Owners of cars injured in road accidents caused by pedestrians can receive compensation from them. The corresponding resolution was adopted by the Constitutional Court. The culprit of the accident, no matter who he was, must compensate for material damage, experts agree, but the court had to take into account the moral side of the matter.

Pedestrians will pay for car repairs. In accordance with the decision of the Constitutional Court, now a person who violated traffic rules and caused an accident will have to compensate for material damage to the owner of the car. We are talking about an accident in Krasnoyarsk. A minor girl jumped under the wheels of a car far from a pedestrian crossing.

The driver only managed to brake, but still hit the girl. She ended up in the hospital. Almost 10.5 thousand rubles were required for treatment. The girl’s parents also filed a claim for compensation for moral damages against the driver in the amount of 25 thousand rubles. All the demands of the parents of the injured girl were fulfilled. Under compulsory motor liability insurance, one insurance company reimbursed the costs of treatment, the driver paid for moral damages out of his own pocket.

However, the car was also damaged, and its owner contacted the insurance company, where she had a CASCO policy. The insurance company repaired the car and then sued the minor girl's parents for the cost of the repairs. According to all documents, the girl was found guilty of this accident. Legally, everything is correct, and the pedestrian must compensate for the harm that was caused due to his fault. However, there is also a moral side to the issue, says Viktor Pokhmelkin, Chairman of the Russian Motorists Movement.

“Anyone guilty of causing harm to another person is obliged to compensate him. This should also extend to the pedestrian, who, through his own fault, provoked an accident and caused damage to the car. From the legal aspect, everything is clear. But there is also a moral side. Not everything is measured by money in this life," he says.

Such matters need to be discussed and decided publicly. This is always a very controversial issue, who is to blame and who should be held accountable. However, in any case, the car is dangerous, and it is necessary to exercise extreme caution while driving, says Sergei Popov, coordinator of the Pedestrian Union.

“This rather acute, very important constitutional issue, unfortunately, was not considered at a public meeting of the Constitutional Court with debates between the parties, proposals from the defendants, and so on. This is very sad, because arguments, of course, can be expressed in both directions side. But the decision in such situations should be made collectively and publicly. Legislators should carry out revisions,” he says.

The driver is obliged to pay for the treatment of a pedestrian he has hit if the pedestrian or his relatives request it.

Alena Kuznetsova

Pedestrians will pay for road accidents with their participation