A
funny misshap.
Car collisions usually
carry legal consequences in proportion to the severity
of the crash. Nearly all common law jurisdictions impose
some kind of requirement that parties involved in a collision
(even with only stationary property) must stop at the
scene, and exchange insurance or identification information
or summon the police. Failing to obey this requirement
is referred to as hit and run and is generally a criminal
offence. However, most claims are settled without recourse
to law. In this case, assuming that both parties carry
adequate insurance, the claim is often handled between
the two insurers. There may be financial penalties involved,
such as an excess or deductible payment and a loss of
a no-claims bonus or higher future premiums.
Depending upon the circumstances, parties involved in
an incident may face criminal liability, civil liability,
or both. Usually, the state starts a criminal prosecution
only if someone is severely injured or killed, or if one
of the drivers involved was acting illegally or clearly
grossly negligent or intoxicated or otherwise impaired
at the time the accident occurred. Criminal charges might
include driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs,
driving without due care (UK), assault with a deadly weapon
(USA), manslaughter, or murder; penalties range from fines
to jail time (USA) to prison time to death (where applicable).
It is notable that the penalties for killing and injuring
with motor vehicles are often very much less than for
other actions with similar outcomes... |
 |
