What happens if you flee the scene of an accident?

Leaving the scene of an accident is a punishment in 2019

An accident is a nuisance from which no driver is insured. Traffic rules regulate the actions of a driver who is involved in a traffic accident and oblige him to take the necessary measures, including providing assistance to victims. If the instructions are not followed, the consequences may be unfavorable for the driver.

For leaving the scene of an accident, punishment is provided for in Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The second part of this article describes in detail what happens when, in a state of shock or on purpose, a driver leaves the scene of an accident. If you leave the scene of an accident, the driver may be subject to one of the following penalties in 2019:

After fleeing the scene of an accident, the punishment is deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for a period of 1-1.5 years;
or
Administrative arrest for 15 days.

If you are wondering what the fine is for this, then you should know that the current legislation does not indicate that the driver must pay a fine for driving away after an accident without stopping and without checking to see if there were injuries or property damage.

When leaving the scene of an accident for a legal or illegal reason, as well as being an innocent person, it is important to remember that without documentary evidence of the incident there is a high probability of:

be found at fault for the accident;
answer administratively for leaving the scene of an accident;
compensation for damage to the car, for moral damage caused, as well as for damage to health, up to lifelong recourse.

To avoid this, it is better to stay at the scene of the accident and, if possible, hire a lawyer who will arrive at the scene of the accident to monitor the correctness of the paperwork and give useful advice.

What is the basis for punishment?

The extent of liability is determined in court. The basis for considering a case in court is a protocol drawn up by traffic police officers. Evidence of guilt can be the testimony of witnesses, eyewitnesses, video from digital media (dash cams, traffic cameras). In 95% of cases, accidents are solved by investigators, and the culprit is found.

Often, in a state of shock, when a person leaves the scene of an accident, he drinks. Clause 2.7 of the traffic rules indicates the prohibition of taking alcoholic beverages, narcotic, psychotropic or any other drugs until the examination is completed. Such violations only aggravate the situation and may result in additional penalties in the form of a fine for drunk driving.

What terms are acceptable for punishment?

In cases where a person leaves the scene of an accident irrevocably, hides from responsibility, there are exceptions to the rules that remain unpunished. These exceptions include an expired statute of limitations. The completed departure from the scene of the accident is recorded by the traffic police, after which they begin interviewing witnesses to find the offender. For search work, bringing charges against the culprit who did not remain at the scene of the accident, in accordance with Art. 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation is given 90 days (3 months). After the statute of limitations has expired, it is illegal to bring any charges against the driver and draw up an administrative offense resolution in his name.

When is the driver responsible?

If a person driving a car that was involved in a traffic accident leaves the scene for reasons that are not listed in the traffic rules, his actions are regarded as a crime. For leaving the scene of an accident in 2019, persons who fled in a car in such situations, even if they are not the owners of the vehicle, bear full responsibility.

Leaving the scene of an accident is not justified even if the driver is in a hurry to get to a flight, meeting or other events, even if he stopped and left his data, coordinates, contact numbers, and business card.

By not remaining at the scene of the accident, a person can affect the mitigation of liability. This requires a confession, assistance in the investigation, and voluntary compensation for damage. Partial justification for the fact that a person did not stay at the scene of an accident can be a serious mental state, being a minor, or being pregnant.

In what cases is liability not provided?

There are situations when the driver is not responsible for not stopping or leaving the scene of the accident. Such situations include the following situations.

When an accident occurred, but the drivers were able to come to an agreement, they have no claims against each other regarding the circumstances that occurred. You can leave the scene of the accident if there are no casualties in the incident. In such a situation, it is advisable to draw up a diagram of the arrangement of cars after the accident at the scene of an accident, indicate on the diagram the road markings, street names, house numbers, road signs and other important information. Each driver must have a diagram signed by both parties involved in the accident. Driving away from an accident will be legally correct if both drivers go to the nearest traffic police station, where they draw up documents.

When, at the scene of the accident, the drivers mutually decided to file an accident according to the European protocol (filling out a notification of an accident, which the insurer will rely on). Under MTPL, such a procedure is allowed when only 2 cars, the owners of which have a valid MTPL policy, were damaged at the scene of an accident. There should be no people injured or injured at the scene of the incident. In this case, leaving the scene of the accident is possible, and the drivers should not have any claims against each other, and the nature of the damage should be agreed upon.

