Became a participant in the accident: recommendations from lawyers

As road users, drivers and pedestrians often neglect any precautions. The haste due to the delay will save you a couple of minutes at best, at worst – will make you involved in an accident, followed by a long legal red tape, in most cases not clear to both driver and pedestrian.

Traffic rules are oversaturated with various rules, which in general are an instruction, which should be followed by road users. However, quite often all the details of the traffic rules are unknown to the persons to whom they apply. At the same time, if a pedestrian who was injured in an accident was injured, the registration of criminal proceedings and the establishment of who exactly – the driver or the pedestrian – caused such an accident cannot be avoided. And this is where the investigation of who violated the traffic rules begins.

Drivers, if you see that a collision with a pedestrian is inevitable, you should not direct the car to another lane – you will not have time to assess the traffic situation and in order to avoid one accident you can become a participant in another. Exactly the same consequences can have your decision to turn on the sidewalk – the number of victims may be even greater. Therefore, try to stop the vehicle immediately by fully depressing the brake pedal.

If you still can’t avoid a collision with a pedestrian, then no matter what psychological and emotional state you are in, in any case do not leave the scene – it will only help to avoid the problem for a while, but not solve it. In addition, it may raise additional suspicions about the existence of certain motives or guilt on your part in what happened.

Act consistently, focusing on securing the victim and the scene. Turn on the car alarm and take care of the victim immediately: provide first aid to the victim and call an ambulance. Install an emergency stop sign and do not move your car or any items involved in the accident. Also, do not forget to report the accident to the authority or authorized unit of the National Police. It is also highly desirable for you to call a lawyer, because his participation will help you further defend against possible accusations.

After the arrival of police representatives at the scene of the accident, they draw up a report of the scene – this is the first procedural document, the correctness of which depends on the development of the case.

In the future, both the driver and the victim, as well as witnesses to the accident, must be interrogated. Being in a state of shock from what happened, we do NOT recommend testifying, especially without a lawyer. Not everyone will be able to immediately provide an accurate reproduction of the event as it all happened, because this requires a cold mind, which is quite difficult to maintain in such situations. At the same time, drivers are usually questioned on the day of the event.

Drivers, if you understand that you are unable to adequately reflect what happened during the interrogation, do not neglect the help of a lawyer. Everything you say will be legalized and in the future may become fatal to establish your guilt. At the first opportunity, demand the involvement of a lawyer. At the same time, you have the right to refuse the interrogation without a prior meeting with a lawyer before the first interrogation.

The driver must display all information as accurately as possible: where they left, in what direction, at what speed, traffic light, whether they saw a pedestrian, if so, at what distance he was noticed, etc. All questions involve a clear answer, however, if If you are not sure about something, then tell the investigator about it and do not succumb to pressure, if any.

The importance of the data you provide during the interrogation can be illustrated by the following example. Allowed maximum! speed for driving around the city is 50 km / h. Less – it is possible, more – traffic violations. Yes, if your car travels 50,000 meters per hour, then in a second you will cover about 14 meters. It only takes a second for your brain to read the road situation. It will take another second for your body to react and take all necessary measures to avoid a collision with a pedestrian. In total, the distance you really need to see a pedestrian and take everything possible to avoid a collision is about 28 meters. Therefore, if you “by eye” try to say the appropriate distance – 5, 10, 15 meters – it can play a nasty joke on you when conducting the relevant examinations. The mechanism of the accident from the point of view of examinations (which must be appointed in such cases) is only mathematics and physics. It is also necessary to understand that “from the side” – being on the street as a pedestrian, or in oncoming transport – the human eye is not able to determine the speed of passing cars. Even approximately. Therefore, such evidence is considered incompetent.

Testimony provided by the driver and other participants in the accident, which will be recorded in the interrogation report, will be provided to experts in the future. Given their inconsistency with the above calculations, they will not be taken into account by experts, and therefore the testimony given by the driver, no matter how realistic for the driver, will not be taken into account.

