Vehicle collision as a type of accident

Road traffic accidents (accidents) are becoming commonplace, because every year their number increases and their scale grows. This is largely due to the increase in traffic on the roads, but an important factor is the level of conscious attitude of drivers towards compliance with traffic rules (traffic rules). To understand exactly what an accident is, and what legal, financial, and administrative consequences it may entail, let’s consider how the code of traffic rules of the Russian Federation interprets the concept in question.

Definition of the concept of “road accident”

According to paragraph 1.2 of the traffic rules, an accident is an incident that occurred with the participation of a vehicle (one or more).
The definition of an accident in the traffic rules contains a designation of the range of possible consequences of the incident:

• death of people or infliction of severe physical injury;
• damage to vehicles, buildings, property;
• causing any other damage.

In the traffic rules you can also find a list of the defining characteristics of the incident:

• An accident occurs only if a vehicle is involved;
• the mechanism of an accident requires that the car must be in motion at the time of the accident;
• the consequences indicated above (all or some of them) are mandatory conditions for the fact of determining an accident.

An important point when analyzing the nature and nature of an accident is to determine its boundaries and scale. Often, road users use the term “accident” instead of the term road accident. However, these definitions do not always coincide.

To understand the difference between an accident and a traffic accident, it is necessary to clarify the nature and essence of the first event.

What does it mean to have a road accident?

An accident is an incident that resulted in the destruction of structures, technical means and equipment. May be accompanied by an uncontrolled explosion or release of hazardous substances. That is, an accident can be defined as an incident as a result of which the functioning of certain units, machines, devices (including motor vehicles) is disrupted.

According to the classification of road accidents, it can be determined that the presence of a vehicle is mandatory to define the very concept of this incident. Car damage can be one of the consequences of an accident, but it is not necessary. Therefore, not everything that is considered an accident will be an accident. Just like a significant number of accidents are not accidents in nature.

At the same time, hitting an obstacle, for example, can be both an accident and an accident. The main factor here is the involvement of the vehicle in the incident, as well as the degree of damage to the vehicle. Quite often, the concepts of “accident” and road traffic accident are used as synonyms, but in the legal sense these terms are not identical.

A multi-vehicle collision is almost always an accident because the vehicles experience significant damage or destruction as a result of the incident.

As a result of an accident, people may die, since its scale is often quite significant. However, this is not a mandatory feature.

Stopping a vehicle - process of movement - accident?

The answer to this question determines whether the incident that occurred when stopping the car is considered an accident or not. Accordingly, whether the event is considered an insured event or not.

According to paragraph 1.2 of the Traffic Rules, a “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.

At the same time, road traffic is a set of social relations that arise in the process of moving people and goods with the help of vehicles or without them within the boundaries of roads. Intentionally stopping the movement of a vehicle for up to 5 minutes, as well as for longer if it is necessary to board or disembark passengers or load or unload a vehicle, is a stop.

According to paragraph 1.1 of the Traffic Rules, these Traffic Rules establish a uniform traffic procedure throughout the Russian Federation.

Consequently, paragraphs 1.1 and 1.2 of the Traffic Rules, in their interrelation, relate stopping a vehicle to the process of road traffic.

According to Article 2 of the Federal Law of December 10, 1995 N 196-FZ “On Road Traffic Safety,” the term “ road ” means a strip of land or a surface of an artificial structure that is equipped or adapted and used for the movement of vehicles. The road includes one or more carriageways, as well as tram tracks, sidewalks, shoulders and dividing strips, if any. A similar concept of a road is contained in paragraph 1.2 of the Traffic Rules.

For example, guided by the above rules of law, the Third Arbitration Court of Appeal, in its ruling dated December 09, 2013 in case No. A33-11923/2013, indicated that “since the controversial event occurred at the unloading site of the company..., specially designed for the passage of cars through it for their unloading , that is, being a road, and stopping a vehicle to unload it is part of the road traffic, then the overturning of the vehicle belonging to the plaintiff occurred as a result of a road traffic accident - an insured event provided for in a voluntary insurance agreement.”

