What to do if there is an accident without injuries?

Actions of participants in the accident

If you want to learn about what a traffic accident is, then read the article by our lawyer.

I got into an accident, what should I do?

Regardless of the situation, every driver needs to:

stop and turn off the engine, remove the keys from the ignition;
set the handbrake;
turn on the emergency lights;
set up an emergency triangle according to the location of the accident: if within the city limits, then at a distance of 15 m from the car; if outside the city, then at a distance of 30 m;
assess the emergency situation as a whole;
understand whether there are injured persons in your car and in another car involved in an accident.

A type of traffic accident is a non-contact traffic accident, more details about which can be found on our website.

Road accident without injuries

What to do in case of an accident without injuries? This outcome of the accident is the most favorable for everyone, and the algorithm of actions is the simplest. All participants need:

leave vehicles at the scene of the accident and do not move them;
take photos and videos of the accident from all sides;
decide whether the parties have disagreements regarding the assessment of the current situation;
decide how they will file an accident.

If there are no controversial issues, you can do your own registration. If one side is against the European Protocol, then the traffic police should be called.

People were injured in the accident

If there are injured people, it is necessary to urgently inform the Rescue Service (EMERCOM) about the accident, its location, the number of victims and the nature of their injuries. You can provide first aid only if you know exactly the basic principles of medical measures and are confident that they will not cause harm to the victim.

It will be useful for every driver to learn about first aid in case of an accident.

So, for example, with a laceration on the leg, you need to assess whether you are dealing with arterial or venous bleeding. This determines what needs to be done: use a tourniquet above arterial bleeding or apply a pressure bandage in case of a venous wound.

If you are not confident in your medical knowledge, there is no need to take any action. Wait for the ambulance to arrive or, as a last resort, send the victim in a passing car to the hospital.

It is also recommended to take photos and videos of the scene of the incident and wait for the traffic police patrol car.

A fatal accident is a very serious incident. We recommend that you read the article about the actions of a driver in the event of an accident with victims, from which you will learn about possible liability, mitigating circumstances and rules of conduct on the road.

First actions if you get into an accident

An accident is always unpleasant, because in addition to material damage, there is also paperwork and communication with police officers. However, the algorithm for the procedure for action in case of an accident can be significantly simplified when there are no casualties in the incident. By this criterion alone, you are seriously lucky.

First of all, it is recommended to calm down and first perform a number of technical points:

stop, make sure the car is stable, understand whether it is possible to leave the engine on (in general, it would be correct to turn off the engine, but waiting for registration at minus 30 without a heater can be fraught);
move the handbrake to the working position;
turn on the hazard warning lights to warn other road users;
put up a special emergency sign in the form of a triangle, which warns of a forced stop (according to traffic rules, it is installed 15 meters from the car in populated areas and 30 meters outside them).

On a note! Don't neglect the sign, it really helps. Moreover, for its absence there is an additional fine of 1000 rubles. In the dark, it is also necessary to have a special vest with reflective elements.

The procedure for dealing with an accident includes the mandatory installation of an emergency sign

The next step is to analyze the condition of passengers in all vehicles. Interview all people and check for injuries.

Calling traffic police officers from mobile operators

For the 5th year already, “System - 112” has been operating in our country, which is designed for emergency calls to rescue services: fire, medical, Ministry of Internal Affairs, gas service, Ministry of Emergency Situations. Also, a single number 112 is used in case of an accident. From a mobile phone, just dial three numbers 112 to report a traffic accident; in addition, there is a traffic police hotline.

You can find out more about where to call in case of an accident on our website.

Rules for filing an accident yourself

Since the middle of last year, there have been two significant changes in the field of simplified registration of road accidents:

The amount of compensation has doubled and now amounts to 100,000 rubles. For Moscow, St. Petersburg, as well as their regions, the amount of compensation, provided there is no disagreement between the parties, varies from 100,000 to 400,000 rubles.
Provided that the participants in the accident have disagreements in the assessment of the accident, it becomes possible to draw up a Europrotocol. This can be done if at least one of the accident vehicles has the Era-Glonass system installed.

