Driving Safety

Hit-and-Run Awareness

Just stop. Stay at the scene of an accident.

From year to year, Florida has seen the amount of hit-and-run crashes remain steady, with nearly 25 percent of all crashes involving a hit-and-run. Although the majority of hit-and-run crashes only result in property damage, hit-and-run crashes can be deadly. The Hit-and-Run Awareness campaign aims to reduce the number of hit-and-run crashes in Florida by educating drivers on their responsibilities if involved in a crash and the serious consequences they face if they choose not to Stay at the Scene.

In 2023, there were 104,273 hit-and-run crashes in Florida, a decrease of less than 1% from 2022.
Hit-and-run crashes in 2023 resulted in 271 fatalities and 871 serious bodily injuries.
Vulnerable road users are particularly at risk. Of the 271 hit-and-run fatalities in 2023, 159 were pedestrians and 47 were bicyclists (76% of hit-and-run fatalities).
Of Florida’s 104,273 hit-and-run crashes last year, 86,987 involved property damage only.
In 2023 alone over 81% of hit-and-run fatalities occurred during dawn, dusk, or nighttime conditions.
Under Florida law, a driver MUST stop immediately at the scene of a crash on public or private property which results in property damage, injury, or death.

The penalties for hit-and-run drivers changed on July 1, 2014 when the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act (section 316.027, Florida Statutes) was signed into Florida law. The statute is named after Aaron Cohen, a 31-year-old avid cyclist and father of two that was fatally struck by an impaired driver that fled the crash scene in February 2012 in south Florida. The hit-and-run driver was sentenced to two years in prison, a lesser sentence than what the motorist would have served had he been sentenced on a DUI manslaughter charge. The Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act imposes a mandatory minimum of four years for a driver convicted of leaving the scene of a crash resulting in a fatality.

Hit-and-Run Penalties

For more information, see Florida Statutes 316.061, 316.027.
Leaving the scene of the crash with:
PROPERTY DAMAGE	Second-degree Misdemeanor
PROPERTY DAMAGE	Up to 60 days in prison and $500 fine
INJURIES	Second-or third-degree felony
	Revoked license for at least 3 years
	Up to 5 years in prison and $5,000 fine
FATALITIES	First-degree felony
	Revoked license for at least 3 years
	Mandatory minimum of 4 years in prison, up to 30 years in prison and a $10,000 fine

If you are involved in a crash, stay at the scene and call for help. It’s not just the law – you could save a life.

Some crashes may involve property damage only, such as a parked car with no one inside, mailbox, fence, or landscape/garden. If involved in a crash involving property damage, you must stay at the scene and attempt to locate or contact the property owner. If you cannot locate the property owner, the driver responsible for the crash should leave contact and insurance information in an identifiable location.

In the case of property damage only, the driver and crash victim – once contact has been made between them – can self-file a crash report with FLHSMV, and then do not need law enforcement to file a crash report.

If you have information on a hit-and-run crash, you can report it by calling *FHP (*347) or report it anonymously to Florida Crime Stoppers by calling **TIPS (**8477) or through the Florida Crime Stoppers smartphone phone app, available free in the Apple and Google Play stores.