Road accident involving a pedestrian - its consequences and liability

Accident involving a pedestrian

According to these rules, the fact of a collision with a pedestrian is confirmed only when a mechanical vehicle collides with a person, as a result of which one or both parties to the accident receive moral or material damage. Moreover, in this case, even the most minor injuries are taken into account, such as a dislocated limb, scratch, cut, hematoma, etc.

A tragedy can occur on a zebra crossing, sidewalk, controlled intersection, or in a roadway area where pedestrian traffic is strictly prohibited. The difference is that in the first two cases, the blame will be undeniably placed on the driver, while the third and fourth options involve a more detailed consideration of the situation. We will find out further what a motorist faces for an accident at a pedestrian crossing, including a fatal one.

Punishment for an accident caused by the driver

If an accident occurs at a pedestrian crossing, the driver must pay a fine of 1,500-2,000 rubles. However, this is only in a situation where there was no harm to health. In other cases, the penalties are more significant:

minor harm to health is estimated at 2500-5000 rubles. or deprivation of the certificate for 1-1.5 years,
damage of moderate severity is subject to a fine of 10,000-25,000 rubles. or deprivation of the certificate for 1.5-2 years.
serious harm entails criminal punishment with imprisonment for up to 2 years,
the death of a pedestrian is a criminal penalty of up to 5 years,
death of two or more pedestrians - criminal punishment up to 7 years.

Main causes of incidents

In total, the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Russian Federation identifies three groups of factors in which accidents involving pedestrians occur:

Driver inattention;
Carelessness of pedestrian traffic participants;
Improper organization of the road section (lack of markings, limited visibility of signs, etc.).

Attention! Depending on the listed reasons for hitting a person, traffic police officers determine the degree of responsibility for each of the parties to the conflict.

When the driver is at fault

In order for a driver to fully take responsibility for an accident on a pedestrian crossing or sidewalk, the following circumstances must precede the incident:

Failure to comply with the speed limit;
Technical malfunction of the vehicle;
Inattentiveness of the motorist (talking on the phone, with a passenger, etc.);
Ignoring traffic rules (overtaking a vehicle standing in front of a zebra crossing, crossing a red light, driving off the road, etc.).

But situations cannot be ruled out when the pedestrian himself is the culprit for an accident at a zebra crossing. Therefore, it is very important not to take premature responsibility, and not to hide from the scene of the incident until the traffic police inspectors arrive.

When is the pedestrian at fault?

Based on many years of practice, the State Traffic Inspectorate of the Russian Federation can identify the following causes of accidents due to the fault of a pedestrian:

Crossing a controlled intersection at a prohibitory traffic light;
Abrupt appearance at a zebra crossing (according to these rules, a person must step onto the crossing at an exclusively calm pace);
An attempt to cross to the opposite part of the road in a place not intended for this purpose.

It is important to know! Just like the motorist, the injured citizen will be responsible for the damage he caused to the movable property of the second party to the conflict. Witnesses, surveillance cameras or a banal video recorder will help the driver prove the pedestrian’s guilt.

Let's talk about cyclists

They are also road users. A collision between a cyclist and a pedestrian is an equally common accident. The first one will be punished in the following situation:

Carrying out a collision on the sidewalk, which is prohibited. You must move along the right edge of the road or along the bicycle path.
Hiding from the scene of an accident.
Causing physical and moral harm.

Accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists also occur quite often.

Types of damage

In accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, all damage received by people in road accidents is divided into two main groups: moral and material. It applies to both sides of the conflict. For example, if the injured person is a pedestrian, then he can present the following claims for compensation to the culprit of the accident:

Full reimbursement of funds spent on treatment, damaged clothing and accessories, which is equivalent to material assets;
Additional benefits due to stress suffered (one of the types of moral damage).

