People love LA. Those who live there enjoy living in a city that creates so many TV shows and movies. They can visit Hollywood and see productions happening everywhere.
Visitors like it as well. They can get a map of the stars and see where their favorite celebrities live. They might also check out the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where they can see the many handprints of current and past celebrities.
LA sees many car accidents, though, and that’s something neither visitors nor locals enjoy. If a car hits your vehicle or runs you down when you’re crossing the street, that can ruin your life. If the car drives away without stopping or slowing down, that’s even worse.
We’ll talk about LA hit-and-run accidents now. They happen often in Los Angeles, and you should understand why.
How Many Hit-and-Run Accidents Occur Daily in LA?
11 or 12 hit-and-run crashes occur daily in LA. It’s a big city, one of the largest in the nation, but still, that’s an astonishing number. That means a hit-and-run accident occurs somewhere within the city every couple of hours.
Why might this event happen so often? Several critical reasons exist, so let’s run through them.
Most People Drive in Los Angeles
For one thing, many people who live in Los Angeles drive. You can find some public transportation in the city. You will see buses lumbering up and down Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards during the days and a few at night as well.
However, the city sprawls in all directions. If you have business several neighborhoods away, you may prefer driving versus taking the bus. You might also get an Uber, and someone might hit your rideshare vehicle and drive off as well.
If you consider this, you’ll realize that some hit-and-run accidents happen simply because you have so many vehicles on the roads. With more cars and less public transportation, you can expect more hit-and-run accidents.
Some People Don’t Have Insurance
Some drivers also hit cars and then drive off because they don’t have insurance. You must have insurance in LA, just like in all other cities. However, some people feel they shouldn’t pay the price. They might feel they can get behind the wheel and drive without securing a policy first.
Someone without insurance who hits another car, pedestrian, cyclist, etc., won’t wait for the police. They might, but it’s just as likely they’ll drive off and hope that nobody saw their license. They won’t often get away, though. LA has more traffic cameras than ever, and if you attempt a hit-and-run escape, one camera or another likely caught your license plate number and physical appearance.
Intoxicated Drivers
You may have a driver who hits another vehicle and speeds off because they’ve ingested alcohol. They might drink several beers or mixed drinks at a club or a house party. Maybe they know they’re well over the legal limit, but they prefer not to leave their car and pick it up later.
Also, California legalized recreational marijuana some time ago. That means you have many individuals smoking and driving. That’s illegal, but that does not stop certain people. They might smoke and then drive, or they may ingest an edible instead.
If they’re under the influence and hit another car or pedestrian, they might realize they’ll face arrest if the police show up and scrutinize them. The cops might administer a breathalyzer. The police can’t prove the person ingested or used marijuana as easily, but they often suspect that if the driver seems intoxicated.
When facing this situation, a driver might leave the scene, hoping they can sober up before the police find them. If they leave, though, that’s a felony. The driver may not realize that, or they might not care.
Inexperienced Drivers
You might have an inexperienced driver who flees the scene. Maybe they’re only a teenager, and they’ve had their license for a few months or less.
In that situation, maybe they make a poor decision. They might also have contraband in the car. An inexperienced driver who leaves the scene will get the same harsh treatment as a veteran driver if the police catch them, though.
Drivers Who Panic
You might have a driver who panics when they feel a car wreck’s impact. They may feel fear and a sense they must get away and hide.
You’d hope that at that moment, the driver can take a few deep breaths and realize that if they leave, they’re making a costly mistake. Even if they obviously caused the accident, they should regain control, turn off the car, and face what they did like an adult. Not every driver will do that, though.
Road Rage Incidents
You may also have hit-and-run accidents that happen because someone loses their temper. Sometimes, you can’t consider these crashes accidental. Instead, the person who hits a car does so on purpose, and then they leave before the cops can show up and arrest them.
If you cut someone off in traffic or they feel you did something they don’t like, they might hit your car as retaliation. This happens far too often in Los Angeles.
Some people drive around angry, almost hoping other drivers do something wrong. These ticking time bombs can go off at any time.
Some might have problems at home or demanding bosses at work. They’re just waiting to snap, and once they damage your vehicle or injure you, they’ll drive off and hope the police can’t track them down.
How Can You Avid Hit-and-Run Drivers?
You can’t always avoid hit-and-run drivers. You never know when someone might hit your vehicle with theirs or run you down when you’re crossing the street.
You must obey all traffic laws and hope nothing bad happens. That’s luck or chance, to some extent. Maybe you’ll go through your whole life without a car hitting you or your vehicle. If one does, you must also hope they stick around.
