Nghe An has 8 cases of drivers causing accidents and fleeing the scene.

When human life is taken lightly

Traffic accidents are unexpected, but the driver who caused the accident should have faced the unfortunate situation to deal with the consequences and taken the victim to the emergency room in time. Even though they knew their loved one would not survive, their family would have felt less resentful and less haunted.

Mr. NNT in Nghi Long commune, Nghi Loc district, once had a relative die because the driver who caused the accident did not take him to the emergency room in time.

According to information, after the loud collision, people ran out and discovered two young men lying flat in the middle of the road, not far away from a motorbike that had crashed into the median strip. Notably, after the accident occurred, the car involved fled the scene.

The scene of the accident at 9:30 p.m. on June 26 on National Highway 1A through Dien Chau Town, which left two people dead. Photo courtesy of Duc Thanh

Previously, at around 8:00 p.m. on March 28, people discovered on the main road of Dien Loc commune (Dien Chau) a man named P. (born in 1977, residing in hamlet 16, Dien Loc commune) lying dead in the middle of the road. At the scene, next to Mr. P.'s body was a damaged motorbike.

However, upon verification, this vehicle did not belong to the victim. The incident was immediately reported to the local authorities. The investigating police were also present to examine the body and the scene. The police determined that the motorbike at the scene belonged to the person who caused the accident. It is possible that the person who caused the traffic collision took the victim's motorbike and escaped.

Not only that, at around 6:30 p.m. on January 26, a car carrying yellow corn was driving on Ho Chi Minh Road, through Hamlet 9, Nghia Binh Commune, while trying to overtake another car carrying white corn, when it suddenly collided with a motorbike with license plate 37X2 - 6466 driven by Mr. Bui Van S. (born in 1979), residing in Nghia Loc Commune, Nghia Dan District, carrying his wife, Ms. Vu Thi N. (born in 1978). All three vehicles were driving in the same direction from Tan Ky to Nghia Dan.

The strong collision caused Mr. S. to fall hard on the road and die on the spot. His wife suffered broken arms and legs and was taken to the emergency room by local people immediately after. At the scene, the motorbike was thrown to the side of the road and was severely damaged. After the accident, the two cars carrying corn did not stop to help the victims but fled the scene.

The motorbike involved in the incident that occurred in Dien Loc commune (Dien Chau) on March 28 was left behind by the two people who caused the accident. Photo courtesy of Duc Thanh

Recently, the incident that occurred in Tan Phu District (Ho Chi Minh City) on the morning of June 25 is also causing much outrage in public opinion. Specifically, the clip taken from a surveillance camera placed in front of a resident's house shows that at around 3:12 a.m. on June 25, after a taxi collided with two people on a motorbike at a three-way intersection, the taxi driver got out of the car to observe the situation.

However, when approaching, seeing one person lying motionless and the other continuously having convulsions, the driver immediately got in the car and left the scene, leaving the victim lying helpless on the road.

Punish heavily to set an example

According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Truong Giang - Head of the Handling Team, Provincial Traffic Police Department: Many subjects driving cars and motorbikes when causing accidents ignore the consequences, drive away from the scene, take advantage of the night, rain, dark roads, and few people to escape... In addition, to avoid the authorities, these subjects also quickly take the accident-damaged vehicles to hide and repair.

In most of these cases, based on traces at the scene combined with information and images provided by local people, the authorities were able to track down the vehicle driver to handle according to regulations. However, there were also cases that occurred on the Ho Chi Minh Trail, National Highway 1A, in remote areas, at night, or when it was raining, making the verification and handling process difficult.

Regarding this issue, Lieutenant Colonel Vo The Quyen - Deputy Head of Dien Chau District Police said: Drivers fleeing the scene after an accident causes many consequences. First, the victim will not be rescued in time, which can endanger their lives, and second, it makes it difficult for the investigation agency because the scene is disturbed... This violation is mostly concentrated in young people.

According to the law, the driver of the vehicle causing the accident must stay at the scene of the accident until the police arrive, except in cases where the driver is injured and must be taken to the emergency room or the victim must be taken to the emergency room or because of a life-threatening situation, but must immediately report to the nearest police station...

Dr. Lawyer Nguyen Trong Hai - Trong Hai and Associates Law Office

In addition, the Road Traffic Law needs to specify the time to report to the nearest police station, avoiding general regulations that allow those who cause accidents to take advantage of loopholes to evade responsibility.

Debris and vehicle parts seized by police at the scene of a car crash where a driver fled after causing an accident. Photo courtesy of Nghi Loc Police

According to the analysis of a psychology teacher at Vinh University, some cases of drivers causing accidents and then fleeing are due to fear of being assaulted by the public or the victim’s relatives. However, the law allows drivers who cause accidents to leave the scene to report to the police, but it does not mean they “leave and never return.”

Analyzing more closely, this teacher believes that in a hit-and-run situation, the driver may think that no one seeing can help him escape punishment, but he forgets that the image of the accident and the victim who died because of him will haunt him and haunt his conscience for the rest of his life.

To reduce the number of drivers causing accidents and then leaving the scene, evading responsibility, in addition to increasing penalties for those who cause accidents, authorities need to widely inform about these incidents to deter violators, as well as educate and raise awareness among traffic participants.

Along with increasing the level of punishment for drivers' escape, it is also necessary to reduce their fear by regulating penalties for acts that threaten, harm lives, and prevent drivers from fulfilling their responsibilities after an accident...

Decree 46/2016/ND-CP on administrative sanctions for violations in the field of road and railway traffic stipulates: Drivers and passengers in cars and similar vehicles that cause traffic accidents but do not stop, do not maintain the scene, flee without reporting to competent authorities, or provide first aid to victims will be fined from 5 to 6 million VND.

The fine for this act for motorbikes, mopeds (including electric motorbikes), motorbike-like vehicles and moped-like vehicles will be from 2 to 3 million VND. For drivers, passengers on bicycles, motor bicycles, and drivers of other rudimentary vehicles, the fine will be from 100,000 to 200,000 VND.

According to the 2015 Penal Code, those who cause an accident and then flee to avoid responsibility or intentionally fail to help the victim will be imprisoned for 3 to 10 years.