Often in court, the driver is justified by the fact that he was forced to leave the scene of an accident in order to deliver the victim of an accident or collision to the hospital. In this case, having left the scene of the incident, the driver is obliged to return after the person is taken to a medical facility for emergency assistance. Before leaving, it is important to document (indicate on the diagram) the position of the car on a video or photo camera. At the scene of an accident, objects should be left in the position in which they were after the accident. To prevent them from interfering with other traffic participants, according to clause 2.5 of the traffic rules, it is necessary to provide a detour for transport.

It is not considered a crime punishable under Art. 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, when a vehicle responsible for or involved in an accident is removed from the road in order to clear the roadway for traffic flow, but the driver himself remains in place. Before removing a car, its location must be described in a document or recorded in any other way. It is undesirable to move when there are no eyewitnesses to the accident, and also when the drivers have disagreements regarding the guilt and causes of the accident.

Having left the scene of an accident in other situations, the driver will be charged with leaving the scene and punished in accordance with the law. When the driver leaves the scene of an accident, only after the investigation is it determined whether there is a crime or its absence for the reasons provided for by the Traffic Rules. The final verdict on whether the driver’s actions were lawful or unlawful, and what the punishment for leaving the scene of an accident will be, is determined by the court.

Knowing whether it is possible to leave in the event of an accident and in which specific cases liability does not arise for leaving the scene of an accident without authorization, you can avoid punishments and deprivation of rights.

What does a driver face if he fled the scene of an accident: fine, liability

Even the most disciplined and law-abiding driver in the first minutes after an accident, especially a serious one, will have a thought: “Should I drive away from the scene of the accident, in case they don’t get caught?” Some, in a state of emotional turmoil, implement this risky plan into reality. What are the risks and is it possible to avoid punishment? Let's figure it out.

The thought of fleeing the scene of an accident occurs to many drivers, especially if other cars and people were seriously injured due to their fault.

Road accidents, as defined by the Road Traffic Rules, include events that occur with the participation of a vehicle and cause damage to cars, cargo, structures, and cause harm to the health and life of people. The obligation to remain at the scene of a road incident for all drivers - both the perpetrators and the victims - is established by the Russian Traffic Regulations.

According to the traffic rules, after an accident occurs, its participants must take a number of measures , such as:

take care of the victims (provide emergency assistance, call a medical team, take them to the hospital);
record the circumstances of the accident by photographing/videoing and drawing up a diagram;
clear the road of cars so as not to impede traffic;
find witnesses and record their contact information;
call the police or agree with other participants in the car accident to independently resolve the conflict, draw up a European protocol.

If the driver leaves without complying with these requirements, he will face inevitable punishment.

Why do motorists flee the scene of an accident?

Drivers leave the scene of an accident for various reasons:

Intentionally leaving the scene of an accident

Most often, those involved in an accident try to escape because they hope to avoid responsibility for the traffic violations they committed, damage to property, and harm to the health and lives of people. This mistake is especially often made by those responsible for accidents who are intoxicated.

Unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident

It is not always the case that a driver fleeing the scene of an accident wants to escape responsibility.

Sometimes the culprit of an accident simply does not notice that he damaged someone else’s car.

For example, when leaving a parking lot, it hits the bumper or mirror of a nearby car and scratches the body. The owner of the damaged car is not nearby, the alarm does not work. The guilty driver does not notice that he has damaged someone else’s property and goes about his business with a calm soul. Another situation is also possible. After the accident, the drivers agreed to resolve the conflict without involving the insurance company and the traffic police, exchanged phone numbers and parted ways. But one of them, after some time, came to the scene of the accident again and called the police. The second one was automatically considered to have fled the place where the road incident occurred.

When the accident is not serious, the driver can leave the scene of the accident without noticing the damage caused to someone else’s car

If the driver left the scene of the accident without malicious intent and can prove it, then it is likely that the court will acquit him.

How will they punish a driver who left the scene of an accident without injury or death?

In paragraph 2 of Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, we read that a driver who does not remain on the spot after a traffic accident that does not contain signs of a criminal offense is deprived of the right to drive a car and other vehicles for 1-1.5 years. He may also be arrested, the period of arrest will be a maximum of 15 days.

How will a driver who leaves the scene of an accident with dead/injured be punished?

