Hit and Run Accidents & Laws

Hit and run is classed when you hit a person or personal property including a vehicle and failing to notify the owner afterwards. Depending on the severity of the collision and damage, you could face a fine, get a driving ban or even spend some time in prison. As most hit and run drivers are rarely caught, the means to catch them are slim. Unless there is a witness or some form of security i.e. CCTV cameras, victims are left suffering with no justice.

There are several hit and run cases such as being hit by a car that does not stop, running over a person and not stopping, causing damage to personal property and fleeing the scene and also being hit by a foreign lorry. Due to the large number of these cases, there are now several campaigns regarding hit and runs organised by victims' families. There isn't an actual law regarding how long a sentence should be and most offenders are released within weeks and some can even continue driving afterwards.

Assume your responsibility, mistakes happen!

Although it is a criminal offence to not stop when involved in an accident, many drivers take the run when it happens especially if there is time to flee before anybody notices. Sometimes the driver in question is not at fault but the mere thought of having to get the police involved can be so intimidating that they prefer to just escape if they have the chance.

Of course, this is not advisable as it can prove fatal in some circumstances. Hitting a private wall and fleeing the scene will inevitably make the owner liable for the expenses of repairing his property but when it comes to having a person lying injured on the roads because you've just bumped into him and thinking of running or driving as fast as you can before you get caught is just irresponsible because you never know whether somebody else will come in time to save that person's life. So it is important to think well before you make a hasty and selfish decision.

Getting a lawyer for prosecution

There are lawyers who are specially trained in this specific area who can help you. In some cases, you may not have to pay them as they will recover money from the other party. However this can take quite a long time and may seem to drag on forever and add to everyday's life stress.

Any person with a clear conscience should come forward by themselves if they fled the scene during a hit and run as it's never too late for a good cause. Witnesses should also do their bit by telling whatever they saw and remember, to help catch the person at fault.