Hit and run Bicycle Accidents

If you or someone you know has been seriously injured by a Car Accident, Bycicle Accident or Pedestrian Accident, contact a California Personal Injury Attorney at The Law Offices of Terry K. Davis today for a FREE Consultation. 

(800) 783-9360

It isn't a shock that as California's most populated county's is Los Angeles . This city alone is one of the main markets that has businesses and consumers all in one working together and helping the state of California thrive. The Los Angeles Times featured an in depth article last month about the recent increase in the number of bicycle hit-and-run accidents in the greater Los Angeles area. In accordance to the article and the Times analysis, "Hit-and-Run" instances have sky rocketed a whopping 42% from 2002 until 2012 in Los Angeles alone. Of this hike in percentage, over 56,000 bicyclists were injured and at least 36 have been reported deceased due to the hit-and-run crashes.  

As any booming City, Los Angeles has incorporated over 120 miles of bike lanes to promote safety and less cars on the roads. These increasing collisions hurt the balance created. Practically one-fifth of the hit-and-run collisions occur in neighborhoods from these 5 cities: North Hollywood, Van Nuys, downtown Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Long Beach. 40% of these particular cases were cyclists aged 18 and younger. The oldest being 99 years of age and the youngest a mere 1.

As if being injured wasn't enough, the frequency of actually catching the driver that caused the accident is slim. Statistically only 20% of hit-and-run cases were unresolved. The chance of being convicted is so slim that "if you wanted to murder someone it would almost be better to just hit them with your car" said Assemblyman Mike Gatto(D-Los Angeles). 

Thousands of cases of Hit-and-run accidents have occurred for bicycle accidents and pedestrian accidents. 

Tips for bicyclists who encounter an accident with a car:

• Stay calm. Some drivers will see an angry victim and decide to flee so as not to be confronted. 
• Always record the license plate number — as much of it as possible or take a photo of the plate. Keep in mind that the police can use partial license plate numbers accompanied with vehicle descriptions to trace a driver who flees an accident site.
• Quickly call 911. Tell the dispatcher everything you can remember, from the description of the vehicle, the person driving and license plate information if you were able to attain it.