Who is considered dead or injured in an accident? Definition of the concept of “reduced visibility” and “road conditions associated with an accident”

P.p. 4-7 of Appendix 3 to the rules for recording and analyzing traffic accidents on highways of the Russian Federation, approved. FDS RF 05.29.1998:

"4. A person who died at the scene of a traffic accident or died from its consequences within the next seven days is considered dead

5. A wounded person is considered to be a person who received bodily injuries in a road accident that resulted in his hospitalization for a period of at least one day or the need for outpatient treatment. In this case, the provision of outpatient treatment is confirmed by documents (certificates) of the medical institution.

6. Limited visibility - the visibility distance for given driving conditions does not meet regulatory requirements due to the geometric characteristics of the road or weather conditions.

7. Road conditions accompanying an accident - actual road conditions at the site of the accident at the time of its occurrence. The fact that unsatisfactory road condition(s) was the cause of the accident is determined by a court decision (based on the results of the investigation).”

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Classification of road accident participants

The traffic rules classify all participants in an accident according to the principle of determining their role and degree of participation in the incident.

There are three categories of road accident participants:

1. drivers;
2. passengers;
3. pedestrians.

In this case, the driver is not only the person directly behind the wheel of the car involved in the accident. The driver can be a driving instructor, as well as a cattle driver whose herd moves along the road.

The category of passengers includes persons directly inside the vehicle, as well as those who could be exiting or entering it at the time of the accident.

Pedestrians are a fairly broad category. They can become participants in road accidents, and in some cases even the culprits. This category includes persons who move directly along the road or side of the road. A pedestrian can move accompanied by a motorcycle or bicycle, which is driven next to him.

In addition, a pedestrian is a person who moves with the help of a scooter, roller skates, skates and other similar devices. A person driving a child stroller or wheelchair is also a pedestrian. All these persons can become participants in an accident.

Road accident statistics for 2021 in Russia indicate that the number of major incidents is constantly growing. The culprits are both drivers and passengers or pedestrians. This indicates a low level of road transport literacy of the population and a lack of mutual culture of road travel.

What does a traffic accident mean under the 2021 law?

So, the first thing most drivers remember when considering the meaning of this term is the Rules of the Road. However, it is also mentioned in another regulatory act, which has a much higher priority - the Federal Law on Road Safety. Fortunately, in judicial and other practice there is no need to talk about priorities - the definitions are absolutely identical in both documents.

What does a road accident mean in the legislation relevant in 2021:

A road traffic 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.

From the definition we conclude that in order to recognize the fact of the incident, all the following conditions must be met:

1. An accident is considered only if the car was moving on the road,
2. at the same time, it is necessary that he participate in this incident,
3. as a result of the accident, harm must be caused either to the health or life of a person (people), or to property (this car, other vehicles or something else).

Examples

Let's look at some examples of when an event is classified as a traffic accident and when it is not.

• According to the traffic rules, a road is a developed or adapted surface of the earth or structure. Accordingly, a collision of cars will be considered an accident if it happened in a field on a dirt road, for example, and will not be considered if it happened where no car had driven before. However, when analyzing such an event, the IAZ traffic police inspector or the court can express their opinion on this matter. For example, they will point out that, moving in a bare field outside of an adapted road, a car, by its very movement along a piece of land, has already adapted it for movement. Consequently, there will already be all the signs of a traffic accident.
• If 2 cars collided, and a part flew off onto the third one and damaged it. In this case, the third car is also a participant in the same accident.
• If as a result of the interaction of the vehicles there are no casualties or damage, then this is no longer an accident, since one of the conditions for designating this term is not met - damage to property, health or life of people. For example, 2 cars hit their mirrors, they simply folded, but there was not a single scratch or scuff on them.

Main causes of road accidents in Russia

The causes of accidents on the road can be very diverse. In particular, the following increased risk factors are identified:

• ignorance or ignoring traffic rules;
• drunkenness or poor physical health of the driver;
• unsatisfactory technical condition of the vehicle;
• influence of bad weather conditions;
• reduced visibility on the road;
• potentially hazardous road surface.

The nature of road accidents and the causes of their occurrence are usually closely related.

