Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage A Must With Rise In Hit and Run Accidents

Not a day goes by in Miami that we do not hear or read about yet another Hit and Run Accident. Fatal Hit and runs, occur nearly once a week in the tri-county area.

In fact, here are the 2012 statistics for the state of Florida:

• 70,000 hit-and-run crashes in Florida, or 191/day;
• 168 Fatalities

Yesterdays victims were a father and son, that were struck by a Ford SUV. The hit and run motorist struck the father (Martinez), and severely injured his leg. Doctors were hoping they could save his leg and avoid an amputation. The son,(Fadel Duarte) was pinned underneath his pick up truck. The hit and run motorist sped away.

Late last night police arrested the driver, Johanna Cabrera, 31, who of course was driving without a license.

Fed up with the increase in Hit and Runs, state Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami, Diaz de la Portilla has filed the “Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act,” which honors a bicyclist struck down on Miami’s Rickenbacker Causeway in November 2012. The proposed legislation would impose tougher mandatory sentences on guilty drivers. The tougher legislation makes sense not only for general deterrence purposes, but to close the gap between two Florida laws. Under current state statutes, drivers in DUI crashes that kill someone face a harsher penalty than drivers who leave the scene of a deadly accident. Only in Florida is one rewarded for leaving the scene of an accident

“There is an incentive to flee and show up later when the alcohol clears the system,” said Diaz de la Portilla, saying the legislation would address the disparities. “The law should not make it easier on you because you left the scene.”

The bill would increase the mandatory minimum jail sentences for those convicted of leaving the scene of an accident, including a 10-year minimum for a hit-and-run resulting in death.

Given the likelihood that the hit and run motorists will never be found, or if found has no insurance, Florida drivers need to purchase Uninsured Motorist Coverage. This elective Insurance Coverage will provide you, family members, and vehicle occupants with valuable monetary benefits in the event of a Hit and Run Accident. Uninsured Motorist coverage will also provide much needed benefits if the person that caused the accident does not have sufficient Insurance coverage to compensate you for your losses.

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