Driving on after an accident: it happens more often than you might think

Drivers who cause damage to property or personal injury must always report themselves. Driving through carries a maximum prison sentence of three months and a fine of up to €8,100. You can also lose your driver’s license for up to five years. Still, that didn’t stop a lot of people from just driving on last year. There were a total of 78,635 drive-through incidents in 2022, which amounts to about 215 per day. An increase of 7.7 percent compared to a year earlier, according to research by Independent based on police figures and data from the Guarantee Fund. However, it was slightly less than in the pre-corona year 2019, when there were 81,345 such incidents.

Last year, there were an average of 97 incidents per 10,000 inhabitants in the Netherlands involving continued driving. However, it happens remarkably much more often in some places. Woerden is the front runner for the municipalities: in 2022, 183 declarations were made per 10,000 households for driving on after an accident. Dinkelland (176 out of 10,000), Zwartewaterland (172 out of 10,000), Roermond (169 out of 10,000) and Rotterdam (168 out of 10,000) complete the top 5. At a provincial level, South Holland takes the cake: per 10,000 households, 118 reports were made last year for driving on after an accident. Things also went wrong more often in Limburg (111) and North Brabant (99). Friesland (57), Groningen (68) and Drenthe (72) are the three provinces with the least number of crashes per 10,000 households.

Source: Independent

Damages

Fortunately, there is a safety net for when you can’t recover damage because the person has run off. “If you are the victim of a hit-and-run after an accident, you can claim on the Guarantee Fund,” explains Menno Dijcks car expert from Independer in conversation with the AD. “All people with car insurance contribute to this fund. The more people drive through, the more the premium will increase for everyone.” Drivers cause a lot of damage: the Guarantee Fund paid out about €68.1 million to victims in 2022. The total amount of damage is probably much higher, because it is not always possible to prove that another motor vehicle was involved in the damage. Nor do all victims report the crime.

Incidentally, people who continue to drive after an accident have twelve hours to report to the police, after which they will not be prosecuted for continuing to drive. The twelve hours has been set because people sometimes drive away in a panic and then later realize that they are wrong. This rule does not apply if you leave someone behind who is in need of help.