You can read in detail about the rules, conditions and deadlines for drawing up the Europrotocol in the article by our lawyer.

Terms of use of the Europrotocol

Participants in a road accident can independently file a road accident in 2021 using a simplified system if:

there are two of them;
Only cars were damaged;
no injured citizens;
both participants have MTPL policies;
they came to an agreement in assessing the collision that occurred, determining the culprit and the cost of damage within 100,000 rubles.

Drivers need to know that such a legal document as the Euro Protocol does not officially exist, there is a “Notice of a Road Accident”. If all the above conditions are met, and the participants in the accident decide to do without calling the traffic police crew, they can register the incident using a simplified system using the “Notification of an Accident”. It will be the so-called Europrotocol.

Rules for filling out the Europrotocol

When filling out the form, you must write in legible handwriting, preferably with a blue ballpoint pen. Remember that blots, corrections, and strikeouts are not allowed. And the most important condition: all columns must be filled in, and if there is no information on this item, you need to put a dash. At the end of the filling procedure, each party must sign the document and take one copy for themselves.

If you want to learn how to file an accident yourself, you can use the information from the article by our specialist.

What to pay attention to when drawing up the Europrotocol?

In order for insurance companies to accept the Europrotocol as a full-fledged document, it is necessary to carefully fill it out, describing in detail:

location of the accident indicating streets, street intersections, road numbers, houses or any known coordinates;
number of damaged vehicles (one or two);
a list of witnesses indicating telephone numbers and addresses (with their consent);
circumstances of the accident with a sketched diagram of the collision;
evidence base (photo and video filming, presence of a registrar, etc.);
personal data and data for each car.

It is imperative to put the word “no” in the columns about injured and injured persons, about medical examination, about damage to other vehicles and about the execution of a document without the participation of the traffic police. The document also needs to be dated, signed and marked with the time of the accident.

What to do in case of an accident without injuries?

The absence of persons with impaired health significantly simplifies the process of registering the fact of an accident. It becomes possible to use one of the simplified options:

With the participation of traffic police officers.
Independent registration on the spot and registration of the fact at the nearest traffic police post (if there is no disagreement about the culprit).
Registration according to the European protocol (when all participants are included in OSAGO policies, there are no more than two participants, the amount of damage does not exceed 400 thousand rubles (if issued through the application or GLONASS and 100 thousand rubles with a traditional set of papers. The new rules came into force on October 1 2021).
Separate without registration (if you compensate for the damage yourself on the spot and there are no claims against each other).

Procedure for registering an accident

In general, the format of developments regarding what to do in the event of an accident is similar to the case already considered:

Stop without moving cars.
Register the scene of the traffic accident in accordance with the requirements.
Take photographs of all significant moments.
Talk and decide whether you need to call the traffic inspectors (the wait may take a couple of hours).
Discuss any disagreements.
Select a design method.

Remember, if at least one of the parties is against the European protocol or has fundamental disagreements, it is impossible to do without the participation of police officers.

Notification of an accident

As mentioned above, there is no such official document as the Europrotocol. There is an “Accident Notice”. This document was introduced into circulation by citizens three years ago to facilitate the process of registering road accidents and relieve the workload of State Traffic Inspectorate employees.

The notification is filled out in case of any road accident, regardless of the number of damaged vehicles, the presence or absence of injured citizens, when calling the emergency commissioner, self-registration or in the presence of traffic police officers. Only if the participants in the accident decide to settle the consequences of the collision by agreement of the parties, without contacting the insurance company, the notice need not be filled out. A handwritten agreement will be sufficient.

If the conditions for the simplified method of registering an accident are met, the notification of an accident is equated to the so-called Euro Protocol and is accepted by the insurer for payment of insurance compensation.

