What to do if you hit a moose or other animal - the size of the fine and consequences

Home/Traffic police fines/For a downed moose in 2021

In Russia, drivers often travel not only along wide city highways, but also through protected forest lands where wild animals, in particular moose, live. These animals can take to the roads and cause serious accidents. On sections of the route where encounters with moose are possible, drivers are warned by “Wild Animals” road signs. If you see this warning, you should slow down to avoid a collision. Otherwise, not only the car and the health of the driver will suffer, but also his wallet, since a rather large fine is imposed for a downed moose.

The fine for killing a moose on the road

Russia has developed a list of fines for causing harm to wild animals. The leading position on this list is taken by the moose. According to Order No. 948 of the Ministry of Natural Resources (as amended on November 17, 2021), a person who hits an elk in a conservation area is given a large fine:

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• 80,000 rubles for the destruction of 1 individual (before the changes on November 17, 2021, the fine was 40 thousand rubles);
• 500 rubles for ignoring signs installed on the highway.

The largest fine is imposed if a person hits a pregnant female moose. In this case, you will have to pay for each destroyed individual. In most cases, the fine for hitting a pregnant female moose on the road is equal to 160,000 - 200,000 rubles.

A fine for killing a moose on the road can be challenged in court if:

• the driver will be able to prove that the collision with the animal occurred outside the scope of the “wild animals” sign;
• the harm occurred due to a combination of circumstances and force majeure.

Elk is one of the largest animals. Its weight reaches up to 300 kilograms, and its length is up to 3 meters. Therefore, the vehicle will also be damaged as a result of the collision.

Normative base

Accidents involving moose are regulated by a number of laws and regulations. According to Article No. 4 52 of the Federal Law, the elk is the property of the state. Consequently, if harm is caused to an animal, it will be necessary to pay a fine to its owner - the state.

The maximum permissible speed of a vehicle is regulated by paragraph 10.1 of the Road Traffic Rules. If a traffic police officer can prove that before the collision the vehicle was moving at an excessive speed, the driver will be fined 500 rubles.

Article No. 1079 of the Civil Code states that if an accident occurs involving a vehicle and a moose, the driver who caused the collision in the environmental protection zone will be considered the culprit.

According to the Traffic Rules,

installed on the highway, warns drivers of the possible appearance of wild animals. In its area of ​​effect, you need to slow down and be extremely careful.

Article 77 of the Federal Code “On Environmental Protection” dictates that an individual or legal entity is obliged to pay a fine for causing harm to the environment, including for the destruction of a wild elk.

Measures to prevent collisions and an action plan for such an accident

As you understand, at night or late in the evening, when it is dark, you need to drive especially carefully.
This is even more important if you know that you are driving through a protected area or on a road where animals go.

Usually, the most turbulent period in the animal world begins in the fall.

1. It's rutting time for moose. They are looking for females and males with all their might, so they do not pay attention to dangers.
2. Young individuals also develop new territories, but there are not so many of them, and the periods of maturation are scattered over time.

What to do if you hit a representative of the animal world?

If you hit such an animal, then you should not panic, but act according to plan:

• you need to stop the car and get out of the vehicle;
• call the police to the scene of the accident, as well as your insurers, because in the collision your car was also damaged, they will take care of it.

But remember that the insurance company is not obliged to pay a fine to the state treasury, it is entirely your fault, and it is up to you to atone for it.

Who is at fault in an accident with a moose?

In the event of a collision between a car and a moose, it is necessary to call traffic police officers and notify them of an accident with a wild animal. Road inspectors must come with a hunting inspector and record that the animal was injured in a road accident, and not during a hunt.

The culprit of an accident is the owner of the vehicle that caused the collision, or the person driving it by proxy, if:

• The driver violated traffic rules during the collision.

It doesn’t matter whether you were on the highway, they are placed only in places where animals frequently migrate as a warning. Damage to fauna from road accidents is covered by MTPL.

