March 28, 2024

What You Need To Know About Hit and Run Tickets

Getting caught driving with a suspended license

So what exactly is a hit and run ticket? You’ve probably heard about cases involving a hit and run offense, usually when the driver responsible for the accident caused a significant amount of damage to another person or to someone’s property. But for a little more information, here are just a few basic points to keep in mind about these traffic violations:

The Definition

You can be guilty of a hit and run violation if you’re involved in an accident and fail to leave your contact information or call the authorities. This can include hitting another car (even a parked car with no one inside), stationary object, or person (in some states, hit and run laws even extend to hitting animals, too). It usually doesn’t matter if you’ve caused the accident or not; as odd as it may seem, you can be the victim of a car accident and be issued a hit and run ticket if you flee the scene.

The Consequences

In general, courts do not look upon hit and run cases lightly, and it’s very difficult to get out of a traffic ticket for a hit and run charge if you’re caught by the police. The consequences will vary depending on how much damage you’ve caused, whether you turned yourself in or the authorities had to find you, and if you have a history with accruing traffic violations. A hit and run ticket can either be a misdemeanor or a felony; most states automatically make the charge a felony if another person was injured in the accident. Even for a misdemeanor violation, however, the punishments can be pretty severe: thousands of dollars in fines, points added to your driving record, and even some jail time are all possible punishments.

What To Do

Many people “flee” the scene of an accident without even realizing they hit something, believe it or not. In more serious cases, it’s common for drivers to freak out a little bit and drive away before realizing the gravity of the situation. If possible, the best thing to do is to turn yourself into the police. Even though this is an obvious and automatic admission of guilt — something that’s usually not advised with traffic violations — the consequences tend to be much lighter.

And of course, if you find yourself in this situation, the absolute best thing to do first is to seek help from a legal professional. A traffic lawyer or law firm will be able to guide you through the process and make it as painless as possible. References.

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