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Fail to stop and give particulars
What is Fail to stop and give particulars ?
Failing to stop at the scene of an accident and give personal details to another driver involved in the crash, any person injured, or the owner of damaged property as a result of the accident is an offence.
Jurisdiction
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.
The Law
Under Regulation 287 the Road Rules 2014 the law of Fail to Stop and Give Particulars exists. The law 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.
What must the prosecution prove?
Since Fail to Stop and Give Particulars offence 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 of Fail to Stop and Give Particulars.
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 exists what are your options?
National Criminal Lawyers one of the most sought-after Traffic Lawyers Sydney and greater Sydney have to offer. We have been successful in defending a number of Fail to Stop and Give Particulars exists charges where the prosecution could not establish each of the elements of Fail to Stop and Give Particulars exists. We have also achieved a number of non-convictions for Fail to Stop and Give Particulars charges.
NCL offer the following options for those who have been charged with Fail to Stop and Give Particulars exists;
- 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;
- NCL will Plead Not Guilty and go to hearing/trial and persuade the Court that prosecution has not proven its case beyond reasonable doubt;
- 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
- 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.
Pleading Guilty
If you agree that you have committed the offence and the police are able to prove all the elements of the offence, it is best to plead guilty at an early opportunity to receive the maximum discount. Currently the maximum discount available for an early plea of guilty is 25% of the sentence.
Furthermore, the early guilty plea shows the Court that you have remorse and contrition for your actions.
Our Lawyers at National Criminal Lawyers work closely with you to ensure that we obtain all necessary paper work at increasing the chances of obtaining a non-conviction or section 10.
Maximum Penalties
For offenders who elect to go to court the maximum penalty is a fine of $2200.
Please note that the penalties mentioned are reserved for the worse case offending.
Pleading Not Guilty
If you decide to plead not guilty you will need to prepare to go to a Defended Hearing.
A defended hearing is where all the witnesses of that case are called to give evidence. The witnesses are both examined by the prosecution and tested by your defence lawyers.
National Criminal Lawyers have defended thousands of people charged with Fail to Stop and Give Particulars exists and are experts at these hearings.
Defences
Some of the possible defences available for those charged with Fail to Stop and Give Particulars exists can include;
- The vehicle is registered in your name, but you were not driving at the time of the incident;
- You were in an emergency and were unable to stop due to the circumstances e.g. an injured person was in your vehicle and required emergency medical assistance;
- It was not reasonable to stop your vehicle or communicate with other involved parties given the circumstances of the accident e.g. you were on a busy motorway or another driver was aggressive and/or intoxicated.
Statistics
The Courts are not bound by statistics however there must be reasonable consistency in sentences. A Magistrate or Judge should have regard to what has been done in other cases. In Green [2011] HCA 45, the plurity judgement of French CJ, Kiefel and Creennan JJ stated:
“Equal Justice” embodies the norm expressed in the terms “equality before the law”. It is an aspect of the rule of law.
For Fail to Stop and Give Particulars 73% of offenders received a fine.
Possible Penalty's
In NSW, a court can impose any of the following penalties for a Fail to Stop and Give Particulars exists charge.
- Fine; and/or
- Section 10.
However, from the 24 September 2018 new penalty’s will be replacing the above. They are as follows:
- Fine and/or
- New Conditional release Order (CRO)
Why National Criminal Lawyers?
There are three reasons to choose National Criminal Lawyers:
1. We get the results
We are the experts in either beating or having criminal charges withdrawn AND/OR obtaining the least restrictive penalty available. This is because no matter which option you choose within our tailored Options at Law you will be dealing with experienced criminal lawyers who can make sure the evidence is not only obtained properly but also that your case is prepared and presented to the highest best practice standards possible. This is also done without breaking your pocket.
2. We give a Senior Defence Lawyer guarantee
No matter which option at law you choose, National Criminal Lawyers can guarantee that a Senior Defence Lawyer will represent you. This means that with our over 25 years of Combined criminal law experience you will get the best result possible.
3. National Criminal Lawyers are the best defenders of your rights
At National Criminal Lawyers we know that Criminal Law is a matter of Human Rights. For this reason, we take pride and passion in representing our clients. This pride and passion to assist those charged with an alleged or actual breach of the criminal law is to us a matter of righteous necessity and in that sense, you can always rest assured that National Criminal Lawyers are the best defenders of your rights. This true not only when the police have just simply got it wrong OR if they have got it right then we can speak with you and make sure you get you the best result available.
If you have been charged with any Fail to Stop and Give Particulars exists offence our Team at National Criminal Lawyers are well versed and specialists in having charges either withdrawn and otherwise achieving favourable outcomes.
Please contact our office on 02 9893 1889 or visit www.nationalcriminallawyers.com.au for more information about your options.