The same applies to a motorist who has received the status of a victim in an accident involving a collision with a pedestrian. But he can demand compensation only if the bodily injuries received by the culprit do not turn out to be fatal for him (in such situations, CASCO insurance is responsible for covering the damage, if one of the parties to the conflict has it).

What are the conclusions from this material?

If a pedestrian is injured as a result of an accident, then the damage to health is compensated regardless of the driver’s fault. If the driver has a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, then damage to the health of the pedestrian is compensated up to 400,000 rubles at the expense of the insurance company, and if the driver who hit the pedestrian does not have a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, then the driver compensates for the damage caused to the pedestrian’s health from his own pocket;
If the driver has a CASCO policy, then he has every right to contact his insurance company, which will repair the vehicle, and if the pedestrian is at fault, then the insurance company, after compensation, has every right to file a recourse claim against the culprit of the accident and recover from him the amount of compensation paid for compensation car damage;
If a driver found not guilty of an accident with a pedestrian does not have CASCO insurance, then he has the right to file a claim for compensation for damage to the car as a result of the accident to the pedestrian;
If a pedestrian found guilty of an accident refuses to pay off the recourse debt to the insurance company, or refuses to compensate the driver for damages, then both the insurance company and the driver have every right to file a lawsuit against the pedestrian and recover the full amount of damage;
The court has the right to satisfy the claims of the insurance company or the driver against the pedestrian if it is proven that the accident occurred due to the fault of the pedestrian;
The situation is also the opposite, where the court refuses to satisfy the claims against the pedestrian if the pedestrian’s fault in the accident is not established;
Also, on the basis of Article 1079 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a pedestrian has every right to receive compensation for harm caused to health. It is also worth saying here that the pedestrian makes a claim for compensation for damage caused to life or health directly to the driver of the vehicle, and such claims can include a claim for compensation for harm to health, as well as moral damage;
If the owner of the vehicle refuses to voluntarily compensate for damage to health, the pedestrian has the right to file a claim in court.

About the author:

Larin Alexander . Project manager, currently a practicing specialist with a total legal experience of more than 10 years. Graduated from Moscow State Law Academy (O. E. Kutafin University) in 2006. Professional areas mainly Civil Law, Consumer Rights Protection, Labor Disputes. Author of more than 250 articles on the corporate blog.

First actions after hitting a pedestrian

Often, an accident for a pedestrian results in severe bodily injury, which is why, even if the pedestrian is at fault, the motorist has some responsibility for providing him with first aid. This is done as follows:

After a collision, the vehicle must be completely stopped and immobilized by using the handbrake;
The driver must try to determine the degree of injury he inflicted on a pedestrian road user;
If the condition of the injured person is moderate or serious, then an ambulance must be called to the scene of the incident (a citizen can record minor damage to health at the sanitary inspection station);
If you have a first aid kit and certain medical skills, the driver is obliged to provide first aid to the injured person (stop the bleeding, perform artificial respiration, etc.);
State Traffic Inspectorate officers are called to the scene of the accident (before the police arrive, it is advisable to find several witnesses to the accident and record their personal information, since eyewitness testimony can become a key factor in determining guilt in court);
If there is time left, before the arrival of the traffic police officers, the motorist can independently install emergency signs in the area where the braking distance begins (this will speed up the process of carrying out the examination by traffic police inspectors);
If possible, the scene of the traffic accident should be recorded in a photo or video;
As a last resort, the driver can call a lawyer to avoid a possible escalation of the situation.

Attention! At the same time, the car owner is strictly prohibited from leaving the accident area, moving the vehicle until traffic police inspectors arrive, or removing debris from the roadway. After all, when drawing up a protocol, all this will be taken as evidence, the damage of which is fraught for a citizen with an impressive fine or deprivation of rights for a period of up to 1.5 years (Article 12.27 of the Administrative Code).

How is the culprit determined?

