Unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident

Judicial practice on unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident

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Road users are required to follow the same rules of behavior regardless of the location of the collision: on the highway, on the streets of a populated area, in a parking lot or in the yard of their own home. If the case does not allow them to draw up a European protocol, then they should wait for the traffic police officers and complete all the necessary documents.

If any of them leaves before the police arrive, then his actions can be regarded as an offense that entails administrative liability. The driver is subject to one of two punishments: deprivation of the right to drive a car or administrative arrest.

Many people are interested in whether the reasons that prompted the participant in the accident to commit these actions will be taken into account? Will he be punished if he leaves the scene of the accident for compelling reasons?

How to prove unintentional leaving the scene of an accident

It is not possible to talk about illegal leaving the scene of an accident by a person in all cases. For example, if, as a result of an accident, serious bodily injury was caused to people or someone died, then there can be no excuse for the person responsible for the accident. The court may recognize his behavior as unintentional if only the vehicles of the participants in the accident were damaged in the accident and minor damage was caused to them.

When assessing the behavior of the perpetrator of an accident, the opinion of the injured party is of no small importance. Therefore, the first step is to take measures to resolve relations with the party injured in the accident: compensate for the damage caused. The absence of material claims from victims is regarded as a mitigating circumstance and is taken into account by the court when determining the penalty.

The following facts are also of great importance:

sincere repentance of the culprit of the accident;
his full admission of guilt.

At the same time, explain the reasons that led to the accident. For example, confirm that on the day of the accident there were poor weather conditions and visibility on the road was poor. To do this, obtain a certificate from the local weather service.

Please note the statute of limitations. If they have expired, then the question of administrative liability is removed. For cases of this category it is equal to three months.

Let's look at a few examples from judicial practice in cases of drivers leaving the scene of an accident.

Example 1. A minor collision between two cars occurred on one of the streets of St. Petersburg. The culprit of the accident did not notice the moment of the collision and continued further movement. The injured car owner called the traffic police. As a result of the measures taken, the culprit was identified and deprived of the right to drive a car for one year.

Disagreeing with this decision, the person responsible for the accident appealed it. When the case was re-examined, he admitted his guilt. By this time, they had also compensated the injured party in full. The victim in court did not insist on punishing the culprit of the accident and did not object to his release from liability.

Taking into account all these circumstances, the city court limited itself to issuing a verbal warning to the culprit of the accident. This example highlights the importance of finding a common language with the party injured in an accident.

Example 2. An accident occurred in Novosibirsk involving a bus and a car. The bus driver left the scene of the accident because he did not notice what had happened. The driver of the car was forced to call the traffic police. Administrative proceedings were initiated against the bus driver. The victim wrote a statement asking for the case to be considered without his participation.

In court, the person responsible for the accident managed to prove that he did not notice the accident, since the victim did not give any signals to attract his attention. This circumstance was confirmed by the testimony of witnesses. In court, the culprit of the accident confirmed his desire and availability to fully repay the damage he caused.

How is an accident reported without the traffic police?

Read here what to do after drawing up a European protocol in case of an accident.

The judge dismissed the case, considering that the actions of the person responsible for the accident did not constitute an administrative offense. This example demonstrates the possibility of proving the absence of intent in leaving the scene of an accident.

A review of judicial practice shows that the opportunity to avoid liability or mitigate punishment is possible only when it comes to minor damage caused to the property of participants in the accident. In fatal accidents or when there is damage to the health of road users, leaving the scene of an accident does not go unpunished.

Practice of court decisions on leaving the scene of an accident

When considering cases in courts, it is important to establish the following circumstance: did the culprit of the accident intentionally leave the scene of the accident or did he not do it on purpose.

Example 1. Under certain circumstances, a person who left the scene of an accident will be liable not only under an article of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation. His actions may contain signs of such a criminal offense as leaving a victim in danger.

The driver of a car ran over a pedestrian crossing the road at night. Frightened, he fled the scene of the accident, leaving the victim unconscious. The accident occurred on a highway where traffic was limited at that time of day. Therefore, the victim was taken to the hospital only several hours later by the truck driver who discovered him. Despite the assistance provided, the victim died.

