An unusual type of accident is considered hitting an obstacle. This is an accident that occurs on the road with the movement of only one car. In this case, the car bumps or bumps into an object that is stationary. Such an object may be a bridge support, a tree, a road post, various building materials, roadside structures, or even the open door of another car.
The concept of hitting an obstacle
Such an accident is considered quite dangerous, therefore, it is compared with a blow with another car. This is due to the fact that, according to statistics, such incidents often result in serious harm to human health or even death.
Especially significant damage is inflicted to citizens who are in a car with a seat belt not fastened.
Causes of incidents
According to traffic rules, hitting an obstacle is a collision of a car with a stationary object. There are many reasons why such an accident occurs. Most often this incident is due to the following factors:
- the driver violates the speed limit established on a specific section of the road;
- citizens in a car do not want to wear seat belts;
- application for the movement of a car with any malfunctions in significant controls;
- the driver is overworked or loses consciousness due to poor health;
- while driving, the car owner is inattentive to warning signs or markings;
- difficult weather conditions or other problems that prevent free and easy movement on the road;
- talking on the phone while driving without the use of special devices that allow you to communicate with other people without using hands.
Most often, such an accident occurs on bends, since the driver simply does not fit into the bend due to inexperience or inattention. Often, a collision with a fixed obstacle ends deplorably for drivers and passengers.
Driver responsibility
For such an accident, the driver is held accountable. It may be criminal or administrative.
The punishment for the car owner depends on what exactly are the consequences of such an accident.
When is criminal liability applied?
Drivers are held criminally liable if, as a result of a collision with an obstacle, significant damage was caused to the health of citizens or even the accident caused the death of people. Such actions of the car owner are provided for by Art. 264 and Art. 266 of the Criminal Code:
- if after hitting a fixed object, serious negative consequences occurred, such as termination of pregnancy, loss of vision or disability, the driver is deprived of liberty for 2 years;
- if it is revealed that the accident occurred at a time when the driver was intoxicated, the term is extended to four years in prison;
- if a citizen dies as a result of an accident, then a driver will be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 5 years, and if a state of intoxication is detected, such punishment shall be increased to 7 years;
- if two people die as a result of the accident, the driver will be sent to prison for up to 7 years, and if he makes a run over while intoxicated, then he can get up to 9 years.
In addition to the appointment of a prison term, a ban is imposed on the use of the car for up to three years.
When is administrative responsibility assigned?
Be sure the culprit of the accident, regardless of the consequences, bears administrative responsibility for the accident. This is due to the fact that there is certainly a guilty party to the accident. Hitting an obstacle is a standard traffic accident for which drivers are held accountable. This is due to the fact that for various reasons the requirements of traffic rules are not observed.
The main penalties include:
- if the driver drove a faulty car, which is forbidden to be used before repair, then he pays a fine of 500 rubles .;
- upon detection of the fact that the driver or passengers were not wearing seat belts, a fine of 1 thousand rubles is imposed. for each violator;
- if the driver drove the car while intoxicated, which can be alcoholic, narcotic or toxic, then the fine increases to 30 thousand rubles, and the citizen is deprived of his rights for a period of two years;
- for violations of the rules of various maneuvers on the road will have to pay 500 rubles.
The above violations are recorded by the traffic police, who arrive at the scene. Usually, the need for them arises if the car owner has a comprehensive insurance policy. An obstacle collision under such conditions must be properly registered in order for the insurance company to pay compensation. Therefore, the car owner does not have to deal with repairs on his own, although he will have to pay a fine.
Rules for registration
To receive the insurance benefit under the comprehensive insurance policy, the car owner will have to use the help of traffic inspectors. For this, it is important to correctly run over an obstacle. The procedure can be performed not only by the traffic police, but even independently, if the driver knows well what actions they should be performed.
Most often, citizens prefer to apply for registration to a traffic inspector. Under such conditions, the traffic police arrive at the scene of an accident. A collision with an obstacle is considered to be a fairly simple incident, but the traffic inspector should receive maximum information about him:
- clarifications are taken directly from the culprit of the accident in order to identify the cause of the collision;
- information obtained is compared with eyewitness accounts, if any;
- the type of accident is determined;
- All damage to the vehicle is evaluated.