Rules for issuing a notice

The notice can be filled out independently, by an emergency commissioner or a traffic police officer. It is important to fill out all available fields in legible handwriting, without corrections or erasures. It is necessary to indicate the details and circumstances of the accident, the exact location of the accident, correctly draw a diagram, put down the date and time of the collision and put the signatures of the parties. The insurer's decision to compensate the injured party depends on correct and clear completion.

What to do if the form is missing?

A notification of an accident is a strict reporting document with an individual number. Each car owner receives this self-copying form when purchasing MTPL insurance. If at the right time the form was not in any of the colliding cars, all the information can be presented on a blank sheet of paper. Then contact your insurance company and ask them to give you a form and transfer all the information onto it. In this case, it will be necessary to obtain the signature of another participant in the accident.

Registration of an accident with one participant, punishment for leaving the scene of an accident

Let's consider a fairly common type of accident, when a car collides not with another vehicle, but with some kind of obstacle. For example, when driving in reverse, a driver crashes into a pole or stone.

Typically, drivers take the incident lightly, thinking only about the upcoming car repairs, and do not register the incident with the traffic police, but according to the law, any accident, even in which only your car is damaged, must be registered.

If the traffic police has evidence that an accident occurred (for example, a video recording or an eyewitness account), the driver involved in the accident may be held accountable for leaving the scene of the accident without registering it.

We will consider the type of punishment for this offense below.

How to file an accident with a fence or tree

First, let's talk about how to file such accidents as a collision with a tree, stone, garage or other building, hitting a stone with damage to the engine or underbody of the car. The responsibilities of a driver in case of an accident are specified in the Russian Traffic Regulations.

We recently wrote about the new rules for registering road accidents. In the case under consideration, the simplified registration scheme (the so-called European protocol) does not apply, since it is valid only for two participants in the accident.

That is, to register this accident, according to the law, you must call the traffic police and follow the instructions of the officer on duty.

What to do at the scene of an accident?

Let us recall paragraph 2.6.1 of the Russian Traffic Regulations, which regulates the responsibilities of drivers after an accident if there are no injured persons:

2.6.1. If, as a result of a traffic accident, damage is caused only to property, the driver involved in it is obliged to clear the roadway if the movement of other vehicles is obstructed, 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, damage to vehicles. If the circumstances of harm in connection with damage to property as a result of a road traffic accident or the nature and list of visible damage to vehicles cause disagreements among the participants in the road traffic accident, the driver involved in it is obliged to write down the names and addresses of eyewitnesses and report the incident to the police for receiving instructions from a police officer about the location of the registration of a traffic accident.

The same above-mentioned article. 2.6.1 allows, after reporting an accident, not to draw up documents about the accident, if the driver does not have such a need, and the second item is ownerless or has not been damaged.

If the circumstances of harm in connection with damage to property as a result of a traffic accident, the nature and list of visible damage to vehicles do not cause disagreement between the participants in the traffic accident, the drivers involved in it are not required to report the incident to the police. In this case, they can leave the scene of the traffic accident and:…

not to draw up documents about a road traffic accident - if in a road traffic accident only the vehicles or other property of the participants in the road traffic accident are damaged and each of these participants does not need to complete the specified documents.

When can you leave the scene of an accident without a second party?

Sometimes a car accident is not an accident at all. Let us recall the definition of a traffic accident from the Russian Traffic Regulations:

“Road accident” 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.

That is, if the car did not participate in road traffic, but, say, was parked and was damaged by a falling tree or ice crust from the roof, then this event is not an accident and is subject to consideration in civil proceedings.

Deprivation of rights for leaving the scene of an accident with a tree or fence

As stated above, drivers often do not realize the extent of the consequences for leaving the scene of an accident without a second party. However, sometimes such accidents become known (for example, the damaged property has an owner who contacts the traffic police). In this case, the driver will be deprived of his license under Art. 12.27:

Article 12.27. Failure to fulfill duties in connection with a traffic accident2. Leaving by a driver, in violation of the Traffic Rules, the scene of a traffic accident in which he was a participant -

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.

