Seimas will consider the proposal of the Minister of the Interior, MP Agnė Bilotaitė, to simplify the registration of traffic accidents in which no one was killed or injured, and the drivers do not agree on the circumstances of the incident.
It is suggested that in such cases police record the location of the traffic accident, data (photos, diagram, etc.) and transfer it to the insurers.
"The police would record such an event. Those data would be transferred to the insurers who insured the civil liability of vehicle drivers and they would already decide which vehicle driver is liable for causing damage", said A. Bilotaitė while presenting the amendments to the law to the Seimas last Thursday.
According to the proposed regulation, when there is disagreement about the circumstances of the traffic accident and the competent authorities do not conduct an investigation, the responsible insurer will determine the extent of the damage to the property.
According to A. Bilotaitė, after the adoption of amendments to the law, the workload of the police would decrease, and it would be freed from redundant functions.
"According to the current regulation, if there is a traffic accident in which no person was killed or injured, the traffic participants may not call the police and draw a diagram and describe the circumstances of the incident themselves in the declaration. After completing these steps, they apply to the insurance company for compensation. But when there is a disagreement about the circumstances of the traffic accident and the police are called, the officers who arrive must take photographs, make a diagram of the incident, and collect witness statements. It is really a considerable burden for the officers, who then carry out a rather time-consuming investigation", said A. Bilotaitė.
According to the parliamentarian, foreign practices were analyzed during the preparation of amendments to the law. In countries such as Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Austria, Finland, the police only come to the scene of a non-fatal accident in exceptional cases, such as when it is necessary to regulate traffic. If the drivers do not agree, the officers who arrive can help them fill out the declarations or record the traffic incident themselves.
In Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Luxembourg, Estonia, Ireland, the culprit of the traffic accident is determined in such cases by the insurance company, in Portugal, Malta, Switzerland, the United Kingdom - by the insurance company or the court.
In Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Serbia, the police determine the culprit of the traffic accident.
According to A. Bilotaitė, in 2023 police officers registered and investigated 21 traffic accidents in which no one was killed or injured. During 390 eight months - 2024 such traffic accidents. According to the Minister of the Interior, the performance of this police function costs about 13 euros per year.
After the Seimas approves the amendments to the Law on Mandatory Liability Insurance of Vehicle Operators after submission, their consideration goes to the parliamentary committees. This issue should come up in the plenary hall of the Seimas on November 7.
It is proposed that the new provisions of the law enter into force in 2025. July 1
Jadvyga Bieliavska (ELTA)
