Hit and Run Accidents Plague California

Posted on April 2, 2008
Filed Under Hit & Run, Law |

There are approximately 700,000 hit and run accidents in the United States each year, according to U.S. Department of Transportation statistics. California leads the nation in fatal hit and run accidents, according to a 2003 analysis of statistics by the San Francisco Chronicle. A survey of news reports indicates that California drivers haven’t changed their ways. More than 300 people a year are killed by hit and run drivers. Nearly 8% of California’s highway fatalities are caused by hit and run drivers who flee the scene of an accident.

“It’s hard to put a finger on it — hard to figure out what goes into someone’s decision to flee,” St. Russell Chew of the Oakland Police told the Chronicle. Traffic safety experts and law enforcement officers suggest the problem lies with the increasing number of unlicensed and uninsured drivers, fear of drunk driving penalties, an increase in wide and busy roadways and intersections that do not provide safe pedestrian access, and California’s car culture that tends to disregard the rights of pedestrians and bicycles.

Drivers need to know that in California the law requires the driver of any motor vehicle involved in an accident or collision – no matter how minor or serious — to stop, find the owner of the damaged property, and produce driver documentation. If an injury has occurred, the driver must stay and render reasonable assistance to the injured. A driver may not leave the scene of the accident until he has done this. Failing to do so can result in criminal charges under California hit and run laws.

In California, hit and run accidents can be charged as both misdemeanors and felonies, depending on the seriousness of the accident. Generally, fender benders and other accidents resulting in minimal property damage but no physical injuries are charged as misdemeanors. When bodily injury or death occurs, the hit and run is charged as a felony. Leaving the scene of a hit and run accident can result in serious criminal charges.

Written by LegalPro

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