Delivered and left: the Russian Armed Forces ordered drivers to return to the scene of an accident

The driver who took the injured in the accident to the hospital is obliged to report the incident to the police and return to the accident site. Otherwise, he faces deprivation of his rights. This is the conclusion reached by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Lawyers and experts remind the motorist to notify the police about any, even the most minor, accident, especially about an accident with injured people. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

He took me to the hospital

In April last year, on one of the streets of Sevastopol, a car driver ran over a minor cyclist. The motorist decided not to wait for an ambulance and took the victim to the hospital in his car. Subsequently, the magistrate's court found him guilty under Part 2 of Article 12.27 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation ("Leaving the scene of a traffic accident in violation of traffic regulations, in which he was a participant") and deprived him of his rights for a year.

Photo: TASS/Alexey Belkin

The driver tried to challenge this decision in the district Court, and then in the Fourth Court of Cassation of General Jurisdiction. He argued his position by saying that he did not violate traffic regulations, but, on the contrary, acted in accordance with them and, being in an emergency situation, took the victim to a medical facility. However, the courts did not agree with this argument. As a result, the motorist filed a complaint with the Supreme Court of Russia (SC RF).

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Not convinced

After reviewing the case file, the Supreme Court concluded that the motorist still violated the requirements of the traffic regulations. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation agreed with the lower authorities and considered the driver's arguments that, by leaving the scene of the accident, he acted in a state of extreme necessity, since he took the minor injured in the accident to the nearest polyclinic, groundless.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Eduard Kornienko

"After the vehicle came into contact with the cyclist <...> the driver did not report the traffic accident to the police, after delivering the victim in his vehicle to the nearest medical organization at the scene in order to wait for the arrival of police officers, he did not return," the court ruling says.

Thus, the motorist violated the requirements of paragraph 2.6 of the traffic regulations, for which he was brought to administrative responsibility in the form of deprivation of a driver's license, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation established. As a result, the Supreme Court rejected the driver's complaint and upheld the decisions of the lower courts.

At least tell me...

The supreme and lower courts have made a decision consistent with the letter of the law, said Sergei Radko, a lawyer for the Freedom of Choice movement. According to clause 2.6 of the traffic regulations, in case of an accident with injured people, the driver is obliged to provide them with first aid, call paramedics and the police to the scene. In emergency situations, he must send them by passing transport to the nearest medical facility, and if this is not possible, take them there in his car.

— However, the same paragraph of the traffic regulations states that in such a situation, the driver, having informed the doctors of his data and information about the vehicle, is obliged to return to the scene of the accident. The motorist who took the cyclist to the hospital did not comply with this traffic requirement, which became the reason to consider him to have fled the scene of the accident and to impose on him the punishment provided for this offense in the form of deprivation of his rights, Sergei Radko told Izvestia.

Photo: Global Look Press/Petrov Sergey

According to the lawyer, in order not to violate traffic regulations, the driver in such a situation should at least report the incident to the police.

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The traffic police still received information about an accident with a victim — doctors, when accepting a patient with characteristic injuries, are required to report this to the police, said Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine. Since they did not learn about the incident from the driver and he was not at the scene of the accident, they drew up a protocol stating that the participant in the accident had disappeared, which formed the basis for the decision to revoke his license, the expert said.

— In a human way, I even feel sorry for the driver: after all, in fact, he did not hide, but tried to help the victim in the accident as much as possible. But from the formal point of view of the law, the motorist committed an offense, for which he was punished," Maxim Kadakov told Izvestia.

Always call

Police officers should be informed about any, even the most minor, incident on the road, the editor-in-chief of Za Rudem reminds. And in a situation where there are victims in an accident or even suspicion of victims, a call to 112 is mandatory, he emphasizes. Having recorded the incident, the operator will tell the driver what to do next: stay at the scene of the accident, drive off the roadway or drive up to the police department to process the necessary documents, Maxim Kadakov explained.

Photo: Moscow City News Agency/Mobile Reporter

— Even if a pedestrian, cyclist, scooter rider or other road user, after a collision, relatively speaking, dusted off his trousers and went about his business, it is necessary to immediately report the incident to the police. A person who doesn't seem to have any injuries can lose consciousness by walking around a corner. If in this case the driver decides that everything is fine and leaves, it will be almost impossible for him to avoid responsibility for leaving the scene of the accident in the future," Maxim Kadakov believes.

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All calls to the 112 service are recorded, Sergey Radko reminds. In case of any further questions related to leaving the scene of the accident, this recording will serve as proof that the motorist reported the accident and he had no intention of hiding from the police and trying to avoid responsibility, the lawyer explained.