The forensic medical examination established that timely medical assistance would have saved his life. The culprit of the accident was charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: under Art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for violating traffic rules and under Art. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - leaving the victim without help. By a court verdict he was sentenced to imprisonment for a significant period.

Example 2. Otherwise, criminal cases are completed in which the fact that the culprit of the accident left the scene of the accident due to his carelessness is proven. After a minor collision, he continues to move along the road, not noticing that he hit a car driving nearby. In one of these cases, the driver was convicted under Art. 12.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

The convict turned to a lawyer for help. The forensic examination concluded that contact between the two vehicles could not be ruled out. It was not confirmed that the vehicles collided. The lawyer believed that there could not have been a collision between the cars of the victim and the person found guilty.

An independent examination confirmed that if there was damage to the victim’s car, we can say that the collision occurred with another car: the location of the manipulator hooks of the car responsible for the accident did not correspond to the location of the damage to the victim’s car.

Witnesses testified that they themselves were not eyewitnesses to the collision. But they assumed that it happened only after the alarm was turned on by a certain sound. In court, it was established that at that time construction work was being carried out at the accident site and the alarm could have been triggered by the noise of the tools used by the workers. The driver was found not guilty.

Evidence of innocence of leaving the scene of an accident for trial

The person who left the scene of the incident has the opportunity to prove in court that he is not guilty of this.

There are certain cases when the culprit of an accident leaves the scene of the accident, but he is not brought to administrative or criminal liability:

if an accident occurs in the middle of the road, the parties can record the incident by video or photography, and then pull over to the side of the road. Thus, they remove obstacles to traffic and their actions to leave the scene of an accident are recognized as justified;
if the culprit of the accident left the scene of the collision to take the victim to the hospital to provide him with medical care;
if on the way to the hospital he commits an accident, then the court may acquit him, since the violation was due to the need to quickly deliver the victim to a medical facility;
if there was a small collision that could go unnoticed by the culprit. This happens quite often. Under such circumstances, the best way to resolve the situation is to have an agreement between the perpetrator of the accident and the victim on the peaceful settlement of all issues, including property issues.

The opinion of the victim is of great importance for the court when making a final decision in the case. If the culprit left the scene of the accident for the reasons stated above, then he should subsequently immediately report to the traffic police, write a statement in writing and indicate the reasons why he had to leave the scene of the accident.

The court will take into account all the circumstances of the accident: weather conditions, the severity of the damage caused, the behavior of the culprit of the accident, his admission of guilt and the presence of remorse for his actions.

The law provides for the possibility of dispensing with traffic police officers if no more than two cars are involved in an accident, there are no injuries to those involved and there is minor material damage. In this case, you can limit yourself to drawing up a European protocol.

Unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident

Road traffic accidents happen quite often. They can happen on the highway, in the yard, in the parking lot, when leaving the garage, and so on. Leaving the scene of an accident by one of the drivers is considered a serious administrative offense, for which in most cases the right to drive a car is deprived.

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However, in some cases, leaving the scene of an accident may be considered unintentional. What are these situations, and what responsibility is provided for the offender?

What is considered unintentional abandonment?

Leaving the scene of an accident may be considered unintentional if for some reason the driver did not notice the accident.

Such reasons may be:

poor visibility on the road due to weather conditions;
loud music in the car, making it difficult to hear extraneous sounds;
a minor accident that was not accompanied by grinding, knocking, and so on.

The driver of the vehicle that drove away will have to prove that the scene of the traffic accident was not left intentionally, either independently or with the help of lawyers.

The decision on the classification of the offense and the method of punishment is made by the judicial authorities.

