Report: Illegal Drivers Behind High Hit-and-Run Rate in LA
CBS Los Angeles, October 11, 2012
The number of hit-and-run accidents in Los Angeles is four times higher than the national average, with one in five fatal crashes involving an unlicensed driver, according to a new report.
Don Rosenberg, the founder of UnlicensedToKill.org, told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO that an estimated 750,000 illegal immigrants live in the L.A. area and those who drive could pose “an immense threat to society”.
“The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports unlicensed drivers are five times more likely to kill, they will flee the scene over 50 percent of the time, five times more likely to drive drunk,” said Rosenberg.
In a whitepaper compiling statistics of hit-and-run accidents, Rosenberg found that unlicensed drivers were involved in more than 7,600 fatal crashes — about 20 percent of fatal crashes nationwide.
There were an estimated 21,000 hit-and-run collisions that were reported as “accidents” in Los Angeles in 2010 alone, according to the study.
“In Los Angeles in terms of hit-and-runs, it’s way outside the norm,” said Rosenberg. “On a national level, there’s about 11 percent of traffic collisions end up being hit-and-runs…in Los Angeles, it’s 50 percent.”
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Click here to read the entire report (PDF).
