Hit and Run

harmless

Given the recent court decisions(over the last few year)

Does anyone think that stopping at the point of collision would be beneficial?

I understand the moral obligations but under current legal obligations within Ireland does anyone recommend stopping if you are the one at fault?

The choices would seem to be to accecpt prosicutions or to flee and face deminised responsibility.

From a legal point of view, what would be the best course of action?

Peregrinus

Moral issues aside, leaving the scene is usually going to make your legal situation worse, not better. Most motor accidents do not involve any criminal offence at all, or if they do it's a minor offence and typically won't be prosecuted because of evidentiary problems — e.g. you may in fact have been driving in excess of the speed limit, or driving without due care and attention, but there isn't sufficient evidence of this to charge you.

But leaving the scene is an offence. So, by leaving the scene, you make a prosecution more likely, not less. Even if you have committed an offence which is easily proven and is likely to be charged - e.g. driving without insurance - by leaving the scene you expose yourself to not one but two charges.

There is, of course, the chance that you will avoid detection and face no charges at all, but it's a very uncertain chance.

The other think that's uncertain is the penalty you will face if prosecuted. The maximum penalty that can be imposed depends on whether anyone has been injured in the accident and, if so, how severely, but in the worst case you can be looking at ten years or €20,000 or both. And the thing about not stopping is that you cannot be sure whether, or how severely, anyone has been injured. So you don't know what penalty you might be exposed to by doing a hit-and-run.

Miscreant

Stay at the scene and take responsibility, whether it is legally beneficial or not! You have no idea what the heartache of being the victim of a hit and run is like and I hope you never do.

Just because something may be legal, does not mean it is right.

I have been the "beneficiary" of a hit and run, so I have first hand experience of it. Legality should not even come into it when there is a victim involved. Stay at the scene and take whatever consequences come.

Sir Galahad

Are you insured ? If yes then why would you even consider leaving the scene ?

Peregrinus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120025258#Comment_120025258

I suspect people mostly do this out of panic or in denial, rather than in any rational calculation of self-interest.

harmless

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120027718#Comment_120027718

Didn't think of that and it might explain why the law is so lenient in such cases.

Arnout

Last year I witnessed an accident between a car and a small motor scooter. Later I found out that the car was uninsured and the APK (Dutch NCT) had run out 9 months or so before (and no in the Netherlands there's no excuse for that, there are no issues with testing capacity). So I was actually impressed that the driver had stopped and showed no signs of wanting to get away, showing genuine concern about the wellbeing of the scooter driver, etc.

I also checked back the car's registration a few weeks later and it didn't exist anymore, so it must have been scrapped. Other than that I can only hope that the scooter driver only had minor injuries. He said he didn't need an ambulance, but I told him you slammed your head into the side of that car, so I'm gonna call an ambulance for you, and they actually took him with them so they definitely wanted to do some checks at the very least. And I hope that he got reimbursed for the damage without too much hassle.