People driving a car show inattention, and sometimes criminal negligence, and are distracted by extraneous factors (talking on the phone, listening to music, the presence of animals and children in the car). As statistics show, a significant number of accidents occur due to the driver’s fault.

It is important to take into account that the negligence of a pedestrian is not a sufficient basis for recognizing the extent of his guilt in an accident. In some cases, drivers are able to prove that the victim deliberately threw himself under the wheels of a car in order to receive financial compensation. But establishing these criminal circumstances is only possible with a thorough investigation of the incident. Evidence of a pedestrian’s guilt in an accident can be provided by written testimony of witnesses, but the court does not always consider them sufficient, since there may be a fact of bias.

If pedestrians exercise a little more caution and drivers pay attention to following traffic rules, the risk of serious accidents on our roads will be significantly reduced.

Many participants, having been involved in an accident, try to evade responsibility by offering various excuses and unreliable reasons. For example, they try to blame the victim for intentional negligence or explain the situation due to the influence of extraneous factors (bad weather, poor quality of the road surface).

It should be remembered that such behavior in an accident not only will not help avoid consequences, but can also aggravate the liability of the culprit. Especially if a person was killed or seriously injured as a result of an accident, as well as if significant material damage was caused.

Read also: Accidents with pedestrians in 2021 Sample of filling out an accident log for an organization

TOP 10 road accident patterns on Russian roads

Every day, accidents occur on Russian roads, varying in severity, injuries and causes. Drom.ru decided to figure out which of them happen more often, and also to create a kind of rating of typical road accident patterns. To do this, I had to study terabytes of videos and pull up traffic police statistics from the archives in order to understand... the majority of accidents occur due to stupidity.

Statistics of road accidents in Russia for January-June 2016:

However, ranking road accidents by type based on their popularity is not an easy task. Often accidents occur due to a chain of accidents and neglect of several points of the rules at once. If you exceeded the speed limit and did not keep your distance - an accident. I got behind the wheel while intoxicated and ran a red light - an accident. And so on... It is significant that the “collisions” section can include both a light contact in a parking lot and a frontal impact with a fatal outcome. Or, for example, a rollover, which can be caused by a collision between two cars, loss of control due to aquaplaning, poor quality of the road surface and a host of other reasons. Therefore, the given rating of incidents and the grouping of accidents by type are to a certain extent subjective and may differ somewhat from dry statistical figures.

Accidents while parking and maneuvering

The most popular source of minor damage is light tangential contact (easier than in the video) during maneuvering, which is outside the statistical data. Agree, not everyone documents such an accident properly. Many people do not consider getting a couple of scratches to be an accident, despite the fact that often the consequences of even such a touch are expensive to eliminate. Typically, the car body is injured by pillars, curbs, pedestrians (the most risky case in terms of liability for an accident) and, of course, other cars. And don’t promise that this won’t happen to you. If you leave your car in a bad place for half an hour, you can easily end up having to repaint the bumper and fender or replace the headlights.

Carelessly reversed

This type of accident borders on accidental inattention and the popular set-up or “punishment” scheme. In the first case, the driver of the car in front, for some reason, decides to back up, but does not look in the mirrors, because a second ago he drove along this road in forward motion and is sure that there are no obstacles behind him. However, a car had already stopped behind... An accident. The second option is worse. The car in front intentionally backs up and hits the car. These are the so-called setups, or “punishments”. Only witnesses or a video recorder can prove innocence.

Kick in the ass, assembled a “domino”, “locomotive”, drove into ... opu ...

This type of accident is called differently, but in the vast majority of cases, a “locomotive” accident occurs due to failure to maintain a safe distance (followed by speed), although not only. The second reason is distraction. Talking on the phone, switching tracks, looking out the side window for a second, reading an SMS. All this lengthens the reaction time to what is happening around. As a result, there is no longer enough time to stop. It is noteworthy that on the unlimited autobahns of Germany, police ambushes measure not speed, but distance: whoever has it less than permitted (the distance in meters is calculated as the speed multiplied by two) will be fined.

Accidents with pedestrians

As a rule, accidents with pedestrians, even in the happiest scenario, result in at least injuries. Moreover, the probability of death in such accidents is very high.

