Make the Call; It May Save Your Driver’s License

No one wants to be involved in a trip to the ditch, a slide into a pole, or a love tap into a stone wall. Hey, its Vermont, it happens. Although trying to exit what appears to be a moderate inconvenience quickly and quietly may appear to be a reasonable response to such a situation. However, the Leaving the Scene of an Accident Statute may disagree should there be any allegation of property damage, no matter how small.

Let’s first look at the statutory language.

“The operator of a motor vehicle who has caused or is involved in a crash resulting in injury to any person other than the operator, or in damage to any property other than the vehicle then under his or her control, shall immediately stop and render any assistance reasonably necessary. Subsection 1102(g) of this title (stopping not to impede traffic or jeopardize safety; exceptions) governs the location where a person shall stop. The operator shall give his or her name, residence, license number, and the name of the owner of the motor vehicle to any person who is injured or whose property is damaged and to any enforcement officer. A person who violates this section shall be fined not more than $2,000.00 or imprisoned for not more than two years, or both.”

Now let’s apply this language to a scenario:

Bill is driving down a Vermont country road; dirt, dark, cold and snow covered. Bill attempts to stop at an intersection and slides across the road into a telephone pole. Bill is fine, he gets out of the car and takes a quick look around. Assuming there is no damage and clearly no one hurt, Bill drives home.

Telephone repair professional drives by the intersection the next morning, notices the damage to the pole and calls it in to dispatch, who then notify police.

Activate investigation and activate Bill being the target.

Analysis:

By not notifying the power company after the incident of the collision and by not reporting it to police, but instead driving home, it could be alleged that Bill did not “render any assistance reasonably necessary” and therefore could be subject to criminal charges and a license suspension of at least 30 days.

The content in this post should not be considered legal advice and is only for information purposes. If you have a specific legal issue that needs to be addressed, consult with your own private attorney.