If people were injured or killed in a car accident, then the punishment for it is no longer established by the Code of Administrative Offenses, but by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Article 264). In this case, leaving the scene of the accident will be regarded as an aggravating circumstance, equivalent to being behind the wheel while intoxicated. You can see the penalties in the table.

will be sent to perform forced labor. Maximum period – 3 years

deprived of freedom. Maximum term – 4 years

In both cases, the person responsible for the accident is prohibited from working in certain positions or performing a number of activities for up to 3 years.

imprisoned for 2-7 years;
will be banned for up to 3 years from working in a number of positions or carrying out certain types of activities.

imprisoned for 4-9 years;
will be banned for up to 3 years from working in a number of positions or carrying out certain types of activities.

How is the punishment given?

A traffic police inspector may issue a fine for failure to perform actions related to an accident in the amount of 1,000 rubles. Decisions on all other types of punishment (forced labor, deprivation of a driver's license, arrest) are made only in court.

A negligent driver's license can only be revoked through court

As for the terms of sentencing, they are as follows:

no more than 2 months are given to obtain a decision in administrative cases (Article 4.5 of the Administrative Code);
3 months are allocated to obtain a court order and punish the culprit;
the decision on the offense (Article 12.8 and Article 12.24 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) must be issued within 1 year.

When should you leave the scene of an accident?

if a car accident is registered without the participation of the traffic police - after drawing up a European protocol and transferring it to the nearest police department or traffic police post;
if a car accident is registered with the participation of the traffic police - after drawing up and signing a protocol on an accident , a protocol on an administrative offense. Law enforcement officers can detain a participant in a traffic conflict. The grounds for this may be, for example, the driver’s lack of documents, his potential danger to surrounding people, etc. Part 1 of Article 27.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses establishes the maximum period of administrative detention. Participants in an accident cannot be forced to remain at the scene of the accident for more than 3 hours from the moment the traffic police are notified of the traffic accident.

If people are seriously injured in an accident, the participant in the accident can take them to a medical facility in a personal car. He must immediately report the traffic incident to the traffic police or the police and, after handing over the victim to medical workers, immediately return to where the accident occurred. If this is not done, the driver may be considered to have fled the scene of the offense.

Can a driver who leaves the scene of an accident go unpunished?

If the scene of the accident was left unintentionally and the culprit manages to prove this, for example, using recordings from surveillance cameras or testimony of witnesses, then the court may rule in favor of the driver.

You can also avoid punishment if the culprit of the accident has compelling reasons to leave the scene of the accident. For example, he was transporting a seriously ill person to the hospital and, having had an accident, did not stop to carry out the actions prescribed by the traffic rules. But if the driver did the same thing, being late for a meeting or to the airport, this will not be considered a valid reason, since there was no threat to human life.

Thus, in order to avoid punishment, it is necessary to prove to the court that the driver left the scene of the car accident without malicious intent.

What is the statute of limitations for leaving the scene of an accident?

Article 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation states that the decision on the punishment for administrative offenses must be made within up to 3 months . If during this time the judicial authorities have not issued a ruling on arrest, deprivation of rights, or assignment to forced labor, sanctions for disappearing from the scene of an accident will no longer follow.

But you need to remember that even after 3 months, the injured party can demand compensation from the driver for the damage that was caused to her as a result of the car accident. The deadline for filing a claim in court, according to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 196), is 3 years from the date of the incident . And if there are injuries or deaths as a result of an accident, the statute of limitations for criminal cases applies - from 2 to 15 years, depending on the severity of the crime (Article 78 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

In an attempt to avoid responsibility by leaving the scene of an accident, most drivers only increase their punishment.

Leaving the scene of an accident is a big mistake. It is almost impossible to remain unpunished today, when CCTV cameras are installed almost everywhere and cars are equipped with GLONASS systems. Therefore, flight will only aggravate the punishment that awaits the culprit of the accident. Remember this and follow traffic rules and laws.

If you fled the scene of an accident? Punishment, what to do and how does it work?

Accident with a getaway

Hiding from the scene of an accident is a serious administrative offense in 2019, and in some cases, a criminal act. That’s because in the case when a driver left an accident, there is no way to determine whether he was sober or drunk, and thus legislators closed the loophole when it was easier for drunk participants in an accident to leave. If the driver fled the scene of the accident, he faces punishment, but what awaits the victim? In this article, we will consider from both sides what to do both for the driver of the car who left the incident and for the participant who remained at the scene, and we will also find out whether it will be possible to receive payment under compulsory motor liability insurance if the person who escaped was not found. For quick navigation, you can go directly to the right place in the article if you left the accident or if you remained at the scene and the other participant left.