Leaving the scene of a road accident (according to existing legislation) is possible in the following cases:

minor accident, when the decision to compensate for damage is made on the spot without drawing up any documents. Such a development of the situation may not turn out in favor of the culprit, since the victim may remain at the scene of the accident and call the traffic police;

It is almost impossible to prove legality in such cases. Therefore, when reaching an agreement, it is recommended to take a receipt from the victim, which will indicate the place and time of the accident, the damage received and the amount of compensation for damage.

drawing up a European protocol, which serves as a document about a traffic accident. A European protocol can be drawn up without traffic police officers if the accident occurred between two vehicles, the damage caused was less than 50 thousand rubles, there were no injured people, both drivers have valid MTPL policies and there are no disagreements between the participants in the car accident (clause 2.6.1. traffic rules and article 11.1 of the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance);
the driver of one of the vehicles left the scene of the accident in order to deliver the injured person to a medical facility to provide prompt medical care;

After visiting the hospital, the driver is obliged to return to the scene of the collision and then take part, together with traffic police officers, in the investigation and registration of the accident (clause 2.6 of the traffic rules).

There is a need to clear the road from congestion as soon as possible. Before removing the vehicle to another location, it is necessary, in the presence of witnesses, to take a photo or video of the accident scene (draw up a diagram) and all objects that are of any significance during the investigation.

All documents must have the signatures of 2–4 witnesses, as well as their contact information (Traffic Regulations clause 2.6.1). In case of failure to comply with the requirement to clear the roadway, the driver may be subject to a fine of 1,000 rubles (Article 12.27 of the Administrative Code).

All other situations will be regarded as leaving the scene of a road accident, and will be punished in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Punishment for unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident

For unintentional leaving the scene of an accident, the punishment in 2018 is similar to the punishment for intentionally leaving the scene of an accident (Article 12.27 of the Administrative Code). This is due to the fact that the concept of “unintentional abandonment” itself is not provided for by law.

For an offense the perpetrator may be:

placed under arrest for up to 15 days;
deprived of the right to drive any motor vehicles for a period of 1 year to 1 year 6 months.

However, if you prove unintentional departure from the scene of a traffic accident, you can get off with a small fine ( no more than 1,000 rubles or a verbal warning).

It should be noted that the legality of the actions will have to be proven in court.

In case of a minor incident

One of the ways to avoid serious penalties for leaving the scene of a traffic accident is to be able to prove that the specified incident is minor, that is, as a result of the accident, minimal damage was caused to the car, and no people were injured.

In such a situation, it is recommended to use the results of an independent examination, as a result of which the damage was determined. In most cases, the court issues a verbal warning.

In order to correctly conduct a line of defense during the investigation of an offense, it is recommended to use the services of lawyers who are thoroughly versed in this topic. It is practically impossible to prove the legality of actions on your own.

With the victims

A car accident in which there are injuries is a more significant crime. It is almost impossible to prove that leaving the scene of a traffic accident was unintentional.

The only aspect that can mitigate a court sentence is providing first aid to the victim.

In such situations, in most cases, the driver who left the scene of the accident will have his driver's license revoked. The period of deprivation will depend on other circumstances of the incident in question.

Other circumstances that may mitigate liability in the event of an administrative offense (leaving the scene of a road accident) include (Article 4.2 of the Administrative Code):

timely repentance of the lawbreaker (preferably at the stage of preliminary investigation);
elimination of the essence of the offense without law enforcement agencies (return to the scene of the accident);
independent reporting of the act to the traffic police;
assistance in the investigation conducted by traffic police officers;
voluntary compensation for damage caused at the investigation stage;
committing a violation of established rules in a state of passion (strong excitement caused by certain reasons);
commission of a crime by a minor;
commission of an offense by a woman who is pregnant or has a young child.

In any case, it will not be possible to completely avoid responsibility.

What kind of assistance is provided to the family of a person killed in an accident, read here.

Fatal

Fatal road accidents are among the most serious types of offenses related to non-compliance with traffic rules.

It is impossible to talk about unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident in this situation, since only serious accidents can lead to death.

Leaving the scene of a traffic accident will be regarded by investigative authorities as an attempt to evade responsibility, which will inevitably lead to an increase in the term of restriction of freedom when the final sentence is pronounced.

How to prove

It is not possible to prove unintentionality of leaving the scene of a road accident in the presence of injured people or in the event of the death of one of the victims.