Among the important investigative actions carried out in the investigation of criminal proceedings related to road accidents are a number of examinations:

• forensic medical: the purpose is to determine the severity of injuries inflicted on a pedestrian. In the future, its results will be taken into
• account when determining the severity of the crime;
• automotive: the purpose is to identify possible vehicle malfunctions that could cause traffic safety violations; establishing the mechanism of the accident (speed, braking distance, trajectory and other spatial and dynamic characteristics; establishing compliance of the driver’s actions with the technical requirements of the traffic rules, the ability to prevent accidents from the moment of danger;
• transport-trasological: examination of traces found at the scene of the accident and damage to the vehicle;
  examination of the condition of roads and road conditions: in order to establish compliance of technical and operational, geometric and technical indicators of roads with regulatory and technical conditions, as well as compliance of traffic organization with traffic safety requirements.

In the course of some examinations it may be found that to solve the questions or some of them require the application of specialized knowledge in various fields. In such cases, comprehensive examinations are conducted. Among the latter, a complex autotechnical, forensic and transport-trasological examination is most often assigned.

The previously listed examinations, although not of any importance for establishing the actual circumstances of the accident, but the conclusions provided in them, even if the latter are categorical, should not be taken as “the truth of last resort.” First, the examination has a regulated procedure, compliance with which should always be checked for possible violations. And, secondly, examinations are conducted by people, so there is always a subjective factor.

No wonder civil law recognizes the use of vehicles as a source of increased danger. And therefore it is necessary to be careful both at driving, and at crossing of the road by the pedestrian. The latter should keep in mind that they are also responsible as road users, and therefore chaotic traffic is unacceptable for them.

Pedestrians should move on sidewalks and sidewalks, keeping to the right. If these are not available, you can move along the bike paths, keeping to the right and not hindering movement on bicycles, or in a row along the roadside, keeping to the right. And only as an exception to the previously mentioned – on the edge of the roadway towards the movement of vehicles.

Pedestrians should be especially careful in the dark and in poor visibility. Especially if you are driving on the roadway or roadside. The rules in such cases oblige you to distinguish yourself, and if possible to have reflective elements on your outerwear, for timely detection by drivers. Do not forget the fact that the included headlights of the car provide only limited visibility – 50 meters ahead of the vehicle, equal to 4 seconds of the driver on the road at speeds up to 50 km / h, and at 100 km / h – this time is twice as short. Will the driver have time to notice you and react in time to avoid a collision? It is better not to put yourself in a situation where you have to ask yourself this question.

Also, pedestrians, in any case do not cross the roadway elsewhere. Do this on pedestrian crossings. And in their absence – at intersections along the lines of sidewalks or roadsides.

Drivers and pedestrians, do not forget that the perpetrator must compensate for all the damage caused to another participant in the accident. For the driver – this is compensation for damage caused by injury, other damage to health or death, compensation for property damage (if any), and non-pecuniary damage – despite the guilt – Article 1167 of the Civil Code of Ukraine – Non-pecuniary damage is compensated regardless of guilt… .. natural or legal person who caused it: 1) if the damage was caused by injury, other damage to health or death of an individual due to a source of increased danger (ie car)

Obtaining a driver’s license and buying a car, although it provides comfort and mobility in life, but requires some care and caution. Neglecting your responsibility on the road, you can become a participant in an accident on a normal weekday, without realizing it and not wanting to. The lack of qualified legal assistance in resolving this category of cases is almost decisive. Failure to understand the role of investigative actions carried out in an accident, and small, but important, details in each of them will complicate the reproduction of the actual circumstances of the event.

That is why, if you are involved in an accident and do not know what to do and how to do it right, you can always contact the lawyers of the Law Firm “Neofelis Lo Group” for the following contact details. Our experience will help you.

Lawyer Katerina Tarasova

Phone: 38 (050) 471-77-71

Neofelis.com.ua

Email: NEOFELIS.LG@GMAIL.COM