I’m standing at the scene of an accident, the second participant has left – what should I do? Quick response

If you are right now standing at the scene of an accident where the other party has disappeared, then delay can cost a lot of money. Therefore, we will try to quickly answer your question, but we need to find out some of the circumstances of the accident.

What will happen next?

Next will be a search for the person who left. The search can last up to 2 months (in exceptional cases the period can be extended to 3 months). But let's face it, traffic police officers very rarely effectively search for a getaway driver. Most often this is an office and formal procedure. This is true, because if you don’t have a video recorder and you don’t have a captured face of the person who left, it’s almost impossible to bring him to justice - only if he doesn’t confess. Therefore, very often such drivers are not found.

How to look for someone who has disappeared?

But your task is only the license plate number of the car. Therefore, it is better to start searching yourself.

Inspect the nearest yards from the scene of an accident with a getaway driver. It often happens that he lives nearby, but does not repair the damage.
Check for CCTV cameras around. Ask their owners not to delete and prevent the video from being re-recorded with the date of your incident. Then contact the traffic police in writing with a statement about the presence of a video recording of the accident and demand that the video recording be seized for an administrative investigation.

If you yourself find a car with damage from your traffic accident, then take a photo of it and, better yet, film it. Then also contact the traffic police with a written statement about this.

Your task is to ensure that the documents about the accident include a car with license plates, not necessarily the driver. In this case, you will be able to receive insurance compensation.

Speaking of compensation.

Is it possible to receive payment under OSAGO?

Yes. But only in 3 cases:

the owner of the driven away car has a valid MTPL policy,
the car of the person who fled the scene of the accident was identified by license plate number, and it is indicated in the ruling or resolution, copies of which must be given to you in order to receive compensation under compulsory motor liability insurance,
if compensation is claimed by the injured person or relatives of the deceased.

In the first case, all you need to do is identify the car of the person at fault for the accident, since compulsory motor liability insurance is the civil liability of the car owner.

But in the second case, you will receive compensation from the Russian Union of Auto Insurers as a compensation payment. But only a person who has suffered health damage in an accident has the right to compensation. For example, a pedestrian who was hit. If you are a driver, you can expect compensation only for damage to your health, but not for damage to your car.

This is precisely what is indicated by numerous judicial practices in 2019 led by the Supreme Court, which in one of its Plenum Resolutions stated literally the following:

45. Under a compulsory insurance contract, the insured is the risk of civil liability when operating a specific vehicle, therefore, if an insured event occurs either as a result of the actions of the policyholder or as a result of the actions of another person using the vehicle, the insurer is not exempt from paying insurance compensation .

He fled the scene of the accident. Is it possible to avoid punishment?

A traffic accident always happens unexpectedly and at the wrong time. Finding yourself in a stressful situation, the driver, often not knowing how to get out of a difficult situation, does not think through leaving the scene of the accident.

Many participants in an accident make a hasty decision to leave the scene, having received verbal agreements or believing that it was a setup, and, as a result, are charged with trying to evade justice.

The law provides for severe punishment for such acts. But what should a would-be driver do in this situation, how to solve the problem. Despite the seemingly hopelessness, legal practice shows that there is always a chance to soften the fate. We propose to examine the question in more detail.

What's the threat? Consequences

In the previous article, we examined in detail the question of what is considered leaving the scene of an accident and what are the consequences, in which cases you can safely leave without waiting for the traffic police to arrive, and what actions need to be taken for this in order not to subsequently have problems with the law.

The punishment for leaving the scene of an accident directly depends on the severity of the incident and the presence of victims:

Administrative liability , if the road accident is minor and there are no serious injuries among people;
Criminal liability if people are killed or seriously injured in an accident.

Remember, the traffic rules stipulate the following procedure, which is mandatory for all participants in the incident.

Tips on how to avoid punishment

If you are involved in an accident and for some reason leave the scene of the accident, take into account the following recommendations:

It is better to give up the idea of reporting to the traffic police. The rule of sincere repentance mitigates guilt will not work here.
Over the next 3 months, strictly follow traffic rules to minimize the risk of being stopped by a traffic police inspector.
As an option, completely give up driving until the statute of limitations for administrative liability expires.
Avoid video recording cameras - if your car comes under the influence of equipment scanning the license plate of a passing vehicle to determine whether it is wanted, for example at a traffic police post, you will not be able to get away, the car will be stopped for inspection with all the ensuing consequences.
Do not attempt to make any transactions with the car (sale, inspection, etc.)

