According to The Mercury News, there is a growing safety risk on roads throughout the United States and throughout the state of Florida in particular. The growing safety risk comes from a record number of hit-and-run accidents. Hit-and-runs can have dire consequences for victims and can, unfortunately, make it harder for those who have been hurt to get the compensation they need to move on after a crash has occurred.
The Villages accident attorney can provide legal help in circumstances where hit-and-run accidents happen. We help victims to pursue claims in circumstances where the hit-and-run driver has been found, and also to explore options for recovering compensation through any uninsured motorist coverage when a hit-and-run driver is never identified or has no insurance. You should give us a call if you or someone you love was hurt by a driver who fled the crash scene so you can understand your rights and obligations under the law.
A Record Number of Hit-and-Run Accidents Are Occurring
The Mercury News reported recently on the record number of hit-and-run fatalities that are occurring. According to The Villages, there is now more than one hit and run collision that occurs every single minute on the roads in the United States.
This troubling statistic comes from new research conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. AAA Foundation examined motor vehicle accidents over the course of 2016 and discovered that there were around 2,049 fatal automobile accidents in the United States involving hit-and-run drivers. This is a record number of deaths caused by hit-and-run drivers and it reflects a 60 percent increase in the number of fatalities caused by hit-and-run drivers compared with in 2009.
Hit-and-run drivers are motorists who do not stop at the scene of a crash, as required by law, but who instead leave the area without providing help to ailing victims, calling law enforcement authorities to report the accident, or providing their insurance information to victims, which victims need to pursue claims for accident compensation.
AAA also delved deeply into the data on hit-and-run crashes in recent years. They found that around 628,000 hit-and-run accidents have occurred every single year since 2006. They also noticed a troubling increase in hit-and-runs occurring over time. In fact, each year since 2009, there has been around a 7.2 percent increase, on average, in the number of fatal accidents in which drivers left a crash scene unlawfully.
Many of the people who lose their lives in hit-and-run collisions are not in passenger cars but are instead pedestrians or bicycle riders. These victims are most vulnerable to being struck by a car because they have no protection from the impact. And, because cars that strike bicyclists or walkers aren't likely to sustain as much damage as when a vehicle hits another car, it is much easier for people to leave the scene after hitting and killing someone who was biking or who was on foot.
It is unlawful for drivers to leave a crash scene, even if they hit walkers or bikers and not other cars. The Villages accident attorney can provide representation to any victim of a hit-and-run accident, including motorists in a vehicle, or who were hurt or killed while walking or riding their bikes. Contact an attorney today to find out more.