Therefore, we can talk about proving the unintentionality of an offense committed under Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses only in the case of causing minor damage to another car.

In any situation, it is recommended to come to a common decision with the injured party and then appeal these facts during the trial.

The first thing that needs to be done is to compensate for the damage caused. This aspect will be considered as a desire to resolve the issue without the participation of law enforcement agencies, which refers to mitigating circumstances.

Next, it is recommended to convince the court:

in awareness of the degree and severity of the offense;
in the repentance of the culprit;
in admitting his guilt.

If there is a lack of visibility, you can refer to bad weather conditions, having first obtained a certificate from the local weather station. But the most important thing remains to resolve the issue with the victim.

Each administrative offense has its own statute of limitations (Article 24.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), after which charges cannot be brought.

Violations provided for in Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (leaving the scene of an accident) have a statute of limitations of 3 months (Article 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).

Examples from judicial practice

In modern judicial practice one can find many examples related to the consideration of such offenses as leaving the scene of a traffic accident. Here are some of them.

(proves the need for dialogue between participants in the accident).

St. Petersburg 2012.

On one of the city streets there was a minor accident between two cars belonging to private individuals. The driver of one of them left the scene of the crime because he did not notice what had happened. The driver of the other car called the State Traffic Inspectorate.

As a result of the investigation and examination, the vehicle that left the scene of the accident was found. The magistrate made a decision to deprive the driver of the right to drive for a period of 1 year.

However, the accused filed a cassation appeal. During the retrial of the case, the accused fully admitted his guilt and compensated the injured party.

At the court hearing, the driver of the damaged vehicle stated that he had no claims against the culprit and did not object to his release from administrative liability.

The city court decided to overturn the magistrate's decision and will limit itself to issuing a verbal warning.

(about unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident)

Novosibirsk city

On a busy street in Novosibirsk, a minor collision occurred between a regular bus with a capacity of 100 passengers and a passenger car. The bus driver left the scene of the accident without noticing what had happened. The driver of the car resorted to the help of the traffic police.

As a result, a case of administrative incident was filed against the bus driver. The victim (motorist) was not present at the meeting, having previously allowed the case to be considered without him.

The bus driver proved that he did not notice the fact of the accident, since the bus was quite large, and the driver of the car did not give any signals that could attract his attention (which was confirmed by witnesses).

The damage caused to the vehicle is not significant and I am ready to compensate for the damage in full. The judge decided to terminate the administrative prosecution due to the absence of a violation.

Leaving the scene of an accident can only be considered minor in the case of a minor car accident. If there are injuries or death is caused, leaving the scene of the collision is considered intentional and is an aggravating factor that negatively affects the punishment.

From judicial practice it becomes clear that with a skillful approach to the presentation of evidence, it is possible to soften the existing legislation.

You will find the criteria for determining serious harm to health in an accident in the information.

Video: If you are accused of leaving the scene of an accident (05/25/12)

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What to do if you didn’t notice and left the scene of an accident

Not only a newcomer on the road, but also an experienced motorist may encounter situations in which his actions may be qualified as intentional or unintentional leaving the scene of an accident. And this carries with it quite a serious responsibility, which (under favorable circumstances) can only be avoided with qualified legal assistance.

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 2019:

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.

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.

Possible liability

Let us note the fact that violations of this class, even if it seems to you that you are not guilty of anything, imply quite serious liability, which is defined in the article.

Leaving the scene of a traffic accident in which he was a participant in violation of the Traffic Rules by the driver 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.

Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Law No. 195-FZ of December 30, 2001) paragraph 2

This is why you should take your actions even in the event of a minor (in your opinion) accident seriously. Get off with the fine provided

Failure by a driver to fulfill the duties provided for by the Traffic Rules in connection with a traffic accident in which he is a participant, except for the cases provided for in Part 2 of this article, shall entail the imposition of an administrative fine in the amount of one thousand rubles. In most cases, it will not work, because it mainly concerns the requirements for installing an emergency sign and the need to clear the roadway when it is impossible for other vehicles to pass, while performing a number of actions.

Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (Law No. 195-FZ of December 30, 2001) paragraph 1

In what cases is it permissible to leave the scene of an accident?

Let us note right away that even changing the position of your car and moving it a few meters away is considered leaving the scene of an accident. Even in this case, traffic police officers may make claims against you. Current traffic rules allow you to drive away from the scene of an accident in the following cases (clause 2.6):

in emergency cases, send the victims along the way, and if this is not possible, deliver them in your vehicle to the nearest medical facility, provide your last name, registration plate of the vehicle (with presentation of an identification document or driver's license and registration document for the vehicle) 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, and take all possible measures to eliminate them preservation and organization of a detour to the scene of the incident;

In addition, if two cars were involved in the accident, the participants in the accident have no disagreements, then you can fill out the Europrotocol and solve the problem without involving traffic police officers. If you complete all the actions prescribed by the registration procedure, you will be able to leave the scene of the incident without further problems.

What can you do if you unintentionally leave the scene of an accident?

There are situations when you really didn’t notice and left the scene of an accident. In this case, there are several legal ways to correct the situation. We emphasize that we are talking about minor incidents, as a result of which no people were injured, and the damage caused was small.

No one has abolished the statute of limitations for administrative offenses. For situations of this kind, it is 2 or 3 months (for consideration in the traffic police and court, respectively), as specified in Article 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

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 (regarding administrative offenses provided for in Articles 12.8, 12.24, 12.26, Part 3 of Article 12.27, Part 2 of Article 12.30 of this Code).

Proceedings in a case of an administrative offense cannot be started, and the started proceedings are subject to termination in the presence of at least one of the following circumstances: 6) the expiration of the statute of limitations for bringing to administrative responsibility.

Part 2, clause 6, art. 24.5 Code of Administrative Offenses (part one, paragraph 6)

Effective protection can be obtained by counting on mitigation of administrative liability, but for this you will have to appear at the traffic police yourself.

The following circumstances are recognized as mitigating administrative liability: 1. repentance of the person who committed the administrative offense; 2. voluntary cessation of unlawful behavior by the person who committed the administrative offense; 3. voluntary reporting by a person who has committed an administrative offense to the body authorized to carry out proceedings in the case of an administrative offense, about an administrative offense committed; 4. assistance by a person who has committed an 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; 5. prevention by the person who committed the administrative offense of the harmful consequences of the administrative offense; 6. voluntary compensation by the person who committed the administrative offense for the damage caused or voluntary elimination of the damage caused; 7. voluntary execution, before a decision is made in a case of an administrative offense, by a person who has committed an administrative offense, of an order to eliminate the violation issued to him by the body exercising state control (supervision); 8. committing an administrative offense in a state of strong emotional excitement (affect) or due to a combination of difficult personal or family circumstances; 9. commission of an administrative offense by a minor; 10. commission of an administrative offense by a pregnant woman or a woman with a young child.

Article 4.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation

In any case, you can count on a favorable outcome of the case only if your interests are represented by a competent lawyer. Practice has shown that 90% of cases of self-defense for offenses of this nature do not bring a positive result. Therefore, if you find yourself in a similar situation, trust an experienced lawyer.

This is 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.

Deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for a period of 1 to 1.5 years or administrative arrest for a period of up to 15 days.

Left the scene of an accident without noticing the incident: responsibility and procedure

Since many mistakes are made while driving, you need to know how to correct them. This article will describe in detail what is the best thing to do if you fled the scene of an accident without realizing that this was what it was. Of fundamental importance in such a situation is the fact of the voluntary appearance of the offender. In some cases, those who provoked an accident even manage to avoid punishment. Read about all this, as well as when you can leave the scene of an accident, in our review.

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) :

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.

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 2019, we recommend that you refer to the legislative framework. Creature 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.

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.

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.

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What happens if you didn’t notice an accident and drove away: judicial practice

It is difficult not to notice a collision with another car. This is evidenced by a blow, a change in the trajectory of movement, and characteristic sounds. In 99% of cases, if a driver leaves the scene of an accident, he will be punished under Part 2 of Art. 12.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. You can avoid deprivation of rights if you prove the absence of guilt. Read the article on how to protect your rights if you didn’t notice the accident and drove away.