A controversial situation arises if:

• The speed of movement of the moose is quite high. He can absolutely suddenly run onto the track, getting under the wheels of a car. The driver in such a situation will not be able to stop the vehicle.
• A driver may be forced to hit a moose, for example, if a column of cars is moving behind him, then his sharp braking can provoke an even more serious accident; driving into the oncoming lane may also not always be possible.

Only a traffic police officer can determine the culprit of an accident with a moose after a detailed study of all the circumstances of the incident. Since “Wild Animals” is a warning sign, judicial practice in determining who is at fault for an accident with a moose outside the sign’s coverage area is not clear-cut. The decision as to whether the driver is guilty will be made depending on the specific situation.

The size of sanctions has increased several times

1. The application of such punishment occurs in the case of illegal fishing from boats and boats using chemicals and explosives, electric current, as well as other prohibited weapons in spawning areas or on migration routes to them. 2. This punishment may follow if a violation is detected in an environmental disaster zone, specially protected natural areas, or in a place of environmental emergency. If a crime is committed by an organized group, a group of persons by prior conspiracy, using their official position, or when causing particularly large damage, then the punishment for poaching in Russia in this case will be even harsher.

Poaching and hunting without a permit - fine and article in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation

The procedure for obtaining permits and direct hunting with all the details is regulated by legislation in the field of hunting, in particular, from July 27, 2009 and by-laws and related laws.

More to read —> New Gardening Charter from 2021

If you have seen a collision with a wild animal, first of all you need to make sure that the participants in the accident are not in danger. If there are victims, you must immediately call an ambulance and traffic police. Record on your mobile phone all the circumstances of the accident and the license plate number of the culprit’s car, in case he decides to escape. After this, wait for the patrol crew to arrive and provide your witness statements.

When is a fine imposed for a downed elk?

In most cases, a fine for a downed moose is assigned immediately after the accident, but only if no controversial situations arise. Traffic police officers and a hunting inspector arrive at the scene of the accident, draw up an offense report and give the culprit a statement with the amount of the fine.

If a controversial situation arises on the highway, then there are two possible options for continuing events:

• the driver is given a fine for hitting a moose on the road, but he challenges it in court;
• the amount of the fine is established in court after a full explanation of the situation.

A person who has committed an offense may pay a fine at the traffic police department. To do this, he needs to provide the employee with an extract of the fine and an accident report. It’s faster, more convenient and cheaper to pay a fine through the State Services portal through any payment system.

The culprit of the accident is obliged to pay a fine within 60 days after the issued order comes into force. In addition, the violator is given a 10-day period to appeal the decision. Therefore, the total period during which the fine must be paid is 70 days. An exception is the situation if during this time the person was sick, injured or a relative died.

To call or not to call traffic police?

Only a traffic police officer in the event of an accident with a moose can soberly assess the situation.
Citizens who hit a wild animal, in particular an elk, on the road are in a state of shock for some time and cannot soberly assess the situation. Some try to escape from the crime scene, get rid of the body of a downed animal, and commit other rash acts.

In this situation, according to the provisions of the law, the citizen is obliged to call the traffic police officers. It is best to follow the principles of what should be done if the collision is not with an animal, but with a person. In this case, you should contact the inspectors regardless of whether the person was alive or not.

Police officers are required to record the incident, draw up a report, and, if necessary, draw a diagram of the accident.

OSAGO in an accident with a moose

Compulsory MTPL insurance in case of an accident with a wild animal pays compensation to the state (in this case, the fine for a downed moose is 80,000 rubles), since such a situation is an insured event.

The maximum amount of payments under compulsory motor liability insurance is 400,000 rubles.

Voluntary types of insurance, for example, CASCO or DSAGO, pay compensation to the injured person only if such an insured event is specified in the insurance contract.

To pay a fine for a downed moose under compulsory motor liability insurance, you must:

1. call the traffic police with a hunting inspector;
2. record the fact of an accident;
3. provide a package of documents to the OSAGO company;
4. wait for a decision to be made and compensation for the fine.