Upon arrival at the site where the traffic accident occurred, State Traffic Inspectorate employees conduct a thorough inspection of the area in order to determine the pattern of the accident. It takes into account:

Length of the car braking distance;
The position of the hit pedestrian on the roadway;
Availability of signs and operability of traffic lights (if the accident occurred at a crossing);
Technical condition of the vehicle;
Viewing angle and visibility range.

But such an examination is not capable of establishing one hundred percent guilt in a fatal accident with a pedestrian. Therefore, traffic police inspectors are additionally required to study the testimony of witnesses to the accident, as well as materials from video recorders or surveillance cameras located in the incident area. And only after a thorough check can the court finally determine the culprit of the accident, imposing an administrative or criminal penalty on him.

Procedure for bringing to responsibility

If the traffic police inspector finds the driver guilty on the spot, then he is issued a ruling based on the incident, which can be appealed within 10 days. After this period, in the absence of counterclaims on his part, the case of a collision with a pedestrian is transferred to the court, where a further measure of punishment for the motorist is chosen (criminal, administrative or civil).

It is important to know! The situation is significantly aggravated if the person at fault is drunk at the time of the accident or flees the scene of the accident. Indeed, in this case, the traffic police will be forced to put the fugitive on the wanted list and carry out forced detention without the possibility of challenging the court verdict.

The same applies to a pedestrian who has received the status of an initiator of an accident. But bringing him to justice if he escapes from the scene of an accident will be much more difficult. It’s another matter if the victim leaves the traffic conflict zone under the influence of a state of shock. After all, then he will be able to write a statement against the driver who hit her to the traffic police the next day, thereby provoking an investigation, but without witnesses and a preliminary examination.

Therefore, if you get into an accident due to the fault of a pedestrian, the motorist is strongly recommended to remain on the spot until the State Traffic Inspectorate arrives, and carry out the procedure for registering the accident in accordance with all the rules (including inspecting the scene of the accident and searching for eyewitnesses). Otherwise, the driver risks being held liable for the unknown fact of hitting a person in the absence of evidence to the contrary.

Penalties

The degree of responsibility for creating a critical situation on the road depends on the severity of the case. As mentioned earlier, pedestrian accidents can be assessed under three main codes:

Criminal;
Administrative;
Civil.

Attention! The listed acts usually come into effect in pairs, which only aggravates the punishment for the guilty party. What specific sentence a driver and pedestrian can expect for creating an emergency situation (including one resulting in death) will be discussed below in the article.

Pedestrian

Within the framework of the administrative code, for a banal violation of traffic rules, a pedestrian can only face a fine of 1,000 to 1,500 rubles (depending on the clause of the rules that he ignored). But criminal punishment will await a person only if he, by his appearance on the road, provoked a serious accident with the following consequences:

The driver received severe or moderate injuries - for such an offense the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for up to 2 years of imprisonment;
While trying to avoid a collision with a pedestrian, the driver got into a serious accident, as a result of which one citizen died - this violation entails liability in the form of prison for up to 4 years;
More than two people died in an accident - for such a crime the perpetrator of the incident faces up to 7 years in prison.

In addition to the two listed codes, the Civil Code of the Russian Federation also comes into play, according to which the initiator of an accident is obliged to cover the damage caused to third parties. This could be: payment for vehicle repairs, compensation for moral damage, return of money spent on treatment and further rehabilitation, etc.

To the driver

If the driver who ran over a pedestrian caused minimal harm to his health, then this kind of conflict can be resolved within the framework of the Civil Code, simply by compensating the injured person for moral damage established mutually. But when calling State Traffic Inspectorate employees to the scene of an accident, the motorist will have to suffer a more serious punishment provided for by the Criminal Code or the Code of the Russian Federation. It could be:

Deprivation of a driver's license for a period of up to 3 years (usually this measure is considered additional and is applied in combination with imprisonment or penalties);
Arrest for a term of 5 to 7 years (the most severe sentence that occurs in the case of deaths in an accident);
Up to 48 months of forced labor (a measure for citizens who caused moderate or severe harm to the health of third parties in an accident).

