A car is not only convenient transportation, prestige and a beloved family friend. A moving car on the road is a source of increased danger. And pedestrians are the main risk group. Man is defenseless and fragile in front of moving tons of steel. This is why accidents involving pedestrians lead to dire consequences. In cases of collision with a pedestrian, the driver is almost always at fault and it takes a lot of effort to prove otherwise.
Have you ever needed the help of a car lawyer?
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Types of punishment
As a result of a collision with a vehicle, a pedestrian receives injuries, which are divided into:
- Light – when temporary disability lasted less than three weeks or without sick leave at all;
- Medium – if the treatment period is more than 21 days, but the victim has lost less than 1/3 of his total ability to work;
- Severe or incompatible with life.
The nature and severity of injuries is determined by a medical examination. The result directly determines which of the three codes the person responsible for the accident will be held accountable for.
Civil responsibility
Occurs in case of slight damage to the victim’s health, or no damage at all.
Measure of civil liability under Art. 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation – compensation for treatment costs and moral damage. The court may release the owner of the car from liability if he can prove that the accident occurred due to the fault of the victim. Article 1082 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation provides for the possibility of reducing compensation payments. The reason is the difficult financial situation of the person responsible for the accident or in the event of the accident being provoked by the victim himself.
Administrative responsibility
A collision with a pedestrian resulting in minor or moderate injuries is subject to administrative liability. The scope of punishment is regulated by Art. 12.24 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation:
- Fine 2500-5000 rubles. , in case of minor injuries;
- Fine 10,000-25,000 rubles. , in case of harm of moderate severity;
- Deprivation of a driver's license for a period of 1-2 years.
Criminal liability
If as a result of an accident the victim died or became disabled, criminal liability arises. According to Art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation the culprit faces:
- Imprisonment for up to 2 years, restriction of freedom for up to 3 years - if the victim is one person;
- Imprisonment term up to 7 years, conditional correctional period up to 5 years - if two or more pedestrians were injured.
The maximum sentence under Art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation – 9 years in prison if the driver was drunk and there were several injured pedestrians.
Also, the culprit of an accident with serious consequences is deprived of his driver’s license for 3 years.
Additional Responsibility
In a pedestrian collision case or a separate civil claim, the injured party has the right to seek recovery from the perpetrator:
- Cost of treatment;
- The amount of lost income due to loss of health;
- The cost of property damaged in an accident (bag, watch, phone, etc.);
- Monthly compensation if the family breadwinner died as a result of an accident;
- Costs associated with burial;
- Compensation for moral damage.
Registration of the incident
An inspection report is drawn up. In case of minor or moderate harm to health, the document is drawn up by a traffic police officer.
If a pedestrian has died or been seriously harmed, a specialized team (criminologist, investigator, automotive technician) is sent to the scene of the accident:
- examine traces, extract material evidence;
- the technician inspects the vehicle, recording the results in the protocol;
- They interview eyewitnesses of the incident and record all information in a document.
Then special automotive examinations are carried out (traceological, automotive technical). They are needed to correctly determine the course of an accident. Forensic medical examination to identify the degree of damage caused to health and/or the cause of death of the victim. Based on all actions, a procedural decision is made.
Actions at the scene of an accident and their impact on the further outcome
If a car hits a pedestrian or the pedestrian collides with the vehicle, the driver should act something like this:
- Stop the car, turn on the hazard lights and put up a sign;
- Determine how badly the victim was injured and provide first aid;
- Call an ambulance and report to the traffic police;
- If there are witnesses to the accident, write down phone numbers;
- Do not move objects related to the incident, do not touch the victim’s belongings;
- Remain at the scene of the accident until traffic inspectors arrive.
It happens that the harm to the pedestrian’s health was minor or did not occur at all and the victim intends to move on with his business. The driver should not let him go. Without the use of force, of course. A person may be in a state of shock and will feel pain later.
And the next day he will write a statement that the driver fled the scene of the accident. In this situation, the driver faces deprivation of his license for up to 1.5 years under Art. 12.27 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
If the driver does not take measures to help the victim or leaves the scene of the accident, he thereby aggravates his guilt. The court classifies ignoring the condition of the victim as criminal inaction. According to Art. 124 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the punishment can be imprisonment for up to 4 years.
Leaving the scene of an accident to avoid justice is punishable by deprivation of rights for 1.5 years. Additionally, such actions may be regarded as leaving the victim in danger under Art. 125 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
What to do if you hit a pedestrian?
If the driver was unable to prevent a collision with a pedestrian, first of all he is obliged to stop and inquire about the condition and well-being of the person who was hit. You should not give in to the temptation to drive away if you hit a person not at a pedestrian crossing, but in a deserted place and without witnesses: during the investigation, this will become an aggravating circumstance of guilt.
If the collision was minor and the person who was hit by the car was not injured, you can take a no-claims receipt from him and drive away. In all other situations, both participants need to remain in their places until the ambulance arrives, which will attest to the severity of the victim’s injuries, and the road inspection, which determines the degree of guilt of the driver.
If the person who was hit is severely injured, is not conscious, or the injuries are clearly visible, the person responsible for the incident is obliged to provide him with the necessary assistance and call the ambulance as soon as possible. Failure to perform these actions in the future may be regarded as failure to provide assistance and classified as an aggravating circumstance.
Fatal hit-and-run
If a pedestrian is killed in a collision, criminal liability arises under Art. 264 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The decision is made by the court taking into account all the circumstances, the presence of mitigating factors or aggravating circumstances.
To avoid a criminal record, you can agree with the family of the deceased on the amount of financial compensation. The payment amount reaches 1 million rubles.