It is worth noting that many insurance companies do not even cover such an insured event as a collision with a wild animal.

Why are drivers given the task of preventing accidents, citing unfulfillable traffic regulations?

It is very noticeable that the Volkswagen passenger was impressed by what happened. She says she never thought about such incidents, the migration routes of wild animals and the legal consequences in the event of an accident.

“Already at home, I started Googling and found out that a month earlier, three people were injured in a collision with a wild animal,” Oksana recalls.

We are probably talking about an incident on the M1 highway. Then the Mercedes driver hit a moose. Getting out of the car, the man put up a warning triangle. A Fiat Punto driving behind it (a 28-year-old young man was driving) stopped in the leftmost lane in front of an animal lying on the roadway, after which an Opel Vectra crashed into this car. The impact sent the Fiat into oncoming traffic, where it collided with a DAF truck.

As a result of the accident, the driver and a 25-year-old Fiat passenger who was in the back seat, as well as the DAF driver, were hospitalized with injuries.

And the day before, near Mikhanovichi (Minsk region), the driver of a Volkswagen Passat also hit a moose crossing the road. The help of rescuers was needed: a 37-year-old man with injuries of varying severity was taken to the hospital.

Let us emphasize: the incidents were recorded at the same time; it was during this period that seasonal migration of wild animals was observed. You can't fool your instinct! For example, moose follow trails laid hundreds of years ago.

— What is the state doing to prevent such cases? — asks a Golf passenger. “It might be worth lighting the road, but it would probably be very expensive.” In other countries, they even build tunnels for frogs. And in Latvia, I saw that there were nets stretched along the forest. This, of course, is more a question for the designers, but MKAD-2 was built relatively recently. Wasn't this foreseen?

Our interlocutor makes a reservation: in some places the grids on MKAD-2 are stretched, but it turns out that this is an ineffective measure? In her opinion, it is the responsibility of designers to think through measures to prevent wild animals, drunken pedestrians, etc. from entering the roadway.

“I don’t understand why drivers are given the task of preventing accidents, citing unfulfillable traffic rules, and the state has withdrawn itself from solving the problem,” Oksana is indignant. - What can we do on our part? The only thing is not to plan trips in the dark. But this is not very realistic.

The experience of Western countries with a high level of road safety still speaks of constructive measures - the same nets, of a certain height and strength, so that animals cannot jump over or break the fence. Of course, this is a large-scale task that can require large sums of money. Is the game worth the candle?

In road traffic, it is customary to focus on economic feasibility. No matter how cynical it may sound, there is even an assessment of a person’s life so that it can be justified: to build an interchange or install a traffic light facility, for example. Here's the estimate, sign it!

As we managed to find out, we are still conducting certain studies. More than ten years ago, the migration routes of wild animals began to be taken into account when designing and reconstructing roads. Fences are installed in dangerous areas. However, either they are not strong enough, or the natural call is too strong, but they are broken through.

However, there are other means to prevent such incidents: repellents, special buffer zones, light sensors that respond to movement...

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What to do if you hit a moose?

Every driver who plans to drive along a road located near a forest should remember that a collision with a moose will bring him many unpleasant consequences. Firstly, he will have to pay a fairly large fine. Secondly, in a collision with this large animal, he himself or the passengers in the vehicle may suffer. Thirdly, if you collide with a moose while driving along the highway at high speed, you can damage your vehicle so badly that it cannot be repaired. Therefore, when driving out on the road, it is worth remembering a few rules:

1. The most active emergence of wild animals occurs in the fall. During this period, moose begin to explore new territory. Therefore, it is in the fall that you should exercise maximum vigilance and caution, especially in those areas where the corresponding sign is installed.
2. When taking out insurance, you must include in the contract an insured event - a collision with a wild animal. This is necessary so that in the event of an accident there is an opportunity to receive compensation.

You should also follow speed limits, traffic rules, and always carry valid insurance with you.