Based on the information received, a traffic accident protocol is generated by the traffic police. Additionally, a certificate of the incident and an accident diagram are compiled. A protocol of inspection and the technical condition of the vehicle is made. A medical examination is carried out using a breathalyzer, which allows you to determine what condition the driver was in during an accident.
Protocol Rules
Only if you have a hull can you rely on insurance payments when hitting an obstacle. Registration of an accident under such conditions should be competent. Usually drivers prefer to address this issue with traffic inspectors.
Traffic police officer necessarily generates an accident protocol. This document must contain certain information, which includes:
- the name of the section of the road where the accident occurred is indicated;
- the shape and size of the road is given;
- existing signs and markings are registered;
- Traffic lights or indicators installed nearby are listed;
- a lot of attention is paid to various additional items, which include buildings, trees or other elements on or near the road;
- data on weather conditions and visibility in the process of an accident;
- it is indicated in which direction and at what speed the machine was moving before the accident;
- indicates the time and place of inspection of the driver and the car;
- Items seized by the traffic inspector at the scene are listed;
- information about the actions performed by the traffic police employee is entered in order to correctly draw up an accident diagram.
Applications to this document are those received from the direct driver, available victims or witnesses. In this case, the motorist must be brought to administrative responsibility for hitting an obstacle. Clause SDA 9.10 is considered the most common in such protocols, since often such incidents occur due to improper location of the car on the roadway.
What is included in the accident certificate?
To receive payment under the Casco policy, it is important to obtain a certificate from the traffic inspector. Its shape is fixed by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It includes information:
- about all participants in the accident;
- Indicate the time and date of the accident;
- lists the numbers of vehicles that participated in the incident;
- information about the victims, if any, is entered;
- lists all vehicle damage.
Often this document is issued with a delay if the accident occurred at night, so you can get it only in the morning. It is recommended that you notify the insurance company about the accident immediately after the incident.
The nuances of charting
The traffic inspector must apply the scheme to the help. Only if you have all the necessary documents can you count on payments in hull for hitting an obstacle. Clause 9.10 of the SDA indicates that such an incident should occur with an immovable object, which should be confirmed by the scheme drawn up by the traffic police.
When forming this document, the following information is entered into it:
- the position of the car that has collided with a fixed element on the road;
- Both objects are described.
- indicates the direction of movement of the machine and the length of the braking distance;
- describes all objects located near the scene of the accident;
- a graphic image of an accident is made, to which an explanatory note is attached;
- various additional factors are described;
- signs, signs or other elements that are available on this section of the road are listed.
Additionally, a protocol for inspection and verification of the machine is compiled. The malfunctions and damage to the vehicle are listed in these documents. All these documents are submitted to the insurance company for compensation.
The nuances of receiving insurance benefits
For hitting an obstacle, you can only rely on compensation from an insurance company if you have a comprehensive insurance policy. Payments are assigned exclusively provided that the driver has met certain requirements imposed by insurance companies. This includes the procedure for registering an accident and the time during which a citizen applies to an insurance organization.
Compensation will be refused if the following conditions are met:
- knowingly false information about the accident was transferred to the company by the driver, and the company not only cancels the insurance, but can also sue the client, and the citizen is also blacklisted;
- transfer of false documents to the organization, and under such conditions, the driver can even be prosecuted.
Not only the car owner can count on payments, but also people who have suffered as a result of this accident. Companies independently conduct a competent examination of the car to make sure there is no fraud on the part of car owners.
Compensation is awarded even if there is minor damage. For this, it is important for the car owner to transfer to the insurance company the necessary documents drawn up by the traffic inspector.
The owner of the car may be denied insurance payments if during the accident he was intoxicated or used drugs. If there is evidence that the person intentionally drove in an obstacle, then he also will not receive funds from the insurance company.
When to apply for funds?
It is advisable to immediately contact the insurance officer immediately after the accident to notify him of the incident. Only 5 days are given to provide this information. If you apply for insurance later than this period of time, then the car owner will have to go to court.
If you have the necessary documents, you can count on insurance for two years after the accident. After this time, the policy is canceled.
Conclusion
Hitting an obstacle is considered a certain type of accident. It must be properly executed so that the car owner can get a payment from the insurance company if he has a comprehensive insurance policy.
There are certain situations when the driver cannot rely on insurance compensation. Hit a fixed object is considered a violation of traffic rules, so drivers are brought to administrative, and often to criminal liability.