What to do if your car window is broken

What to do if your car window is broken

Often car owners believe that there is no safer place to park your car than under the windows of your own house. And you don’t want to pay extra money for parking, and you don’t have your own garage.

Sometimes such confidence can turn into trouble – in the morning, you have to face scratches or dents on a body, punctured wheels or even broken glasses.

Often, the “culprit” of the outrage is aware that he/she caused unintentional damage to the property and leaves contacts, which can be used to contact and solve the unpleasant problem. But what to do if the damage to the vehicle was caused intentionally? What to do if the morning started not with coffee, but with broken glass?

The legal framework

Accidental damage to the vehicle can be qualified, depending on the circumstances, as an accident or property damage. Therefore, the perpetrator can be charged with different articles, and the punishment, respectively, will be different.

Accidental damage is qualified as road traffic accident, so the broken glass is 7.17 of the Administrative Code: intentional destruction or damage to movable or immovable property without causing substantial damage incurs a fine of 0.3-0.5 thousand rubles. The statute of limitations expires after two months from the date of this violation, so the perpetrator is not punishable under CAO 7.17.

Intentional infliction of damage to property in a substantial, large and especially large amount threatens the perpetrator, depending on the qualification of the case, under:

• ч. Part 1 of Art. 167 of the Criminal Code – a fine of up to 40 thousand rubles, correctional labor or imprisonment up to 2 years;
• ч. Part 2 of Art. 167 of the Criminal Code – forced labor or imprisonment for up to 5 years;
• ч. Part 1 of Art. 168 of the Criminal Code – a fine of up to 120 thousand rubles, correctional labor or imprisonment up to 1 year.

In addition, it is possible to recover money for the damage caused from the perpetrator by judicial procedure:

• Art. 1063 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation – p.1,2. – The guilty person compensates the damage in full;
• Art. 1073 of the Civil Code of the RF – item 1 – for a minor, the parents or guardians will pay.

In practice such penalties are rare, because most motorists have insurance, which covers the damage. How to get compensation for broken windows from an insurance company?

Compensation under OSAGO

From the point of view of possibility of compensation, OSAGO is definitely inferior to a hull insurance. And this is due to the provisions of the law on compulsory insurance of civil liability of vehicle owners: Article 1 clearly gives the concept of “insured event”, which arises only as a result of damage involving motor vehicles:

• You were in an accident, and you have an MTPL policy, and the perpetrator does not, your insurance company will pay;
• You were in an accident, and you and the person at fault have a MTPL policy: Your insurance company will pay, and then it will collect from your opponent’s insurance company.

In all other cases, which include accidental or intentional damage to the windows of the vehicle, you cannot count on compensation under MTPL.

Compensation under KASKO

Hull insurance is the insurance of vehicles against damage, theft or theft, and compensation for broken glass is determined by the terms of the current contract with the insuring company. Damage of windows, mirrors, lights, dimensions, brake lights and turn signals belongs to the risk of “damage”, and the KASKO contract may contain the following clauses, which determine the occurrence of the insured event:

• simplified procedure for claiming an insured event – ammunition glass elements without fixing the incident in the police or traffic police;
• Limited number of claims regarding breakage of glass elements (up to 2 per year);
• presence of the vehicle in the parking lot or guarded parking lot from 23:00 to 6:00 o’clock;
• Glass damage without external mechanical impact (temperature drop, internal design defects).

All these special clauses of the contract are entered directly at the time of car insurance and significantly affect the reduction of the cost of the policy for the car owner, so it is necessary to know the terms of the contract. In most cases a CASCO reimbursement is possible.

The step-by-step algorithm of actions if you have a hull insurance policy

So, you went out and found that your “iron horse” has broken windows. Follow the step-by-step instructions:

• You need to make two calls: the first – to the insurance company, the second – to the law enforcement authorities.
• While you are waiting for the arrival of the detail and the insurance agent, you need to visually assess the damage: whether anything is missing from the cabin (radio, video recorder, phone, documents, other things of value).
• When the agent arrives, record the fact of damage to the vehicle.
• When the unit arrives, you draw up a report of the offence.

What to do in police

• Write a statement with approximate amount of damage, get a ticket.
• Wait and get a copy of resolution on initiation/rejection in initiation of criminal case.
• Sign the appropriate reports.

What to do at the insurance company

• Within 5 days of the accident, with the original policy, ticket, driving licence, you must write an application for reimbursement of damage by remittance or car service.
• If the agreement does not mention a simplified procedure, you should get a certificate of damage on the insurance company letterhead, a copy of the resolution on initiation/rejection of a criminal case (signed by a prosecutor/deputy prosecutor) certified by the police department, and with these documents you should come to the insurance company for survey.
• After the inspection, you shall receive either a referral to a service center or an application for transfer of money.

Basic nuances

• If you are not in a simplified procedure for reporting an insured event, you will only be able to receive compensation or use the services of a service center after the closing of a criminal case, if initiated. In this case, it is advisable to write in an explanation to the police about the insignificance of the damage caused.
• If the damage is significant, it is worth choosing compensation in the SK – at the end of the criminal case you will receive money to the current account. And until the end of the investigation, you can restore the glass on its own funds.

If there is no insurance

If there is no insurance, you only call the law enforcement authorities and go through all the above procedures.

In any case, you will have to compensate the damage to the direct culprit. Given the speed with which the police work (and your case will be at the police station), you should not hope for a quick and favorable outcome of the case.