If you still fail to avoid a collision with a moose, you need to do the following:

• stop immediately and turn on the hazard warning lights;
• display an emergency stop sign at a distance of 30 meters from the vehicle if the accident occurred outside a populated area;
• call traffic police officers;
• call the huntsman on whose territory the elk was hit (it is enough to notify the traffic police officer on duty about the accident with the moose, and the inspectors themselves will notify the huntsman and arrive with him at the scene of the accident);
• call an ambulance if the driver or any of the passengers are injured;
• While waiting, it is recommended to provide yourself with an alibi and take a photo or video of the accident scene yourself;
• arriving traffic police officers will record the fact of the offense;
• You are required to pick up the receipt and pay for it within 60 days, unless there are any disputes.

If a controversial situation arises, you must file a claim in court. If an insured event occurs, you must contact the insurance company to receive compensation.

How to avoid encountering an animal

To avoid getting into trouble, you need to follow a number of tips. When driving through a forest, you need to look carefully at the side of the road to immediately notice the corresponding sign. From late August to October, the risk of a collision with a moose is higher, since the animal is in rut at this time. Animals are also more active in the early morning and evening. The speed when driving should be low, this makes it easier to brake.

When you see movement in the bushes, you need to be even more careful and reduce your speed to a minimum. If you find an elk on the road, you must wait for it to leave. During the rut, it is better not to honk at the elk; its reaction can be unpredictable. If you take all precautions, you can certainly avoid problems when driving in a forested area.

How to challenge a fine for hitting a moose?

There are a number of situations when it becomes necessary to challenge a fine for killing an elk on the road. This can be done in the following cases:

• if the accident occurred in the dark, when the driver was physically unable to stop in front of a moose that suddenly ran out onto the highway;
• if a collision with an animal occurred in a place where the appropriate sign was not installed;
• if the driver tried with all his might to prevent an accident, but he did not have such an opportunity.

The maximum period for challenging a fine for a downed elk is 10 days. If during this time the driver has not taken any measures to challenge it, then he is obliged to pay the fine in full. You can appeal an illegal fine in one of two law enforcement agencies: the traffic police department or in court.

At the traffic police

To challenge a fine for a downed moose, first of all, you need to contact the traffic police; in many cases, the situation is resolved already at this stage. This requires:

1. Write a statement of claim addressed to the head of the traffic police, describing in detail all the circumstances of the accident with the moose.
2. Attach evidence of your innocence to the application. For this purpose, information from witnesses of the incident, passengers, recordings from traffic cameras or video recorders can be used.

After submitting the statement of claim to an authorized person, the application proceeds to the consideration stage, which lasts up to 10 days. After this, the applicant will be given a written response to the decision.

In a court

If after contacting the traffic police the situation has not cleared up, then you should go to a further authority - the court. To do this you should:

1. Draw up a statement of claim in which you should display your claim, all the details of the accident involving a moose, and the offenses of the traffic police officers.
2. Attach all evidence of your innocence to the material.

It is important that the statement of claim be drawn up correctly, otherwise it will not be considered by the law enforcement agency. Therefore, it is recommended to seek help in preparing documents from a free online consultant on our website.

Challenging a fine

There are various situations in which you can avoid paying a fine by challenging its accrual. Here are the main ones:

• the killing of the animal occurred at night, the driver was unable to brake in time;
• the collision occurred in an atypical place, where it was impossible to expect, without an appropriate sign;
• the driver tried to prevent the accident, but it was physically impossible.

At the traffic police

Most often, the situation can be resolved by the traffic police. To do this, you need to write a statement addressed to your boss, describing the problem in detail. Evidence must be attached to the application: interviews with witnesses, video recorder data. This must be done within 10 days. The application will also be considered for 10 days, then a written response will be given.

In a court

The judicial authorities can also examine the application if the problem with the traffic police cannot be resolved. Similarly, the application indicates all the information about the accident, plus claims against the traffic police officers.