Is your license revoked if you leave the scene of an accident and don’t notice any damage?

Yes, they are deprived, and it is extremely difficult to challenge the court’s decision. The law harshly prosecutes drivers who try to escape from the scene of an accident without taking part in paperwork or providing assistance to victims. I would like to note right away that an attempt to avoid punishment for violating traffic rules in this way is almost always doomed to failure. According to video cameras, recorders and eyewitness testimony, the driver who left will be quickly found and his license will be deprived for a period of 1 to 1.5 years.

Here's what the law says about leaving the scene of an accident:

clause 7.2 of the traffic rules stipulates that every participant in an accident is obliged to immediately stop his car, not move it, put up emergency signs, and turn on the alarm;
You can leave the scene of the accident or move the car if this is required to deliver victims to the hospital or remove obstacles to the movement of other cars;
according to paragraphs 2.5-2.6.1 of the traffic rules, if one of the participants left the scene of the incident, a traffic police inspector must be called.

Note! Notification of an accident, including under the Europrotocol program, is not issued unilaterally. It is understood that the absence of the second driver means that he deliberately disappeared, trying to avoid punishment and establishing a picture of the incident. Even if there were legal grounds for leaving the scene of the collision, the departing car owner will have to prove his innocence.

Upon the absence of the second driver, a protocol is drawn up under Part 2 of Art. 12.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. If the accident results in the death of people or serious harm to health, a criminal case is initiated. Since the potential culprit is absent, he is deprived of the opportunity to immediately present evidence in his defense and explain that he unintentionally drove away from the scene of the accident without noticing the damage.

In legal proceedings, the legality of drawing up the protocol can be challenged. Practice shows that only in exceptional cases will the court take into account the arguments of the offender. However, using the Supreme Court Resolution dated September 22, 2016 in case No. 38-AD16-5, and other judicial acts, it is possible to build a line of defense and prove that leaving the scene of an accident occurred unintentionally. It is almost impossible to do this without the support of a lawyer, so immediately contact experienced specialists.

In what cases can you not notice the damage and drive away?

If we consider cases where a car owner deliberately flees the scene of an accident, it is difficult to prove innocence and avoid deprivation of rights. The only real defense may be the expiration of the statute of limitations for prosecution. However, traffic police specialists have long stopped making basic procedural errors; they transfer administrative material to the court immediately after establishing the identity of the violator.

We will figure out how you can prove that you left the scene of an accident without noticing the fact of the collision and damage. In practice, such cases may arise:

due to the insignificance of contact between two vehicles - for example, a second of friction between cars, contact with a bumper or other part of the car;
due to noise from road traffic, when the characteristic sounds of crackling, ringing, grinding are objectively impossible to hear;
due to the specific dimensions of your vehicle (for example, in case No. 38-AD16-5 we were talking about a trolleybus, whose dimensions and design create many blind spots);
in a non-contact accident when damage is caused to only one car - for example, if a load flying off your car damages another car.

Without noticing the external manifestations of the contact and the resulting damage, you may not pay attention to the signals of the victim and other road users. The situation will be even more difficult when there was no driver in the damaged car (for example, if it was parked on the road or in another place).

Legal advice . Having unintentionally left the scene of an accident, you cannot immediately indicate the absence of fault in the protocol and notice. Therefore, it is important to receive subpoenas, notifications from the traffic police or from the insurer in a timely manner. Knowing the date of the hearing, you can prepare evidence and find an experienced lawyer. Having ignored participation in the court of first instance, it is much more difficult to succeed on appeal.