In addition, the driver who hit a pedestrian is obliged to pay him moral and material compensation, in accordance with the Civil Code. Evading responsibility may cause the offender to stay in prison longer.

Drivers' responsibility

Drivers must be extremely attentive to pedestrians, even if the latter grossly violate the Traffic Rules - cross the road in the wrong place, cross an intersection when the traffic light is prohibited, or commit other offenses. This is due to the fact that any accident is fraught with many unpleasant consequences:

The pedestrian may simply flee the scene. And then the driver will have to repair damage to the car (for example, a broken mirror) at his own expense. In this case, hardly anyone will look for a pedestrian;
Wasting a lot of time. Even if the pedestrian received only a few bruises and abrasions as a result of the accident, waiting for traffic police inspectors and drawing up a report may take several hours. Even more time will have to be lost if the pedestrian suffers serious health damage;
Fine for violating traffic rules. For example, for hitting a person who was crossing a pedestrian crossing according to all the rules, you will have to pay an administrative fine in the amount of 1,500 to 2,500 rubles;
Fines for related traffic violations. During the registration of the protocol, the traffic police officer may find a number of other minor (or serious) violations, be it a missing first aid kit or fire extinguisher, unreadable license plates, lack of an insurance policy, or even the driver’s intoxication. For all this there is an unpleasant administrative responsibility;
If, as a result of an accident, the pedestrian’s health was harmed (especially if he died), then the driver will face additional administrative or criminal punishment (up to forced labor or imprisonment).

The punishment for causing damage to health in 2021 depends on the severity of the harm caused to the victim’s health. Thus, for minor damage to health you will have to pay an administrative fine in the amount of 2,500 to 5,000 rubles. In extreme cases, the guilty driver faces deprivation of his license for a period of 12 to 18 months. In case of average harm to health, these sanctions are tightened - the fine increases to 10,000-25,000 rubles, and the period of deprivation of a driver's license - up to 18-24 months.

The driver faces criminal liability if, through his fault, a pedestrian is seriously injured or the pedestrian is completely killed. In the first case, the driver can be imprisoned for up to 2 years. In the case of the death of one pedestrian, the term of imprisonment increases to 5 years, in the case of the death of two or more persons - up to 7 years of imprisonment.

Controversial situations

Damage suffered by a motorist due to the fault of a pedestrian must be compensated exclusively by the culprit of the road accident. But in reality everything is not so simple. After all, if the initiator of the accident received bodily injuries, then in this case Article 1079 of the Civil Code comes into force, which obliges the owner of the vehicle to pay compensation to the victim, even if he is officially assigned the status of a victim of an accident.

Simply put, if a person throws himself under the wheels of a car, the owner of the movable property will have to reimburse him for all the costs of treatment. But in this situation, the motorist is completely exempt from fines and criminal liability, which is provided for by the Criminal Code and the Code of the Russian Federation.

We learned what a driver faces for a fatal accident at a pedestrian crossing, and how you can avoid punishment for hitting a person. In conclusion, it remains to add that it is quite difficult to prove your innocence in such incidents as a driver. Therefore, you need to be extremely careful while driving and try to avoid the problems described above as much as possible.

Penalty for an accident caused by a pedestrian

The situation is usually greatly complicated by the fact that the punishment for a pedestrian for failure to comply with traffic rules is most often not so great. The maximum fine can be 1000 rubles. But if the driver, while trying to avoid an accident, suffered harm to health, the amount of recovery increases significantly:

when causing light (medium) harm, the fine will be 1000-1500 rubles,
serious harm to health is subject to criminal liability, and the pedestrian can be imprisoned for up to 2 years,
when a person died as a result of such an accident, this is a criminal penalty (up to 4 years in prison),
if more than 2 people died - criminal punishment up to 7 years.

Therefore, it is worth remembering that even a pedestrian is a participant in the traffic and should not neglect his duties on the road.