N.H. Rev. Stat. § 264:25

Current through the 2024 Legislative Session

Section 264:25 - Conduct After Accident

I. The driver of a vehicle who knows or should have known that he or she has just been involved in any accident which resulted in death, personal injury or damages to property, shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of the accident and give to the driver or owner of any other vehicle involved in said accident, and to any person injured, and to the owner of any property damaged, the driver's name and address, the driver's license number, the driver's or owner's insurance provider and policy information, if applicable, the registration number of the vehicle, and the name and address of each occupant. If by reason of injury, absence or removal from the place of the accident, or other cause, such injured person, or driver of such other vehicle, or owner of the property damaged, or any of them, is unable to understand or receive the information required in this section, such information shall be given to any uniformed police officer arriving at the scene of the accident or immediately to a police officer at the nearest police station. Police officers receiving such information, and other employees of such officers' law enforcement agencies, shall be authorized to provide that information to such injured persons, drivers, owners, or the authorized legal representative of such injured persons, drivers, or owners. Any person driving a vehicle which is in any manner involved in an accident or any person who owns a vehicle which was illegally parked when it was involved in an accident shall within 15 days after such accident report in writing to the division the facts required hereunder together with a statement of the circumstances if any person is injured or killed, or if damage to property is in excess of $1,000, unless the accident is investigated by a police officer, in which case a report filed by such officer shall satisfy the requirements of this section; provided, however, that any person not otherwise required by this paragraph to file a report, who owns a vehicle which was involved in an accident, may file a report as provided by this paragraph. Voluntary intoxication shall not constitute a defense in the matter of knowledge under the provisions of this section. All reports, filed as required in this paragraph, shall be in the form prescribed by the director and shall contain information to enable the division to determine whether the requirements for the deposit of security under RSA 264:3 are inapplicable by reason of the existence of insurance or other exceptions specified in that section. If such driver is physically or mentally incapable of making such report, the owner of the vehicle involved in such accident or the owner's representative shall, after learning of the accident, forthwith make such report. The driver or the owner shall furnish such additional relevant information as the division shall require. The provisions of this section shall be of general application and shall not be restricted to a way as defined in RSA 259.

II. No report required under paragraph I, nor any certificate issued by the director under the authority provided by this paragraph, may be used as evidence in any criminal trial arising out of a reported accident where the reporting party is a defendant except that:

(a) The director may use such report in connection with the director's duties under RSA 264:3.

(b) The director may furnish upon demand of any party to a trial, or upon demand of any court or law enforcement agency, a certificate showing that a specified report has or has not been filed with the director, and, if such report has been made, the date, time and location of the accident, the names and addresses of the drivers and owners of the vehicles involved and the investigating officers if known.

III. This section shall not prevent the prosecution of any charges brought under RSA 264:28 or RSA 264:29.

RSA 264:25

Amended by 2018, 256:2, eff. 8/11/2018.

Amended by 2017, 139:4, eff. 6/16/2017.

1911, 133:20. 1921, 119:19. 1925, 50:1. PL 102 :17. 1931, 84:1. 1937, 161:5. 1939, 101:1. RL 118:19. 1949, 34:1; 249:1. 1951, 66:3. RSA 262:23. 1957, 144:1. 1963, 330:1. RSA 262-A:67. 1965, 207:4. 1967, 257:1. 1973, 211:1. 1977, 460:1. 1981, 146:1; 263:1, 2; 278:1, 3; 479:25. 1990, 81:1. 1997, 314:2, 3, eff. Jan. 1, 1998. 2017, 139:4, eff. June 16, 2017. 2018, 256:2, eff. Aug. 11, 2018.