Hit-and-Run Awareness Month

From year to year, Florida has
seen the amount of hit-and-run crashes remain steady, with nearly 25 percent of
all crashes involving a hit-and-run. Although the majority of
hit-and-run crashes only result in property damage, hit-and-run crashes can be
deadly. The Hit-and-Run Awareness campaign aims to reduce the
number of hit-and-run crashes in Florida by educating drivers on their
responsibilities if involved in a crash and the serious consequences they face
if they choose not to Stay at the Scene.

• In 2023, there were 104,273 hit-and-run crashes in
  Florida, a decrease of less than 1% from 2022.
• Hit-and-run crashes in 2023 resulted in 271
  fatalities and 871 serious bodily injuries.
• Vulnerable road users are particularly at risk. Of
  the 271 hit-and-run fatalities in 2023, 159 were pedestrians and 47 were
  bicyclists (76% of hit-and-run fatalities).
• Of Florida’s 104,273 hit-and-run crashes last year,
  86,987 involved property damage only.
• In 2023 alone over 81% of hit-and-run fatalities
  occurred during dawn, dusk, or nighttime conditions.
• Under Florida law, a driver MUST stop immediately at
  the scene of a crash on public or private property which results in
  property damage, injury, or death.

The penalties for hit-and-run
drivers changed on July 1, 2014 when the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act (section 316.027, Florida Statutes) was signed into Florida
law. The statute is named after Aaron Cohen, a 31-year-old avid cyclist and
father of two that was fatally struck by an impaired driver that fled the crash
scene in February 2012 in south Florida. The hit-and-run driver was sentenced
to two years in prison, a lesser sentence than what the motorist would have
served had he been sentenced on a DUI manslaughter charge. The Aaron Cohen Life
Protection Act imposes a mandatory minimum of four years for a driver convicted
of leaving the scene of a crash resulting in a fatality.

 Hit-and-Run Penalties

If you are involved in a crash,
stay at the scene and call for help. It’s not just the law – you could save a
life.

Some crashes may involve property
damage only, such as a parked car with no one inside, mailbox, fence, or
landscape/garden. If involved in a crash involving property damage, you must
stay at the scene and attempt to locate or contact the property owner. If you
cannot locate the property owner, the driver responsible for the crash should
leave contact and insurance information in an identifiable location.

In the case of property damage
only, the driver and crash victim – once contact has been made between them –
can self-file
a crash report with FLHSMV, and then do not need law enforcement to
file a crash report.

If you have information on a
hit-and-run crash, you can report it by calling *FHP (*347) or report it
anonymously to Florida Crime Stoppers by calling **TIPS (**8477) or through the
Florida Crime Stoppers smartphone phone app, available free in the Apple and Google Play stores.