Sometimes the driver himself informs the traffic police about the fact of an accident, for example, if the CASCO insurance company requires a certificate from the traffic police about the fact of the accident to pay. In this case, the punishment will also be deprivation of rights.

Road accident Deprivation of place, registration of rights

Source: https://gibddgid.ru/prikazi-ukazaniya-mvd/2016-07-31-14-23-47.html

Calling the emergency commissioner

It often happens that after an accident it is difficult for drivers to assess the consequences of the accident. The general nervous state interferes, conflicting moments provoke stress. An incorrect assessment of the circumstances of the accident may result in the injured party not receiving insurance payments. Therefore, participants in road accidents need a qualified assistant who will objectively assess the situation, help with filling out documents, and advise on the procedure for further action. The accident commissioner provides comprehensive assistance in the event of an accident.

If there are injured persons or the cost of damage is supposedly higher than 100,000 rubles, then it is necessary to call the traffic police, and in other cases, calling an emergency commissioner can be very useful and timely.

What to do after reporting an accident?

If the accident was registered independently, according to the European standard, then each of the parties needs to notify its insurance company about the insured event. This can be done during a personal visit to the office of the insurer or its representative or by means of a registered letter with a list of the contents and acknowledgment of delivery.

If the accident was registered with the help of the State Traffic Inspectorate, then the injured party must obtain a certificate of the accident and apply for compensation. The person at fault is not required to notify his or her insurance company.

Which insurance company should I contact?

According to the rules of MTPL insurance, only the injured party can apply for compensation. If the person at fault for the accident, in addition to compulsory motor liability insurance, has a CASCO policy, then he also has the right to contact his insurance company for compensation.

If two vehicles collide in an accident, there are no injuries and both participants are insured under the “automobile insurance” policy, then the injured party applies to its insurance company using the direct compensation method. In other cases, the appeal occurs to the insurance company of the culprit or to all insurers in equal shares.

You can read more about which insurance company you should contact in case of an accident on our website.

Deadlines for applying for insurance benefits

A self-executed Notification of an Road Accident, also known as the Europrotocol, must be sent to insurers within 5 days from the date of signing.

And to submit documentation for payments for an insured event to the insurance company, 15 working days are allotted from the date of the accident.

What to do in case of an accident with victims?

Having someone injured in a collision makes the situation much more complicated. Especially for the culprit. Liability automatically moves from the administrative category to the criminal category. Therefore, every driver must understand what and how to do in the event of an accident with victims:

make sure there is an injured person;
provide first aid;
call an emergency medical team (by number 103 or 112 - unified rescue service);
in especially severe cases, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and special equipment are called;
if there is a victim, calling the traffic police is mandatory (when you call, you can report the presence of victims, the ambulance will arrive automatically, phone 102);
in critical situations, if there is no time, the victim can be transported on his own by car or hitchhiking (under such circumstances, this will not be considered leaving the scene of the accident).

After the services arrive at the scene of the incident, all participants will be interviewed and a protocol will be drawn up. It is very important that in case of disagreement or the need for clarification, you need to inform about this in advance and not sign inaccurate options.

In case of an accident with victims, include calling the police in the algorithm of actions

Procedure for registering an accident

The algorithm of actions in case of an accident with people who are injured is as follows:

provide all possible assistance;
call to summon a medical team;
call the traffic police;
take photographs of the place, the arrangement of cars, as well as their damage;
consider the option of towing vehicles to allow other cars to pass (complete blocking of the highway will entail a fine of one thousand rubles);
exchange MTPL policies, clarify their relevance and validity (a special service of the Russian Union of Auto Insurers allows you to do this remotely by series and number at the link: https://dkbm-web.autoins.ru/dkbm-web-1.0/bsostate.htm);
interview witnesses and record their contact information;
inform the insurance company about the occurrence of an insured event (hotlines work 24 hours a day);
fill out a special form called “Notification of an Accident”, it is needed for subsequent contact with the insurance company (the form is issued by the insurer, it can also be downloaded and printed from the link below);
wait for the traffic police and draw up a report indicating the circumstances and those responsible (disagreements on this matter will be resolved in court);
If there are requests or suspicions from employees, you will need to undergo an additional examination to ensure that you are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Refusal of the examination automatically confirms guilt.

