To date, the number of car accidents on our roads has increased significantly. Naturally, such situations carry all kinds of material waste and physical injuries. Often they are fatal. There are different types of incidents, the order of the investigation, payment and punishment of those responsible. What is an accident? What should be done after it happened? You will learn about this in the article.
What is an accident and what types of accidents happen?
First of all, we will deal with the definition of the term. A traffic accident is a collision of one or more cars that results in property damage, personal injury, death to the driver, passengers or pedestrians. In any case, the term traffic accident implies any moral and material loss.
There are different types of traffic accidents:
- Collision of cars while driving. These events occur most often. Naturally, the perpetrators of this incident are the drivers themselves, who neglect the rules and try to drive in excess of speed.
- Hitting. It can be perfect both for any obstacle, and for a person.
- Collision of a car with a standing vehicle, for example, at stops and parking lots.
- Hit a cyclist, overturn a car, “meet” with a horse-drawn cart.
Naturally, there are other types of emergencies, but their percentage is relatively small. Basically, these are all types of traffic accidents that may occur. Each of them has its own characteristics and nuances.
Causes of Accident
It should be noted that both drivers and pedestrians can be equally guilty of an accident. Most often, an accident occurs due to non-compliance with traffic rules, for example:
- speeding (especially in winter and on slippery sections of the track);
- untimely replacement of tires, technical malfunction of the car;
- driving under the influence of alcohol or medication intoxication, taking drugs, making a trip in a state of fatigue or at night;
- non-compliance with the interval between machines;
- travel to the red light;
- incorrect overtaking of other cars.
A traffic accident can occur even due to a late turn signal. As for pedestrians, they too often become the culprits of the tragedy. For example, they cross the road in unspecified places, ignore traffic signals.
The first actions after an accident
A traffic accident is a collision with a car, obstacle or person. Despite the fact that after the incident, both the culprit and the victim may experience shock, certain actions must be taken. For example, the first thing you need to call an ambulance and the traffic police. Remember: under no pretext should you leave the place of the accident (catastrophe). Otherwise, you will be held liable and fined.
Immediately try to protect the place where everything happened and find witnesses who observed the moment of the collision or collision. For this, a special tape and signs may be used, which must be in the arsenal of each owner of the vehicle. At this stage, write down all the eyewitness data (car, phone numbers). Be sure to turn on the emergency lights on the car (if technically possible). In this case, the car, objects or bodies of the dead cannot be moved.
If a traffic accident does not have significant material consequences, or the health of the accident participants is out of danger, everyone can continue their movement or deal with each other without involving the police. You can only leave the place of collision if the ambulance has no way to reach the injured and you can take them to the hospital yourself (subject to a serious threat to life). However, you will have to go back and give an explanation to the traffic police.
If your car is insured, you must inform the organization of the incident within a day from the moment of its fixation and no later than five days. It all depends on the terms of the contract that you entered into with the UK.
What is the correct place for the incident and what documents are needed?
After representatives of law enforcement agencies arrived at the scene of the accident, they carry out investigative actions and collect all the necessary documents. All this is done in the presence of direct participants in the events. Expert employees must
protect the territory and not let outsiders who can destroy the evidence of guilt or innocence of the driver (pedestrian).
We will understand what documents are needed in an accident:
1. Written explanations of all participants in the incident.
2. Protocol on an administrative offense (if there are no dead and injured people).
3. Initial certificate of an accident.
4. The scheme of the incident, which is drawn up in the presence of participants in the situation and signed by them.
Now we find out what documents are needed in an accident if there is a large material damage or if there are victims (dead people):
- certificate of accident;
- a description of all damage to vehicles, as well as fixing the technical condition of vehicles (the size of the payment for material damage depends on this document);
- accident pattern;
- a written explanation of the participants in the incident;
- an act of medical examination for the presence of narcotic or alcoholic substances in the blood of the perpetrator (an examination of the condition of the participant in an accident should be carried out in the presence of at least two witnesses);
- eyewitness accounts of the situation.
