Failing To Stop

Why Good People Sometimes Leave The Scene of an Accident

I’ve had a car accident that was my fault

This can happen. It does happen. Are you a criminal?

Probably not.  

Context is key. What do I mean?

I mean that hit and run covers an awful lot of scenarios, from the very serious -knocking someone down and failing to stop- to the relatively minor -reversing out of a parking spot and bumping into another car.

Contrary to what most people believe courts are aware of human frailties and flaws.

They recognise that people sometimes do panic and do things -e.g. drive away- when they really ought to have stopped and exchanged details.

But that’s where context comes in.

There is a limit to the court’s understanding.

If you hit someone and drive away don’t expect compassion from the court.

If someone is injured and you drive away, that is far, far worse.

Fleeing the scene in these circumstances is a disastrous choice.

More on that later.

Penalty for leaving the scene of an accident Ireland

At the very least the penalty is a conviction. Is it a criminal conviction?

Yes, that’s what the word ‘conviction’ means. You do have a record.

But, like all convictions, they are classified, into those generally regarded as serious from those that are not.

Being convicted for speeding is not the same as being convicted for assault.

The first won’t stop you applying for jobs or traveling abroad. The second will.

"If you hit someone and drive away don’t expect compassion from the court.

If someone is injured and you drive away, that is far, far worse.

Fleeing the scene in these circumstances is a disastrous choice" 

Hit and run parked car Ireland

This is the classic example most people are prosecuted for.

This is where they’ve collided -usually slightly- into a parked car and driven away.

The trouble is most carparks have extensive CCTV footage or other motorists sitting in their cars scrolling who may have seen the incident and reported it.

In a growing number of cases they are filming people on their phones and passing this footage onto the police.

Judges use common sense to deal with cases like this. If you have no previous convictions and were cooperative with the Gardai and showed sufficient remorse and paid for the damage caused, a judge may -emphasis on may- decide to exercise their discretion not to disqualify you.

If you have previous convictions, this will affect what they decide to do when it comes to the issue of disqualification.

Will I go to jail?

It’s a good question.

Jail is always a possibility for virtually any offence but again context is key.

Was anyone injured from your crash? If not, was any property damaged? If it was, was the cost of repairing this damage paid?

If not, expect little sympathy.

"The trouble is most carparks have extensive CCTV footage

or other motorists sitting in their cars scrolling who may have

seen the incident and reported it.

In a growing number of cases they are filming people on their

phones and passing this footage onto the police"

If you want the court to treat you with some leniency the very least it expects is that any damage that you caused to the property of an innocent third party has been paid for by you. Receipts to demonstrate this are important here.

If nobody was injured and all damage was paid for the chances of jail are slim, even remote.

All of this naturally assumes that the police have strong evidence that you did in fact cause the damage.

If they do, remember: the court’s view of hit and run (no matter how minor) is that it is inherently a ‘mean’ offence.

Judges don’t live in a vacuum. They know people who’ve come back to their cars to see that someone has caused damage and driven away. We’ve all had those conversations over the years. Maybe they’ve even been the victim of it over the years.

It is a nasty offence because you have to bear the cost of fixing the car, not the person who caused the damage.

So, unless you want the judge to think that you’re nasty too, you’ve a lot of ground to make up, and quickly.

What if there has been an injury and you have driven away?

This is very serious and the penalties do include jail. In fact jail is the primary punishment most judges are looking at, if someone is injured in an accident that you were primarily responsible for.

This is especially the case in those rare cases where you cause injury to someone else and leave the scene without providing medical assistance.  

Suspended sentence.

This is not to say that jail must always follow an incident.

Sometimes a suspended sentence is enough. This penalty signifies that the offence is very serious but because of your previous good character and other mitigating circumstances (e.g. compensation paid) sending someone to prison may not be appropriate in this case.   

Contrary to popular belief, a suspended sentence is not a “slap on the wrist”. It is a permanent record against you and given the nature of the offence will bar you from entry to many other countries.

It is also something that employers will gain access to and may impact your ability to get a job in the future. In other words it stays with you for many, many years.  

If you have a few convictions for road traffic offences in the past then the calculus changes. As far as the courts are concerned, you’re not learning your lesson.

So maybe jail is the appropriate sanction here?

Again, context is key.

Fleeing the Scene

If you are involved in an accident where someone is injured, requires help and should be brought to the hospital, and you flee the scene, serious penalties lie ahead.

If injury has been caused to someone and the other motorist leaves the scene:

·       With the intention of escaping civil or criminal liability and,

·       Knows that the injuries sustained require that person be brought to the hospital,

That person can face penalties of up to €20,000 and jail of up to 7 years, or both.

Penalty points for leaving the scene of an accident

In general, a conviction for hit and run doesn’t carry an automatic disqualification from driving.

The judge retains discretion as to whether or not they’ll disqualify you if you are convicted.

However, like almost every offence that comes before the courts, it does carry penalty points. In this case, 5 penalty points on conviction.  

"If you have a few convictions for road traffic offences

in the past then the calculus changes.

As far as the courts are concerned, you’re not learning your lesson.

So maybe jail is the appropriate sanction here?"

Leaving the scene of a minor accident

First of all, ‘minor’ is not the issue. Neither is describing the incident as ‘a tip’.

This is a subjective assessment. If the incident was as insignificant as you might think, then rationally a court might wonder why you didn’t remain at the scene or why you didn’t leave your car at the scene or, at the very least, report it to the Gardai.

If it was minor or a tip, that is.

The issue is not your subjective view of the event, it is that an event occurred, no matter how minor, and you left the scene.

That is the offence, not actually the event itself. It’s the aftermath.

Conclusion.

Naturally don’t leave the scene. Keep your car there and call the Gardai.

Exchange details with the other driver.

If you are foolish enough to leave the scene then call the Gardai. The sooner you do that the better and the more leniency you can expect from a court at a later date.

If you don’t, you’re running the risk that someone you didn’t see saw the incident and reports it to the Gardai.

If that happens and they come knocking on your door days or weeks later, expect little sympathy from the courts