It makes sense to ask your neighbors – what if someone had a video recorder in his car and the intruder was recorded on the camera, or there is a 24-hour video surveillance of the surrounding area, and your vehicle was caught in the coverage area. Depending on where the footage falls, you can make a written request for a copy, indicating the date, time and exact address of the incident, and report it to the district officer who is in charge of your case.

In conclusion, we would like to note that the protection of property – this is, first of all, the duty of the owner . Therefore, it is worth thinking about a reliable place of storage of the vehicle – garage, parking or guarded parking lot.

Intentional damage to the glass in the car: the solution to the problem

Broken car glass can plunge even the most resilient driver into shock. Especially if it was purchased with considerable financial difficulties and is his pride and indispensable assistant. In such cases, the incident goes far beyond a simple nuisance. This material analyzes the key aspects of this urgent topic, will be an information aid for many car owners. Particular attention is paid to its financial, insurance aspects, with which, as practice shows, some drivers are familiar only by hearsay.

The psychological aspect of the problem

Those, who have had to experience an unpleasant story with the broken glass, remember their discouraged psychological state in the first minutes after the accident. It often literally undermines the nervous system of the driver. Therefore, psychologists advise in such cases to keep the equilibrium, to try to analyze calmly everything that happened, and on the spot to outline a plan of further actions.

Remember, even the most spectacular glass of the coolest car is not worth your health. Any broken glass can, at the worst, be changed for a new one, while the shattered health is often, alas, beyond repair. Therefore, the first advice from specialists to those who have accidentally or deliberately broken a car window is simple and logical: keep calm and optimistic. Only then it will be possible to take really adequate actions.

What is the punishment for intentionally broken window of the car

So, let’s assume that something happened that you least wished for yourself: for some reason the glass in your car was broken. Maybe it was an accident, and the culprit didn’t mean to do it at all – that also happens quite often. Another option: the windshield or side window was broken on purpose. If you can prove this, the law provides for appropriate financial penalties to the guilty party. The main thing is that if you have not succeeded to come to an amicable agreement with the person at fault about compensation, the incident can proceed to the protracted stage of the official proceeding.

If it is established that the damage is not substantial, everything may end up in an administrative fine in the amount from 300 to 500 rubles. And if after the incident was more than two months, the perpetrator may be exempted from the administrative limitation: the statute of limitations runs.

Read also: What are the peculiarities of installing a hand control in the car and is it possible to install it with your own hands

But if the damage is still recognized as significant, the fine imposed on the perpetrator may increase to 40 thousand rubles, or up to the amount of the salary, or other income of the offender for a period of up to three months. Quite real can also be such a punishment:

• Compulsory labor for 360 hours or corrective labor for up to one year, or for up to two years.
• Arrest for up to three months or up to two years.

There are other nuances that depend entirely on what the official court decision is, as well as how the severity of the car damage will be assessed.

In what cases will the insurance company pay you under MTPL?

When glass is broken accidentally or intentionally in your yard or elsewhere, there is a legal conflict that is characterized by many complicated factors. If you as an injured party have sought the protection of the law enforcement agencies and the status of the victim is proved, it is not a guarantee that there will be a full compensation for the broken glass.

In most ordinary cases, the insurance company does pay the damage under the MTPL line. However, the front-end scheme that many believe (that you will be compensated if you have a MTPL policy and are not the culprit) does not always work. It is possible to arise (and in practice often so happens!) a lot of the most diverse nuances.

Integrating all possible outcomes, lawyers draw the following final conclusion. It lies in the fact that if the driver, for example, is the perpetrator of the accident and the victim has KASKO insurance, then the repair of his car on KASKO the perpetrator will be required to pay the difference between the amount of repairs under OMTPL and the final cost of repairs under KASKO.

Procedure

What to do to the driver, if such an unforeseen situation has happened. The algorithm of practical actions is polished over the years to the smallest detail:

1. As noted, try to remain calm so you can be in control of your subsequent actions.
2. It is necessary to establish what caused the incident and who the real culprit.
3. If your glass is broken through someone else’s fault, try to talk calmly to the offender about compensating them for the damage they did to you. Often this method works, the offender agrees to monetary compensation and the incident is over.
4. However, what happens just the opposite: his guilt your vis-a-vis does not recognize, so we have to act on the already established and operating in the country methodology, namely to apply to the law enforcement bodies, so they confirm your right and the legal right to compensation. In such cases, experienced drivers document what happened, take pictures of the broken glass and other important details with a cell phone, etc.

In addition to contacting the traffic police about the incident, experts advise you to immediately inform your insurance company. Keep in mind that the law will be on your side if the guilt of the offender is confirmed. It makes sense to sue if the accident was not your fault, there was retaliation against you, or another deliberate act (say, an attempt to steal or robbery).

Of course, if the glass is broken by minors (under the age of 14), the defendants will be their parents or those who are responsible for them. If you have decided to go to the law enforcement and insurance, prepare a package of documents, which should present them. In particular, they will need a passport, driver’s license and vehicle registration document. When experts arrive at the scene, help them to objectively sort out what has happened. When you receive from them the appropriate documents (coupon, certificate of expertise, etc.), consult, just in case, with experienced lawyers and go to court to obtain full compensation for the damage in court. We sincerely wish you good luck! But the best thing is to make sure the windows of your car always remain intact!