Consequences of failure to pay a fine for hitting an animal

As mentioned earlier, the fine for hitting a moose must be paid within 60 days. If the culprit of the accident does not do this, then law enforcement officials can bring him to justice:

• After this time, a new administrative fine will be imposed on the culprit of the accident, which is equivalent to double the size of the previous fine.
• The culprit of an accident can be put under arrest for up to 15 days.
• The offender may be assigned correctional labor for up to 50 hours.
• If the fine for a downed moose is not paid within 3 months, then the debt can be sent to a bailiff. In this case, law enforcement agencies have the right to block the card or partially recover funds from wages to pay off the general debt.
• The fine for a downed moose ranges from 80,000 rubles. In accordance with the innovations, traffic police officers have the right to stop a vehicle and take away its owner’s driver’s license if the amount of his debt exceeds 10,000 rubles. This rule is regulated by Law No. 441 of the Federal Code.

In extreme cases, the offender may have a vehicle or property confiscated, the value of which is equal to the amount of the debt.

If the driver fled the scene of an accident with a moose

A collision with a wild animal can cause a lot of trouble for the driver. But the situation will be even worse for him if the culprit of the accident escapes from the scene of the accident. In this case, depending on the complexity of the accident, he may be subject to one of the following penalties:

• confiscation of a driver's license for a period of 1 to 1.5 years;
• administrative arrest for up to 15 calendar days;
• in addition, the driver of the vehicle will not be able to receive compensation under compulsory motor liability insurance;
• charge of poaching (fine 200,000 rubles and criminal sentence).

It is worth noting that escaping from the scene of an accident is not so easy. At the first checkpoint, a damaged vehicle can be stopped by a traffic police inspector and detained until the circumstances are clarified. In the future, charges of poaching may be imposed and a fine of up to 200,000 rubles and criminal charges may be imposed.

If the driver fled after an accident involving a moose, then guilt can also be proven without his participation. The traffic police officer will help restore justice:

• DVR recordings;
• recordings from traffic cameras;
• testimony of witnesses to the incident.

Charges against the driver are possible only within 90 calendar days after the incident.

You should not hide from the scene of an accident, even if the moose remained alive and left the scene of the accident on its own. In this case, the driver needs to call the traffic police so they can assess the extent of the damage. Perhaps this data will help him receive compensation for insurance payments.

The most serious punishment awaits a motorist if he not only fled the scene of an accident, but also took an elk carcass with him. In this case, he will have to pay an additional fine of 200,000 rubles. Also, a driver who has committed such an offense may be recognized as a poacher, in which case he faces not only material damage, but also criminal liability - imprisonment for up to 2 years.

When the insurance company is against the driver

The situation is more serious if the traffic police proves that the collision with a bird or animal was intentional. Then, based on this determination, the Ministry of Natural Resources will apply increasing factors to compensation, so that the amount can increase several times. At the same time, in the event of a deliberate collision with an animal, the insurance company has the right to refuse payment, and then the driver will have to compensate for the damage out of his own pocket. Here, on the insurance side, Article 1083 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation will be on the side, which states that damage resulting from the intent of the victim does not need to be compensated.

The insurance company has the right to make regressive claims under the same circumstances as in ordinary road accidents. The reason will be the driver’s intoxication, refusal of a medical examination, attempt to leave the scene of an accident and other reasons specified as grounds for a regressive requirement in the law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”.

Nuances

There are several nuances in an accident involving a moose:

• First of all, it is strictly forbidden to touch the animal with your hands. If fingerprints are found, the driver may be suspected of poaching.
• The driver should not look for a veterinarian or game warden on his own. He just needs to call the police or traffic police, and law enforcement agencies are obliged to take appropriate measures on their own.
• The owner of the vehicle can be found guilty not only immediately after the accident, but also within 90 days after the crime was committed.
• The driver may be found to be at fault for an accident even if the collision was committed outside the scope of the “Wild Animals” road sign.