If the culprit of the accident fled the scene of the accident

According to this legislation, an injured person can receive an insurance payment under compulsory motor liability insurance only if the policy of the culprit is presented. If the culprit fled the scene of the incident, then a number of measures must be taken:

comply with all traffic rules for emergency stops;
call the traffic police;
collect witness testimony, photographic and video materials, record traces of the accident and damage caused;
inform your insurance company about the insured event, write an explanatory note in writing regarding the escaped culprit;
make every effort to conduct a formal and independent search.

In the event of injuries and death as a result of a car collision and the culprit fled, payments are made by RSA.

The official search for the escaped culprit and the administrative statute of limitations for leaving the scene of an accident is only 3 months, if there are no injured, wounded or dead persons.

We recommend that you read the information about liability when leaving the scene of an accident.

Did your car get scratched in the yard or in the parking lot? What to do? Find out about lawyer recommendations on our website.

The procedure for the culprit in an accident under compulsory motor liability insurance

When an accident occurs, you should not try to escape from the scene of the accident and panic. You will still have to answer for the incident and damage to the victim’s car. Sooner or later, traffic police officers will find the culprit using the car number. We must try to reduce all the negative consequences of what happened to a minimum.

What should the culprit do in 2021, according to the rules of compulsory motor liability insurance:

Stop the car, turn off the engine and ignition, turn on the emergency lights.
Place a sign informing about the accident within the city at a distance of 15 meters from the collision site, on a highway outside the populated area - at 30 meters.
Calmly assess the situation and the extent of the damage caused to your opponent.
If there is heavy traffic on the road, then you need to be more careful; passengers should be asked to get out of the car and leave the roadway.
First, record the circumstances of the accident (the position of both cars, their license plates, locations of damage, braking distance) using a smartphone video camera or take photographs. Then just move your car to clear the road section.
If it's dark outside, wear reflective clothing. Wear a protective vest.
Exchange details of MTPL policies with the victim. If the second driver has CASCO insurance, then the data still needs to be recorded.
Obtain contact numbers or addresses from eyewitnesses of the collision.

If there are no casualties

When a car interferes with the movement of other vehicles, it is advisable to remove it from the road to the side of the road, having first taken photographs of the accident scene using a camera or video recorder.

In the event of an accident without injuries, the procedure will be as follows:

Conduct a visual inspection of vehicles for damage. Preliminarily assess the amount of harm caused to the injured party.
If disagreements arise during the discussion of the amount of damage, then you need to call the traffic police officers by phone number. 112 or 102 from mobile. Specify the address of the scene of the incident so that it can be reported to the police. If there is no telephone connection, you can ask drivers of cars passing by to report the incident.
Strictly follow all the instructions of the state traffic inspector: stay in place and wait for the patrol car to arrive, or drive up to the nearest traffic police post.
Report the incident to your insurer. The company's telephone number is usually on the policy form.
Collect contacts of all witnesses to the incident. You can even take written testimony from them and ask them to sign at the bottom. This paper must indicate the date, time and place of the accident, otherwise it will not look like an official document.

You can only move a damaged vehicle after carefully assessing its compliance with the regulations on permission to operate. If the car is no longer safe after being involved in an accident, you need to call a tow truck to transport it to a service center.

If people were hurt

If there are dead and wounded at the scene of the collision, the algorithm will be slightly different:

It is necessary to examine the driver and passengers from the damaged car, what is the extent of their injuries, whether there are any serious injuries, in order to inform doctors about the need for emergency assistance and urgent delivery to the hospital. If necessary, provide first aid to the victims.
You must immediately report the accident to the traffic police department and the police by calling 112 or 102 from a cell phone, or 02 from a landline. You will need to provide the exact address of the accident site.