But such an outcome of the case is only possible if the driver has no previous relapses for violating traffic rules or other convictions.
Victim's rights
The victim has the right to apply to the courts with a claim against the driver. You can recover material and moral compensation:
- Moral damage refers to the emotional experiences and state of a person in such a situation in general.
- Material damage – money spent on treatment, lost profits, lost wages.
A claim can be filed for any severity of the accident at the discretion of the victim. The court independently decides whether to satisfy the claim.
How does the location of the collision affect?
When investigating an accident, special attention is paid to where exactly the collision occurred. Responsibility is regulated by Article 12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
Living sector
In the area adjacent to houses, pedestrians always have the advantage of driving on the roadway in accordance with clause 17 of the traffic rules. The speed of cars in yards should not exceed 20 km/h. In addition to liability for the results of a collision, there is a fine for speeding from 500 to 5000 rubles. or deprivation of the right to drive a car for up to 6 months.
Sidewalk
Driving on sidewalks is prohibited.
If the collision occurred on a pedestrian path, a fine of 2,000 rubles is added to the penalties. for driving in a place not intended for it.
Pedestrian in the wrong place
If a pedestrian finds himself on the roadway in the wrong place, when investigating an accident, they take into account what the driver did or did not do to avoid a collision. The driver may be found not guilty if he did not violate traffic rules and did not have time to notice the pedestrian:
- A man suddenly appeared on the road due to obstructed visibility;
- At night, a pedestrian on a country road had no reflective elements;
- The accident occurred in conditions of poor visibility due to the weather.
At a pedestrian crossing
In the event of an accident at a pedestrian crossing, the driver is always at fault. Traffic rules in art. 14, when approaching a zebra crossing, you are required to slow down until the car stops. Overtaking maneuvers and driving into the oncoming lane are unacceptable. If a pedestrian entered the road when the traffic light signal allowed and did not have time to complete the maneuver, cars must let him pass.
In addition to the punishment provided for by the administrative and criminal codes, a fine of 1,500-2,500 rubles is imposed for failure to provide an advantage to a pedestrian. Liability in the event of a collision at a pedestrian crossing is accompanied by the deprivation of a driver's license.
In what case and what is the fine for not allowing a pedestrian to pass?
Vadim Melnikov
general director of expert
– Drivers are taught at driving school: if you see a pedestrian on the horizon approaching a pedestrian crossing, slow down and let them pass, even if it’s a grandmother who is moving at a snail’s pace. No one knows what a pedestrian is thinking about when crossing the road, so it’s better to protect yourself once again. But what to do if you approached the crossing at the moment when the pedestrian stepped on the road?
“Give way to a pedestrian” means to stop and not move so that the pedestrian does not have to change speed or direction. In other words, if you are passing a crossing at a time when a person has already started moving along it, and he is forced to stop or return to the sidewalk, then you risk receiving a fine of 1.5 to 2.5 thousand rubles (the amount depends on the How often does a driver get caught violating traffic rules?
General information
The Russian Constitution establishes a presumption of innocence - it states that the accused is not obliged to prove his innocence until real evidence of his offense is found.
And this presumption also applies when a traffic accident occurs, but in practice the driver of the car is automatically considered guilty, because it is a vehicle of high threat to other road users. And the driver has to prove his innocence and violations of the rules by pedestrian traffic participants, and if there is damage to the car or his health, apply for compensation.
Another problem with litigation is that pedestrians have priority on the road, and drivers, as sources of threat, bear a double burden of attentiveness and reaction, and even if pedestrians ignore the rules, the driver must prevent an accident or avoid it with all his might.
Be sure to read our specialist’s article about when a “Pedestrian Crossing” sign is installed.
The punishment for a hit-and-run depends on the consequences and level of harm caused.
There are three of them:
- easy;
- average;
- heavy
A severe degree is established only during an examination using a special method. And mild and moderate differ in the period during which the victim spent on sick leave. If a person was incapacitated for less than 21 days, then the injuries are considered mild; if more, then the injuries are considered moderate.
The duration of sick leave is determined by the attending physician.
How can the traffic police prove your guilt?
Guilt is automatically recognized if traffic police officers document and reliably document the fact of drug or alcohol intoxication, the fact of driving in an inadequate state or under the influence of psychotropic drugs, or the absence of a license to drive a vehicle.
In all other cases, based on the testimony of witnesses, video materials, the conclusion of a special group and a medical examination, a conclusion is made about the guilt or innocence of the driver. Otherwise, if the pedestrian has no complaints, the incident is considered settled.
Controversial situations of this traffic violation
Ways to avoid punishment in such cases:
- There are known incidents when a driver demanded financial compensation from a pedestrian who violated the rules. In a situation where the pedestrian also caused harm to the driver or his vehicle, they can agree on a mutual waiver of claims. In this case, traffic police officers will record this in the protocol.
- If video materials prove that a pedestrian deliberately created a dangerous emergency situation, this can serve as significant evidence in favor of the driver.
- If the cause of the accident was another offense. For example, during a fight, one person pushed another under the wheels. In this case, the driver will receive priority among the participants in the accident, and the attacker will bear full responsibility.
- If the accident was caused by a sudden malfunction of the vehicle. In this case, a member of the special group (car mechanic) will testify to the fact of the breakdown and indicate this in the protocol.
- In case of sudden deterioration in condition or health. For example, the driver lost consciousness. It is important to understand that taking drugs that slow down the reaction, violating the doctor’s recommendations, after operations that can reduce the reaction rate, will serve as aggravating circumstances.
