It’s a common occurrence in the United States. A driver returns to their car in a grocery store parking lot to find their bumper hanging from their car by a single fastener. It’s a hit-and-run crash, and it’s heartbreaking. Still, from parking lot hits to manslaughter, catching these criminals is difficult work. As such, police officers catch far fewer fleeing motorists than you’d hope.
Police departments may catch less than 10 percent of hit-and-run drivers on average
Sure, a motorist who strikes a pedestrian, cyclist, or driver and flees is much more likely to get caught. After all, the likelihood that a witness can collect details about a hit-and-run driver in a case with a victim and report the crime to the police is higher than an unseen parking lot hit. However, many incidents happen in lots, structures, and streets with no witnesses.
According to Henrietta Ezeoke Law, law enforcement solves fewer than 10 percent of hit-and-run crash cases. Despite the potentially deadly nature of these acts, police can have difficulty solving these cases. For starters, many cases simply lack enough physical evidence to connect a fleeing criminal with a crime.
In other cases, no witnesses or footage can tie an offender to a crash site. Finally, an offending driver may flee so quickly that a victim or witnesses can’t collect enough information to place a vehicle or offender at a scene. Either way, a fleeing motorist makes things difficult.
And they’re more common than you think. A Kentucky State Police Collision Study reported there were 11,312 hit-and-run crashes in 2021. Worse yet, over 10% of those incidents resulted in injuries, and 39 cases resulted in death.
So, what can you do to combat the cowardice? For starters, make sure you carry sufficient insurance. Beyond insurance coverage, consider investing in a dash cam. A dash cam can capture the details of a crash, including an offending vehicle’s license plate, make, model, and details about the other driver.
Now, that doesn’t mean you should be one of those craven motorists who run from a wreck. If you’re the hit-and-run offender, you’re looking at a fine at the bare minimum. However, if your crime results in serious property damage or injury, you could become a felon. Worse yet, if your actions result in death and you flee, you could be charged with manslaughter.
