Both Nevada state law and common sense dictate that people should stop after a crash. The other people involved could incur major injuries and might be unable to call for help on their own. Collisions that cause significant property damage or injury to other people require police reports under Nevada state statutes.
Unfortunately, those who cause crashes often do not want to take responsibility for them. Someone who is at fault for a crash may worry about rising insurance costs, the loss of their license or facing a civil lawsuit. They may have driven while drunk or engaged in other unsafe conduct that puts them at risk of criminal prosecution.
One of the more common ways that people seek to avoid accountability is by leaving the scene of a collision. Instead of stopping to check on others and report the matter, they drive off as though nothing happened. Such collisions have occurred more frequently in the Vegas area in recent months.
Hit-and-runs are on the rise
According to a report in late 2023, the Metropolitan Police Department had already investigated 3,400 hit-and-run crashes by October of 2023. That figure was a 7% increase from 2022. In 2019 and 2020, the total number of hit-and-run collisions each year was around 3,000, and the upward trend shows no sign of slowing.
What does this mean for drivers?
Motorists in the Las Vegas area may need to consider the potential of getting into a hit-and-run crash when planning for travel or renewing their insurance policies. People can make choices, including supplemental coverage or the installation of a dashboard camera, which could help protect them if they experience a hit-and-run crash personally.
If someone witnesses a hit-and-run crash, they may want to stop even though the other driver did not. Witnesses can provide identifying information to the other driver or make a report to the police that can help track down the driver at Paul for the hit-and-run crash.
When people successfully locate hit-and-run drivers, they then have the option of filing an insurance or possibly even a personal injury lawsuit. As such, seeking legal guidance can be beneficial in hit-and-run scenarios.