The purpose of this fact sheet is to look into the scale and nature of hit and run road traffic collisions resulting in personal injury. A hit and run collision is one in which one or more of the drivers or riders involved left the scene prematurely, without exchanging details or awaiting the arrival of the police. The driver/rider that hit and ran did not necessarily cause the collision or directly injure the casualties. There may be many reasons why the driver or rider hit and ran, including the possibility that they were not aware that a collision had occurred. However, it would not seem unreasonable to assume that many drivers/riders who failed to stop did so because they were also guilty of some other offence e.g. drink or drug driving, driving without a licence or insurance, stolen vehicle, inappropriate speed etc. It is estimated that approximately 4 to 5% of drivers in the UK do not have valid insurance, licences or vehicle excise duty. The fact sheet gives an overview of hit and run collisions in Greater London over the period 1986 to 2004. It then looks in detail at the profile of the drivers/riders (where known), factors relating to the collisions and details of the resultant casualties in collisions that occurred in 2004 (the latest year for which finalised data is available). The data provided is for personal injury road traffic collisions that occurred on the public highway that were reported to the police in accordance with the Stats 19 national reporting system. (Author/publisher)
Abstract