On 23 February 2024, a Unified Road Safety Day will be held under the slogan "Do Not Remain Indifferent!", aimed at preventing incidents where participants leave the scene of a road traffic accident.

On 23 February 2024, a Unified Road Safety Day will be held under the slogan "Do Not Remain Indifferent!", aimed at preventing incidents where participants leave the scene of a road traffic accident.

A road traffic accident is an incident involving at least one moving mechanical vehicle, which results in harm to the life or health of a natural person, or to their property or the property of a legal entity (hereinafter referred to as an RTA).

RTAs typically cause stress even to experienced drivers, often leading to confusion. Drivers involved in an RTA may flee for various reasons. This could be due to the driver being intoxicated or lacking a driving license or other required documents. However, more often, fear and the realisation of accountability drive individuals away from the scene of an accident.

Some individuals in such situations believe there are no witnesses and they will not be found or punished. However, they forget that, in almost all cases, besides eyewitnesses, there is a wealth of other information that can help identify the driver.

As a rule, traffic police officers make every effort to identify drivers who have fled the scene of road traffic accidents. They are typically identified within the first three days or the first week. The offender then faces the full severity of the law for their actions.

A driver involved in an RTA is obliged to:

— immediately stop and take no measures to change the position of the vehicle involved in the RTA, switch on the hazard warning lights and set up the breakdown warning triangle, and remain at the scene of the RTA.

— take measures to provide necessary assistance to the victim, call an ambulance, and if this is not possible, take measures to transport the victim to the nearest healthcare facility by passing vehicles (if there are none, transport the victim by the vehicle involved in the accident). The driver who has transported the victim to the healthcare facility must provide their surname, vehicle registration number, present a driver's license or other identification document, and the vehicle registration certificate at that facility, and then return to the accident scene.

— record the surnames and addresses of accident witnesses, report the incident to the police, and await the arrival of traffic police officers.

Before the arrival of traffic police officers, take all possible measures to preserve traces and items related to the accident, cordon them off, and organize traffic diversion around the accident scene.

A driver involved in a road traffic accident is prohibited from:

— moving the vehicle and items related to the accident.

— consuming alcoholic beverages, narcotic drugs, psychotropic, toxic, or other intoxicating substances before undergoing a check (examination) to determine whether the driver is under the influence of alcohol or in a state caused by the use of narcotic drugs, psychotropic, toxic, or other intoxicating substances.

There are various situations of road traffic accidents, for example, those qualified as committed through negligence. However, fleeing the scene of an accident, leaving the victim in a life-threatening condition, can be qualified as a crime.

For knowingly leaving a victim in a life-threatening condition, a driver may face punishment in the form of arrest for up to 3 months or imprisonment for up to 3 years, a fine of up to 1000 basic units (Article 159 "Leaving in Danger" (Part 3) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Belarus). However, no punishment can, in essence, bring back the most precious thing – life.

Traffic accidents without casualties occur frequently. Many drivers who damage another person's vehicle (especially in courtyards and at night), seeing that no one is around, try to flee, fearing administrative and material liability for their actions, without thinking that by doing so they are putting themselves at risk of even greater punishment than if they had remained at the scene of the accident.

Leaving the scene of a traffic accident, in which they are involved, by a driver, in cases where it is prohibited by legislative acts, entails a fine ranging from 5 to 25 base units, or deprivation of the right to drive vehicles for up to 2 years (Article 18.16 of the Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Belarus). Consequently, drivers, instead of being exempt from liability, may lose their driving licenses for a considerable period.

Citizens who do not remain indifferent to trouble and report information known to them about the circumstances of incidents provide significant assistance to the State Automobile Inspectorate in searching for fleeing drivers.

It should be noted that legislation provides for the independent registration of traffic accidents by their participants without calling traffic police inspectors. This refers to the Europrotocol, however, it is allowed if the following circumstances are simultaneously present:

— as a result of the traffic accident, damage is caused only to the vehicles involved in the traffic accident;

— the traffic accident occurred with the participation of two vehicles, including in the case of stopping, forced stopping, parking of one of them;

— the persons driving the vehicles have the right to drive a vehicle of the corresponding category;

— there are valid compulsory insurance contracts for the civil liability of the owners of the vehicles;

— the circumstances of damage caused by the damage to the vehicle as a result of the traffic accident, the nature and list of visible damage to the vehicles do not cause disagreements among the drivers of the vehicles involved in the traffic accident, and are recorded in the accident notification form, the blank of which is filled out by these drivers of the vehicles, in accordance with the Regulation on Insurance Activities in the Republic of Belarus, approved by Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus of August 25, 2006 No. 530;

— the drivers of the vehicles involved in the road traffic accident do not have claims against each other (these persons are not in a state of alcoholic intoxication or in a state caused by the consumption of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances, their analogues, toxic or other stupefying substances, and no harm to life or health has been caused as a result of the road traffic accident);

— the damage caused to each vehicle involved in the road traffic accident is estimated by the drivers of these vehicles at up to 800 euros at the official exchange rate of the Belarusian ruble against the euro established by the National Bank.