A particularly risky type of accident is hitting pedestrians. If at city speeds a person inside a car has a chance of not only surviving, but also not being injured (when using seat belts), then a pedestrian risks dying even if hit by a slow-moving car (for example, he can hit his temple on the asphalt when falling). The most common type of collisions are incidents on multi-lane roads, when a pedestrian is not visible behind stopped cars. However, there are exceptions. For example, here a motorcyclist, with quite sufficient visibility, still hit a pedestrian...

Accident when changing lanes, the result is “chess”

Accidents when changing lanes on multi-lane roads can be divided into two types: as a result of hooligan driving with deliberate cutting and violation of the lane, or when an object gets into the blind spot. It also happens that when an unexpected obstacle arises, drivers reflexively dodge and catch the cars around them. Although according to the rules they are only obliged to slow down.

Whatever the true cause of the accident, remember that if there was no physical contact between the bodies and the provocateur of the accident, formally he remains innocent, so the culprit of the accident will be determined based on the traffic rules. The only chance to share responsibility remains with witnesses or video recordings.

Accidents at intersections - running a red light, violation of priority of passage

Accidents at intersections are a very common type in the ranking of all accidents. Moreover, it doesn’t really matter what kind of intersection it is - controlled or not. Of course, more often accidents occur at intersections without traffic lights, when drivers must follow road signs or the right-hand rule. Accidents occur less frequently at intersections with traffic lights, but their consequences are often more serious, because a driver driving on green is usually confident that the corridor is clear.

Accident when starting to move

According to traffic regulations, a driver starting to move must give a turn signal, and most importantly, make sure that the maneuver being performed is safe. If you start blindly and don't look in the mirrors, you can easily get into a serious accident.

Motorcycle accidents

With the start of the motorcycle season, the season for motorcycle accidents also begins. Two-wheeled bikes and cars do not get along well on the road. The motorcycle accelerates faster and brakes more intensely, does not hit the rear view mirrors and does not protect its rider in the event of an accident. Often contact between a car and a motorcycle ends fatally.

Petr Shkumatov coordinator of the Blue Bucket Society movement

1. The main causes of road accidents are driver errors and unfavorable road conditions. Driver errors are often aggravated by road conditions (about 40% of cases). The condition of the infrastructure and the presence of passive safety elements also play a decisive role. The mortality curve has two characteristic peaks: late spring and early winter. In the first case, the asphalt melted with snow; in the second case, the snow fell, and the drivers were not ready for it.

2. Since 40% of road accidents occur not only due to traffic violations, but also due to unsatisfactory road conditions, the relationship between the severity of punishment and the number of accidents is very conditional. The catastrophic state of the road infrastructure sharply aggravates the consequences of driver mistakes. For example, the absence of bump stops on almost all Russian highways leads to fatal consequences in cases that could be limited to damaged iron.

3. Our country needs large-scale investments in road and transport infrastructure. Approximately half of the deaths occur due to its backwardness and inadequacy to the modern load. It is also necessary to strengthen control over compliance with traffic rules in cities where the main cause of accidents is traffic violations. However, in the city there should also be dividers for oncoming flows, especially on roads such as Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

Accident while overtaking

Overtaking is one of the most dangerous maneuvers. And the most dangerous outcome is a head-on collision with an oncoming car. Traffic regulations define overtaking as “the advance of one or more vehicles, associated with entering the lane for oncoming traffic and then returning back.” The key here is to move into the oncoming lane, because when you hit an oncoming car, the speeds of the participants in the accident add up. Taking into account that most overtaking takes place on country roads, at speeds over “hundred”, the consequences of a frontal impact are most often fatal.

Over speed

Often, loss of vehicle control occurs due to exceeding the permissible speed limit. I didn’t fit into the turn because I exceeded the speed, and the force of inertia pulled the car straight. I exceeded the speed limit on a wet road and the car floated to the surface on a film of water, becoming uncontrollable. I exceeded the speed, lost the fight for straight movement and ended up crashing into a pole.

Vyacheslav Lysakov, deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, leader of the all-Russian political party “Automobile Russia”

There are statistics: about 7% are drunken accidents; 23-25% - condition of the roadway; 70%, that is, two thirds of all road accidents, are the human factor, gross violations of traffic rules - inattention, accident, stupidity.