As soon as the required three months have expired, you need to come to the traffic police in order to remove your car from the wanted list. In this case, you will need to provide an explanatory note in which you state your ignorance of the incident.

We strongly recommend that you do not go to the traffic police on your own, but immediately seek legal support from a competent motor vehicle lawyer. By trusting a lawyer who will represent your interests both in the traffic police and directly in court, you will protect yourself from possible arrest. Contact our lawyers for free legal support.

If you failed to meet the allotted deadline and were nevertheless brought to justice, do not despair and immediately admit everything.

Line of defense

Despite the seeming inevitability of punishment, do not lose heart; with a competent approach to the matter, you can count on a reduced sentence. Seek free legal advice by submitting a request at the end of this article.

Experienced car lawyers will help you legally regain your rights, building your defense by adhering to the following tactics:

Failure to prove guilt is a presumption of innocence until the court is presented with indisputable evidence of the offense charged to you.
Procedural violations - any errors and inconsistencies in documents, acts, protocols can have a decisive role. It is necessary to identify the smallest inconsistencies in the completed papers (for example, when comparing existing damage to cars, there may be discrepancies in the description, and accordingly we can conclude that the damage was not caused by your car).
The insignificance of an accident in some cases may serve as a basis for complete exemption from punishment.
Retraining for another article.
No intention to hide . Leaving the scene of an accident with the direct intent to avoid responsibility is severely punishable, so it is necessary to prove that the accused does not have serious reasons to evade justice.
Collection of evidence . Seek an examination to collect evidence; it will not be difficult for a specialist to verify the damage; perhaps they are trying to present you with some old damage.

Watch a short video in which a lawyer shares his experience in winning cases:

To explain the principle by which car lawyers work, let’s look at some of the most typical situations using examples.

1. The culprit fled the scene without noticing that he had become a participant in the accident.

There is no visible damage to the culprit's car, and the driver claims that he did not feel the collision. In this case, it is necessary to focus on the insignificance of the accident and apply for exemption from punishment.

However, the situation becomes more difficult if there is evidence (video footage, witness testimony) that the culprit stopped, got out of the car, inspected the vehicle, and then deliberately left the scene of the incident.

2. The participants in a minor accident left without registration.

There are often cases when the accident is conditional, for example, in a traffic jam, the culprit lightly touched the bumper of the car in front. The participants stopped, found no visible damage and dispersed, having received verbal agreements. But the victim, having thought over the incident (after consulting with colleagues at work, her husband, etc.), fearing hidden injuries, reported to the traffic police, accusing the second one of leaving the scene of an accident.

In order to avoid punishment, the guilty driver will need to collect evidence in the absence of intentions to evade responsibility: find witnesses to the incident, pay for an examination of the car confirming the insignificance of the damage.

3. The participant in the accident moved the vehicle so as not to interfere with traffic.

However, these rule changes cause controversial issues among uninformed drivers. In practice, there were cases when the culprit of the accident agreed to admit guilt and persuaded the second participant to quickly remove the cars so as not to interfere with the passage, and then returned to the place and called the traffic police, accusing the second participant of leaving the scene of the accident. And in this case, without proper fixation of the position of the car during an accident and reference to the area, the injured driver became guilty.

In this case, it is necessary to appeal to the fact that the defendant had no intention to abscond from justice and insist on reclassifying the article to 12.27 part 1. Rearranging a car without properly recording the location of the accident should be regarded as a failure to fulfill the duties prescribed by law and be punishable by a fine of 1 thousand rubles.

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.

How cases are won

In conclusion, here are the main areas of protection that must be followed, depending on the specific case:

We bet on inadequate notice.
Bet on non-occurrence of an accident. We consider road accidents from the point of view of damage caused to vehicles. We compare the damage. We prove the impossibility of injury in this particular accident.
Incorrect registration of an accident.
Another driver is driving. This method of protection is possible in case of unlimited insurance.
Minor damage. With this method of protection, it is advisable to enlist the support of the injured party and settle all material issues with them. This method leads to financial losses on the part of the person who committed the accident, but allows you to remain with your rights.

If you have become a hostage of a situation and are facing deprivation of your rights, you cannot do without competent legal assistance. Seek advice from our legal experts, after analyzing the materials of your case, you will receive recommendations on what you can count on in your case and how to build a line of defense.

