Failing to Stop at an Accident

The Law

Under Regulation 287 of the Road Rules 2014, the law of Fail to Stop and Give Particulars exists, and states:

The driver must stop at the scene of the crash and give the driver’s required particulars, within the required time and, if practicable, at the scene of the crash, to: any other driver (or that driver’s representative) involved in the crash, and any other person involved in the crash who is injured, or the person’s representative, and the owner of any property (including any vehicle) damaged in the crash (or the owner’s representative), unless, in the case of damage to a vehicle, the particulars are given to the driver of the vehicle (or the driver’s representative).

The driver must also give the driver’s required particulars, within the required time, to a police officer if: anyone is killed or injured in the crash, or the driver does not, for any reason, give the driver’s required particulars to each person mentioned in subrule (2), or the required particulars for any other driver involved in the crash are not given to the driver, or a vehicle involved in the crash is towed or carried away by another vehicle (except if another law of this jurisdiction provides that the crash is not required to be reported), or the police officer asks for any of the required particulars.

“Required Particulars”, for a driver involved in a crash, means:

• the driver’s name and address, and
• the name and address of the owner of the driver’s vehicle, and
• the vehicle’s registration number (if any), and
• any other information necessary to identify the vehicle.

In addition, if required to provide details to a police officer, the driver must also include an explanation of the circumstances of the accident.

Jurisdiction / Case Law

An offence of Fail to Stop and Give Particulars is normally finalised by way of a traffic infringement notice, a fine of $325 and a loss of 3 demerit points. You will not be required to attend court if given an infringement notice from the NSW Police or the Roads & Maritime Services (RMS).

However, you have the option to elect for the matter to be heard in the Local Court before a Magistrate if you wish to request the Court’s leniency or do not believe you are guilty.

What must the prosecution prove?

Since Fail to Stop and Give Particulars is a criminal offence, the burden of proof lies on the Prosecution.

The prosecution must prove the Accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. That is a high standard of proof that the prosecution must achieve before someone can be convicted.

To establish Fail to Stop and Give Particulars, the prosecution must prove each of the following matters beyond reasonable doubt:

• There was an accident; and
• You were the driver or rider of a vehicle involved in the accident; and
• You failed to stop your vehicle; or
• You stopped your vehicle but did not provide your particulars to another driver, an injured party or an owner of damaged property.

If you are charged with the offence of Fail to Stop and Give Particulars, what are your options?

National Criminal Lawyers have been successful in defending plenty of Fail to Stop at a Crash charges where the prosecution could not establish each of the elements of Dangerous Driving. We have also achieved a number of non-convictions.

It is for that reason that National Criminal Lawyers are the top traffic solicitors in Sydney.

Our Senior Criminal Defence Lawyers, headed by Michael Moussa, one of Sydney’s Best Criminal Lawyers, will ensure that your case is closely examined to achieve the best of results.

NCL offer the following options for those who have been charged with Fail to Stop and Give Particulars:

1. We will negotiate with prosecutors (police or DPP) (a term referred to as “plea negotiations”) to request that the charge is withdrawn, downgraded or fact sheets amended;
2. NCL will Plead Not Guilty and go to hearing/trial and persuade the Court that the prosecution has not proven its case beyond reasonable doubt;
3. Plead guilty to the elements of the charge and then dispute the facts (at a special “disputed facts” hearing) with the view of having you sentenced less harshly; and/or
4. Plead guilty with full acceptance of the facts as set out by the police and make strong submissions on your behalf requesting that the Court not record a criminal conviction.

Please contact us now for more information about your options.