The accident report, which is compiled by traffic police at the scene of an accident, must be read and signed by all parties who took part in the accident. Moreover, a copy of it may be issued upon request. If there are several offenders, a protocol is drawn up for each of them separately.
If necessary, the driver can make their additions to the documents that are recorded by the law enforcement officer. After all the papers are completed, an expert study of the accident site, as well as vehicles, is carried out.
What is an accident examination? Varieties of expertise
All conditions and causes that led to the incident should be thoroughly and objectively investigated. For this, an examination of an accident is prescribed. This procedure is carried out by the traffic police, who have the appropriate knowledge and have all the necessary tools (technologies).
There are several types of expertise:
1. Pre-trial or judicial. Both find out the circumstances of the incident. However, in the first case, both individuals and legal entities may require it. In the second, the prosecutor’s office or investigator appoints her. Sometimes a trial may require a judge.
2. Depending on the scale of the accident, as well as the number of its participants, the examination can be divided into:
- sole (in small incidents where the participation of other specialists is not necessary);
- commission and comprehensive (if it is impossible to do without the conclusion of other experts): most often it is carried out in difficult cases.
3. This procedure can also be classified depending on the priority of:
- primary;
- repeated;
- additional.
In case there are any new questions or disagreements between the accident participants or with the insurance company, an independent expert study is appointed. For this, a commission is drawn up of those specialists who do not work in the judicial investigation or the police.
Any examination of traffic accidents involves a full examination of cars, parts, debris, traces on the pavement (or other surface). In addition, damage to buildings, poles or other objects that the machine came into contact with during the accident should be inspected. And also mandatory is a tracological examination, which provides answers to such questions:
- when exactly the accident occurred;
- in what direction the culprit (victim) was moving.
A forensic medical examination of the condition of the culprit, as well as injured (dead) people, is mandatory. Thanks to all these studies, you can fully establish what and who was the cause of the situation, and what responsibility should be borne by the person who caused the accident.
How are investigative steps taken after an accident?
A traffic accident, however complex it may be, should be investigated by law enforcement officials. In their work, they use a whole methodology for dealing with accidents.
It is necessary to establish the circumstances that contributed to the accident. To do this, find out the reasons that led to an unfavorable outcome (what actions the culprit was wrong), where the collision (collision) occurred. Police officers record the result of the accident (what consequences have occurred, how severe the damage to the car is, whether there are dead or injured people). At the same stage, the degree of guilt of each of the participants in the incident is clarified.
The investigation of traffic accidents involves the following actions:
- inspection of the scene of an accident (taking into account atmospheric factors, such as coverage, tires and other conditions) and damaged cars (primary is done right on the spot);
- the seizure of clothing participants in the situation, their documents;
- interrogation of drivers and passengers of cars;
- receiving clarifications from witnesses to road accidents;
- the product of a medical examination of the participants in the incident;
- an investigative experiment that will help restore the truth of what happened;
- laboratory research of cars, clothes, collected items, debris and other items;
- if necessary (if the culprit escaped), actions to identify the driver are possible.
Each of the presented procedures provides a huge number of actions. Each inspection and survey should be as detailed as possible so that you can restore the full picture of what happened.
The trial and liability of the perpetrator of the incident
What is an accident, you already know. Now we should deal with the responsibility that the person who provoked the situation should bear. I must say that after the execution of the protocols and other documents, the case is submitted to the court to decide on a particular punishment for the culprit.
It should be said that liability in an accident is classified into several types:
- Disciplinary. It occurs in the event that the driver of the vehicle has not fulfilled his duties assigned to him by the employer (committing an accident during working hours if the employee took the company car for his own purposes). Such punishment involves reprimand, fine or dismissal.
- Material. It occurs in the event that the fault of the driver was broken alien (official) car. In this case, the amount of damage depends on the degree of damage to foreign property. The amount must be recorded in a written commitment.