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

A road accident is a stressful situation for everyone involved. And each participant in the incident can behave differently - obediently await the arrival of the traffic police officers, blame other participants for the accident, or panic and hastily leave the scene of the accident.

Hiding from the scene of an accident

The driver who caused the accident and fled the scene of the accident does this in various situations:

Wanting to avoid liability for an accident after causing damage to a stationary vehicle. During an accident where the vehicle is only slightly damaged and the owner is not inside, the at-fault driver may attempt to flee the scene, hoping to avoid being noticed and apprehended.
Wanting to avoid liability for hitting a pedestrian. If a car was driving at low speed and hit a pedestrian without causing him severe harm, then the driver of this vehicle can flee the scene, hoping that the injured person did not remember the license plate number of the car and will not turn to law enforcement agencies to punish the culprit.
Leaving the scene for your own purposes, without noticing that a traffic accident has occurred.

Why you shouldn't leave the scene of an accident

The driver who caused the accident is not recommended to leave the scene for several reasons:

By remaining at the scene of the accident, you can provide medical assistance to the victim, saving his life.
Hiding from the scene of an accident is an indirect admission of guilt.
By remaining at the scene of the accident and agreeing with your guilt, you can hope for a mitigation of the punishment that will be chosen by the court.

Damage when leaving the scene of an accident

An accident results in various types of damage. It can be of two types: material (damaged to the car) and physical (damaged to the health of the participant in the accident). In each case, the injured party has the right to compensation for the damage received if the accident that occurred is documented (there is a traffic police report, a medical certificate about the state of health, a car service report on diagnosing the condition of the car after the accident).

If the victim has valid insurance, the amount of damage received will be compensated by the insurance company. If there is no insurance, then you can receive compensation for damage from the person at fault - this will be possible only after a trial, with the issuance of an appropriate court decision.

Responsibility for fleeing the scene of an accident

What is the penalty for fleeing the scene of an accident? The legislation provides for administrative and criminal penalties. The court's choice of punishment depends on a number of circumstances surrounding the accident.

A driver who leaves the scene of an accident who is at fault in an accident that does not result in death or serious bodily injury will be subject to administrative sanctions. They will be in the form of either a fine for fleeing the scene of an accident, or arrest for a period prescribed by law (provided by the Administrative Code).

If the driver fled the scene of the accident and left the victim with minor injuries, then the following sanctions will be applied to him, provided for in Art. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:

12 months imprisonment;
90 days of arrest;
12 months of forced labor;
12 months of correctional labor;
360 hours of compulsory work;
confiscation of wages in an amount equal to the six-month salary of the perpetrator;
80 thousand rubles.

If the culprit fled from the scene of the accident, leaving the victim with serious injuries, then the punishment provided for in Article 264 of the Criminal Code of Russia will be applied to him. The punishment will be as follows:

If the guilty person was sober. At the judge's choice - three years of imprisonment, two years of forced labor, 6 months of arrest, two years of imprisonment and a ban on holding high positions for three years.
If the person at fault was drunk. At the judge's choice - 4 years of imprisonment, three years of forced labor with a ban on holding a high position for three years.
If the guilty person was sober, but the accident resulted in death. At the judge's choice - 4 years of forced labor, 5 years of imprisonment.
If the guilty person was drunk, but the result of an accident was fatal. From 2 to 7 years of imprisonment and a ban on holding high positions for three years.

When can you leave the scene of an accident?

There are several situations in which a participant in an accident who caused an accident is allowed to leave the scene of the accident:

none of the participants in the accident received serious harm or moderate injuries, and the damage to the victim’s car will not amount to more than 25 thousand rubles;
the car with the traffic police officers did not arrive at the scene of the incident for a long time in order to draw up a report and identify the culprit, or did not show up at all;
the participants in the accident independently assessed the circumstances of the accident, drew up and formalized a diagram of the incident - then one participant went to the nearest police station or traffic police post, and the second (guilty) party left the scene of the accident;
the culprit urgently delivers the victim in his vehicle to the nearest medical facility - after delivering the person to the clinic and handing him over to the medical staff, the driver is obliged to return to the scene of the accident;
the culprit moves his car from the scene of the accident in order to free up the road lane for the movement of other cars - this is allowed to be done after photographing in the presence of witnesses the initial position of the vehicle at the time of the accident (this information will help the traffic police inspector draw up a report of the incident).

