Drivers in a motor vehicle accident must stop and exchange insurance and registration information
A motorist involved in a collision with another vehicle, even a minor collision, and fails to stop their vehicle to exchange identification and registration information with the other driver is guilty of a misdemeanor. If there were injuries, the hit-and-run could be filed as a felony.
Punishment Can Be Severe
Most people grossly underestimate the gravity of the crime. In California, a misdemeanor hit-and-run is punishable by up to 180 days in county jail and three years of probation. A felony hit-and-run is punishable by up to two to four years in state prison.
There are no easy defenses other than to claim you couldn’t find a safe place to stop and subsequently got lost in traffic. This can be a credible defense if the driver could support her story with facts. Consider this fact scenario from a driver who fled the scene without exchanging information.
Example of Hit And Run Defense – Testimony Of The Accused
I was in heavy bumper-to-bumper freeway traffic when my front bumper made contact with the rear bumper in front of me. Given the traffic was heavy, I felt it was not safe to move across four lanes of heavy traffic to exchange information. So I signaled with my hands to the other driver to get off at the next exit.
The next exit was a quarter-mile away, and I thought the safest way to handle this was for us to meet at the closest off-ramp. So, I slowly drove across the lanes to get off at the next off-ramp with my blinkers on, but I think she lost me in all that traffic.
I waited for her at the off-ramp for over a half-hour, but the driver never showed up, so I went home. I did not report the incident because I was unable to write down the other driver’s license plate.
Result: The case was dismissed.
