valid.
Example two . Gr. Sidorov, making maneuvers to leave a parking spot in his yard, backed up and bumped his rear bumper into his neighbor’s car. Without noticing this, he left for work. Some time later, he received a call from an acquaintance who saw what happened. Gr. Sidorov voluntarily came to the traffic police department, where he informed the employees about the current situation. As a result, after the trial, taking into account mitigating circumstances (Article 4.2 of the Administrative Code), the court did not deprive Ms. Sidorov driver's license.
The conclusions from all of the above are clear - you need to not only be extremely careful, but if ambiguous situations arise, find the courage to return to the scene of a possible incident to find out if everything is in order. If there has been minor damage to someone else’s property, and someone can confirm this, you should immediately report to the traffic police.
If you want to be charged with alcohol intoxication
The Supreme Court ruled that a person can be recognized as drunk only based on the results of appropriate examinations. The testimony of witnesses is not evidence of being under the influence.
Therefore, if a person who has disappeared is found a long time after the accident, it is very difficult to prove that he was drunk. However, if the offender’s severe intoxication with pronounced signs is captured on video, then the court may take this into account as a serious aggravating circumstance.
Article on the topic: The whole truth about punishment for a drunk driving accident: when, for what and what it will be + accident statistics
Additional nuances on the issue discussed can be gleaned from the video:
Mitigation of guilt
If there is no chance of avoiding liability or they are small, you can resort to voluntary compensation for the damage caused and covering all expenses for the injured party.
Try to resolve the issue of compensation for damage directly with the victim by ensuring that he will file a petition to drop the charges against you, motivating this by reconciliation of the parties and settlement of the material side of the case.
However, in this case, in order to avoid an unexpected turn of events against you, stick to your line in court until the end and do not admit guilt.