If you find damage to the car already in the garage or after stopping, study the recording on the DVR (if you have one). Try to remember the entire path of movement, the possible location of the collision. It would be wise to return along the route. If the accident happened in the next few minutes or hours, there is a possibility that your absence has not yet been noticed. In this case, call the traffic police inspector yourself and participate in drawing up the protocol. It is easier to pay a fine for violating traffic rules than to prove innocence when deprived of rights under Art. 12.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

How to prove innocence if you drove away and didn’t notice the accident

If you have received a subpoena, we advise you to come immediately and familiarize yourself with the case materials and make copies of documents. This will allow you to assess the seriousness of the charges, choose a defense tactic, prepare evidence, and contact a lawyer. In my practice, there have been cases when a completely unrelated driver was brought to justice. The victim’s video recorder showed only the general outline and color of the culprit’s car, without license plate numbers or other identifiers. When considering this case, all doubts were interpreted by the court in favor of the client, and we achieved a refusal to deprive of rights under Art. 12.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.

Legal advice . It is quite difficult to establish the identity of a driver who left the scene of an accident. It is almost impossible to prove who exactly was driving using camera or dash cam recordings. Therefore, traffic police officers have the right to draw up a protocol against the owner of the car if the evidence contains a license plate number or other identifier. The owner will have to prove that the car was driven by another person by proxy.

Based on the case materials, you can begin preparing for the trial. As stated in the Resolution in Case No. 38-AD16-5, the guilt of violating traffic rules lies in the deliberate nature of leaving the scene of the accident. The driver must be aware that he is breaking the law, knowingly allowing it to happen, or demonstrating indifference. If you did not notice the accident and drove away, you can prove the absence of guilt in the following ways:

order an examination of the damage to your car (they may not coincide with scratches, cracks or other defects on the victim’s car);
provide evidence that on the day specified in the protocol you were in another city or region (for example, on a business trip);
provide a description of the road situation at the scene of the accident, i.e. constant and active traffic, the presence of noisy production, railway transport routes;
describe the design features of your vehicle that make it impossible to see some damage and impact locations;
take to court a recording from your registrar, which does not contain any external manifestations of impacts or collisions;
call witnesses who also did not notice the moment of contact with another car (for example, you can invite the passengers of your car).

Note! The law obliges to interpret all doubts and inconsistencies in the case in favor of the offender. It is difficult to count on this in the first instance, but higher courts can evaluate such moments. Therefore, when speaking during the trial, insist that all your arguments and explanations be included in the protocol.

If you were driving public or official transport, take your waybills and route certificates to the court. This will confirm that even without noticing the damage and leaving the scene of the accident, you acted unintentionally and followed the usual route of travel. You can also refer to the post-trip inspection, which did not reveal any damage to the body or parts of the vehicle.

Is it possible to challenge the punishment?

Even after presenting the above evidence, it is impossible to guarantee a positive outcome of the case. It is better to consider in advance the prospects for further appeal if you are deprived of your rights under Part 2 of Art. 12.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. If there are documents, records and your explanations in the case materials, they must be referred to in complaints. Naturally, at all stages of the appeal, use the support of a lawyer, as you will have to use additional defense options.

Arbitrage practice

To this article we have attached a copy of the Resolution of the RF Supreme Court in case No. 38-AD16-5. Be sure to look into it if you are charged with leaving the scene of an accident. Although the court considered a specific case regarding a trolleybus driver, most of the conclusions can be applied to other situations. We also recommend that you study our previous material, in which we talked about methods of defense in case of deprivation of rights for fleeing the scene of an accident.

Judicial practice in cases when it comes to unintentionally leaving the scene of an accident takes into account the following points:

consistency of the defendant’s position (for example, if from the first day onwards you stated in documents that you unintentionally drove away without noticing the accident, and did not change your position);
lack of direct evidence that it was your vehicle that caused damage to the victim’s car;
bias and one-sided description of the circumstances of the accident made by police officers (for example, if recordings from video recording cameras from the road were not requested, eyewitnesses were not interviewed).

Remember, if the driver left the scene of an accident without noticing the collision or damage, he is not guilty of violating traffic rules. By starting your defense in a timely manner, you will be able to achieve a positive court decision.

If you need help with Part 2 of Art. 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, although you left the scene of an accident without noticing this moment, contact our lawyers. Consultation can be obtained by calling the numbers listed on the website or using the feedback form. Do not delay contacting lawyers, as this will reduce the chances of fighting off the deprivation of rights.