If there is no time to wait for an ambulance, the person responsible for the accident can take the victims to the hospital in his own car. While in the emergency department of the clinic, you will need to tell the health workers your first and last name, vehicle license plates, a brief description of what happened, present your passport or ID, and details of the car registration certificate. The driver will then need to return to the scene of the accident.

We must try to preserve all traces of the accident until the arrival of traffic police inspectors - fragments, fragments of car parts. If possible, ensure that cars passing by avoid the scene of the accident.

The fencing can be organized using emergency stop signs, as well as using available means (bags, buckets).

Collect testimony, preferably in writing. Write down the contact phone numbers of all eyewitnesses.

The person at fault for the accident does not have insurance - what to do?

Many drivers ask: “In the event of an accident, what should you do if the culprit does not have insurance?” Indeed, the chance of getting into a road accident due to the fault of a driver who does not have compulsory motor insurance is very high. More than 1/3 of all drivers do not bother purchasing insurance coverage, believing that the fine for driving without compulsory motor liability insurance is small and affordable. However, they think little about what will happen if they become guilty of an accident.

In the event that the party at fault for the accident does not have a “motor citizen”, the issue of compensation for damage caused can be resolved in three ways:

At the scene of the accident, the culprit admits his guilt and voluntarily agrees to compensate for the damage at his own expense. Writes a receipt in simple written form, detailing the circumstances of the collision, and expresses in writing his agreement with future compensation. The amount and terms of payment are negotiated on the spot and recorded in the receipt.
At the scene of the accident, the culprit does not admit his guilt. The subsequent actions of the injured party will be:

calling the traffic police and registering an accident;
contacting an independent appraiser to draw up an independent examination report;
drawing up a pre-trial claim and sending the document with all attachments to the address of the person responsible for the accident.

If the pre-trial claim does not produce results, the injured party has the right to apply to the court with a statement of claim.

What to do if you are in an accident and you are not at fault

First of all, you need to call the traffic police to draw up a report. You cannot move the car until the traffic police arrive. The scene of the incident and the damage must be filmed or photographed. You will also need to obtain from the person at fault the contact information of his insurance company. In addition, the victim has the right to demand that the traffic police officer send the person responsible for the accident for a medical examination to identify possible alcohol or other intoxication.

According to Art. 11 The correct actions of the victim after an accident under compulsory motor liability insurance should be the following sequence:

It is necessary to call the offender’s insurer and tell about the incident and, if necessary, answer questions.
Write a claim for damages and submit it to the insurance company. Typically, a representative of the insurer inspects the vehicle, and this procedure must be carried out in the presence of the person at fault. If the damage is serious, you will need to invite an expert.
Make copies of documents regarding the accident provided to the insurer (it is recommended to do this according to the inventory). It is fundamentally important that the date of acceptance is indicated on the document, since the day of payment depends on it.
Wait for payment. The insurance company must transfer the money within 20 days after receiving the documents, otherwise a penalty will be charged for each day of delay.
Repair the vehicle.

The insurance payment may not cover the repairs, and this is normal, since the reimbursement is an approximate calculation. If the total cost of repairs does not fall within the established limit, you simply need to keep the receipts for the missing amount and provide them to the offender’s insurer.

Attention! If hidden defects are discovered during the repair process, it is necessary to conduct an additional examination in the presence of a representative of the insurance company.

Documents required to receive payment:

European protocol or certificate of accident;
notification of an accident;
protocol on administrative violation;
rights;
documents confirming ownership of the car;
power of attorney for the car (if necessary);
OSAGO policy;
account details for transferring money.

If an examination was carried out during all the activities, documents related to it are also provided: a conclusion and receipts for payment for services. When evacuating a car, additional documents confirming this fact are issued.

Attention! If the victim is not satisfied with the work of the insurer, then he needs to write a complaint. Documentary arguments are attached to it. The period for consideration of the complaint is 5 days. If the situation does not change, the driver can go to court. This cannot be done without filing a complaint.