The task of legislators is to ensure the inevitability of punishment, which is extremely important for malicious traffic violators, “scumbags” who need to either be removed from the road or motivated to behave adequately on the road: there are 5% of them, that is, about five million! No less important is education and propaganda, the formation of a stereotype of law-abiding behavior. For example, social advertising in prime time is no less effective than repressive measures (increasing fines and strict regulation with bans).

Bottom line

The plane is statistically considered the safest transport. Take a look at public air radars: hundreds of airliners hang in the sky every day, and they rarely crash, but when this happens, usually all of them die. So minor accidents, where only equipment suffers, occur incomparably more than serious accidents with injuries and deaths. It’s just that in the second case you have to pay a much higher price...

Road accident statistics for the last four years:

Types of accidents

Types of road accidents vary significantly in nature and level of complexity. The presence of consequences of a criminal or administrative nature is also important.

Taking into account these factors, an accident on the road may be:

• collision;
• capsizing;
• collision with damage to a stationary vehicle (collisions with pedestrians, cyclists, obstacles, and horse-drawn vehicles are distinguished);
• passenger fall.

Another type of accident is also possible, that is, incidents associated with certain circumstances, technical nuances, and peculiarities of the organization of road traffic.

A common and quite serious category of the event in question is a triple accident, when three cars are involved.

In many ways, the nature of the incident depends on a certain model of response to a particular stress factor, the presence of specific circumstances, potentially dangerous road markers, and the operational condition of vehicles.

As traffic practice shows, accidents occur quite often when turning left. This is especially true for triple incidents. Such incidents usually have extremely serious consequences, especially if the vehicles were traveling at high speed. It is not uncommon for drivers and passengers to die. The extent of responsibility in this case is established during the investigation; the perpetrators face serious criminal liability.

Vehicle collision as a type of accident

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• Articles and comments by Human Rights Center “Logos”
• Road traffic accident (RTA). Concept and types

Contents of the publication:

• Road accident. Definition of the concept
• Road accident registration by Rosstat
• Types of road traffic accidents (RTA) in ODM 218.6.015-2015
• Types of road traffic accidents (RTA) in the repealed 1998 Rules
• Another type of accident is a non-contact accident.
• Who is considered dead or injured in an accident? “Limited visibility” and “road conditions associated with accidents”

Procedure in case of an accident

There are precise recommendations regulating what to do in the event of an accident. It is important to understand that each accident has specific conditions of origin, nature, participants, and consequences. Therefore, in any incident, participants in an accident are required to show restraint, mutual tolerance and calm.

A mandatory step in the event of an accident is to stop vehicles and display a warning triangle.

Next, possible victims are given first aid, an ambulance and the police are called. Before the police arrive, it is advisable to preserve the original position of the vehicles and other circumstances of the accident, which is necessary to ensure an objective investigation of the traffic accident. If there is a need to clear the roadway, the position of the vehicles, as well as the entire range of traces and signs associated with the incident, must be carefully recorded.

If the driver does not agree with the decision of the traffic police officer

If the person driving the car believes that the traffic police inspector determined the responsibility for hitting a standing vehicle incorrectly, he can write a complaint to the traffic police department regarding this fact. First of all, it is worth noting in the protocol that the driver does not agree with its contents and believes that he did not violate the specified clause, providing explanations on this matter.

As for the complaint, you need to describe the situation in as much detail as possible, indicating the date, time, place and circumstances of the accident. It is also necessary to write the full name of the inspector who drew up the protocol. If there were witnesses, their information should also be provided. The more accurately the essence is stated, the easier it will be for management representatives to assess the situation.

Under the text of the complaint there is a paragraph “Please”. All applicable requirements are listed here, for example:

• terminate the administrative case according to the protocol (indicate the series, number, date of preparation);
• consider the complaint in my absence. If you need details of any circumstances, contact me by phone;
• provide a written response in accordance with the law, send it to the address (the exact and complete address is indicated here).

Important! The complaint should be accompanied by a copy of the protocol drawn up by the traffic police inspector, as well as the resolution on the administrative violation.