Quote:
Originally Posted by NickR
From the articles I've read, here in SoCal the majority of the hit-and-run happen at night. My conclusion was drivers are fleeing because of the possibility of DUI prosecution.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Louis
I bet part of the nighttime hit-and-run thing is that drivers figure that at night it's less likely that they've been seen, so they're more likely to try to escape.
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I often see the argument that hit-and-run will never improve until the penalty for hit-and-run exceeds the penalty for DUII or driving uninsured, etc. (I think it probably does for driving uninsured, though that doesn't relieve the perpetrator from a tort they can't afford if they were to stop and own up), but the fact of the matter is that hit-and-run penalties would probably need to exceed the penalty for
manslaughter to have any appreciable effect on the numbers. And by appreciable, I just mean that, and nothing more: you're always going to have people who would rather take a chance on getting away scott-free rather than taking responsibility.
Always.
If laws could really change behavior, you could just make bad behavior a crime, and everyone would be good.