What to do if you fled the scene of an accident

Every citizen who unwittingly becomes a participant in an accident (perpetrator or victim) may face a situation where the driver who caused the accident disappears from the scene of the accident. How to behave in this situation? The line of behavior depends on the side (guilty or victim) in which a particular citizen finds himself.

What should the driver of the damaged car do?

A driver who finds himself in a situation where his car is involved in an accident due to the fault of others, and the at-fault driver fled the scene, will need to take the following steps:

designate the location of the accident - install an emergency stop sign and turn on the “emergency flashing” in the car;
make sure that no unauthorized person moves objects or machines related to the accident from one place to another;
take photographs (with a camera, phone) from the scene of the accident, draw a diagram of the accident (if the car has a blank sheet of paper and a pen or pencil);
call a traffic police inspector to the scene of the incident by telephone;
look for witnesses to the accident (if there are such persons) - the testimony of witnesses (verbal, written, on a video recorder) is strong evidence of the innocence of the victim and the guilt of the person who caused the accident;
record the scale of the accident and the extent of the damage received - this can be done through a photograph, a medical examination report (if the victim has bodily injuries), an entry in the protocol drawn up by the traffic police inspector;
concentrate and remember the maximum number of details related to the accident - the appearance of the culprit driver, information about the culprit’s car (license plate, make and color of the car).

What should a driver at fault in an accident do?

The driver who has committed an accident and left the scene of the accident should remember that such actions will only serve to increase punishment in the form of fines and deprivation of rights for fleeing the scene of an accident. To mitigate the possible punishment, such a driver will need to do the following:

Return to the scene of the accident.
Provide first aid to a citizen injured in an accident (if there is one and needs it). Call an ambulance (if necessary). Deliver the victim to a medical facility - if the victim requires urgent, qualified medical care.
Provide as much information as possible about the accident to the traffic police officer (verbal description of what happened, video from the dashcam).

Unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident

Unintentional leaving the scene of an accident is the departure of the driver for any reason due to which he did not notice the accident. The reasons may be as follows:

absence of any road signs;
loud music in the car, distracting the driver’s attention;
low level of visibility on the road (snowfall, rain, fog, night time).

Reference . What is the punishment for unintentionally fleeing the scene of an accident? The punishment is provided for by the administrative code of the Russian Federation (Federal Law No. 195 of December 30, 2001). Article 12.27 (clause 2) provides for punishment in the form of deprivation of a driver’s license for a period of 12-18 months or administrative arrest for 15 days.

Clause 2, Article 3.9, Federal Law No. 195 establishes that administrative arrest is not imposed on several categories of citizens:

pregnant women;
women with children under 14 years of age;
disabled people of groups 2 and 1;
citizens under the age of majority;
law enforcement officers (military, police).

To the citizens listed in paragraph 2, art. 3.9 of the Administrative Code, a different type of punishment is applied, provided for in paragraph 1 of the mentioned article. This will mean deprivation of a driver's license for 18 months and a fine of 1 thousand rubles.

Each participant in an accident has the right to count on payments from the insurance company under the current insurance. For this to happen, both parties must wait for the traffic police officers and sign the protocol they drew up.

If the culprit left the scene of the accident before drawing up the report and without having valid grounds for doing so, then the insurance company has the right to apply penalties to the mentioned person as provided for in the clause of the rules on compulsory motor liability insurance. Subparagraph “d”, paragraph 1, Article 14 of Federal Law No. 40 of April 25, 2002, allows the insurance company to demand compensation from the person responsible for the accident and who fled the scene of the accident for the amount of payments made by the insurer in favor of injured citizens.

Help from car lawyers

Participants in an accident where the guilty party fled the scene will need the help of a car lawyer in several cases:

the culprit wants to avoid responsibility or minimize responsibility as much as possible for fleeing the scene of an accident;
the culprit wishes to restore the selected driver’s license in the shortest possible time;
if the accused of fleeing the scene of an accident wants to avoid the maximum penalty by proving that he did it unintentionally;
it is necessary to appeal the verdict of the court of first instance in the case of fleeing the scene of an accident to a higher judicial authority;
you need to build a line of defense for the upcoming court hearings;
the victim, who does not have insurance, wants to receive compensation from the perpetrator for the damage suffered.

You can use the help of traffic lawyers online or during a face-to-face meeting. To order the service of a car lawyer, you will need to visit our office in St. Petersburg or call a lawyer by phone.