- Civil law. It occurs if an accident occurred due to the fault of the driver, whose transport is a source of increased danger. In this situation, not only people can be affected, but also buildings, as well as the environment, if the driver carries biologically or chemically hazardous substances. The magnitude of such damage is established by a special commission created from various specialists. In this case, the culprit may independently voluntarily repay the established amount. If he refuses to do this, he will be obliged through the court.
- Administrative A court in case of an accident can make a decision on punishing a driver if several offenses have been committed over a period of time. Moreover, they do not have to all end in an accident. However, there are nuances that may make it possible to avoid punishment for the incident, even if you broke the rules. For example, if the driver was intoxicated, but another person is guilty of an accident, then he will be responsible for the accident. Punishment involves a fine or deprivation of rights for a specified period.
- Criminal It occurs in the event that as a result of the incident there are seriously injured or dead people. It provides for conditional or prison sentences depending on the gravity of the crime.
Who is the witness to the accident and what should he do?
An obligatory part of the investigation of the incident is a survey of eyewitnesses. Witnesses of road accidents are those people who help restore the true picture of what happened. They should cooperate as much as possible with the traffic police. In no case should they leave the scene of the incident.
A witness is interviewed by a policeman. All his words are recorded in the protocol, which an eyewitness must carefully read and sign. If necessary, he can be summoned to a court session, which must be present without fail.
The protocol of an accident must include personal and contact details of eyewitnesses. If the perpetrator himself cannot call the police and the ambulance, or he escaped from the scene of the crime, the witness must make the call.
In which case should the perpetrator pay damages?
Mostly modern cars are subject to compulsory insurance. However, there are cases when the owner does not have a policy, or the incident is not too serious. In this case, payments in case of an accident may be voluntarily provided by the driver who contributed to the accident. At the same time, not only repair of a broken car can be paid, but also physical (moral) damage. If people do not have technical damages or injuries, such a situation is not considered an accident and is not subject to material compensation.
Nobody should pay for the crashed car to the culprit of events (if he is not insured). He must repair the vehicles on his own. If a person owns a car that is considered to be a source of increased danger, then he is obliged to compensate for the damage if he happened because of the negligence of the driver, non-compliance with traffic rules on the road.
As for the size of payments, they depend on how severe the technical or physical damage is, and are determined by special commissions that carry out the examination of vehicles. In any case, if the injured party is injured, the culprit must compensate for the costs of treatment. If he does not want to do this, you can force him through the court.
How to get insurance and in which cases it is not paid?
To date, almost all vehicles must be insured. Thanks to this, car owners are able to compensate for the restoration of their property. However, there are situations when insurance in case of an accident is not paid.
It is advisable to inform your agent in the first 24 hours after the accident. The company must pay compensation to the extent established by the state and the insurance contract. The organization requires the submission of such documents: policy, certificate of accident, a decision on administrative violation of the law.
Be sure to invite independent experts, as IC experts can underestimate the extent of damage. Please note that, in addition to compensating for the cost of repairs, insurance must reimburse the transportation of the car to the place where it will be made. She is also required to cover the costs of burial of people killed in road accidents.
SK is not required to pay if:
- the car was damaged due to an earthquake, a fall of a tree or other force majeure circumstances;
- it will be proved that the owner of the vehicle specifically provoked the accident in order to receive payment;
- the driver is responsible for the accident;
- the incident was not registered by the traffic police;
- the car was damaged as a result of rallies, strikes, competitions.
CASCO in case of an accident pays damage in the same way as other companies. You just need to present your driver’s license or power of attorney for driving, a certificate of a traffic accident, taken in the traffic police, a document that indicates the damage to transport, as well as the original insurance policy.
Ways to prevent accidents
Today, in educational institutions, at driving courses, as well as traffic police specialists, a number of preventive measures are being taken to reduce the number of road accidents. The briefing should be carried out in all organizations without exception. It is held every three months.- :
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