Hit and run type of collisions involving drivers and cyclists seem to be happening more often. I think part of the thinking of the driver is that there is very little chance of being caught and charged, especially if the collision occurs on the type of quiet rural roads that many of us enjoy riding. If there are no witnesses, ZOOM!
I was struck several years ago under just such conditions. Sunday morning, very little traffic on a quiet stretch of road, and a vehicle passing me way too closely clipped me with the windshield pillar and sent me (and the bike) over head first. The driver never even slowed down. Luckily, on that morning, there was ONE other car driving a short distance behind the offender who did witness the collision and chased the driver down. Only when he was told that she had seen him hit a cyclist and his tag number was recorded did he decide to turn around. I was lucky - 12 stitches and some bad road rash, but no broken bones or internal injuries.
Now I ride with a Varia radar/camera to record what's coming, and a GoPro on the handlebars to get what's going. In SC, front tags are not issued, so the GoPro is vital in trying to grab a tag number. I also seldom ride solo anymore - more of a mental thing than anything else, but I do believe that drivers may be less likely to drive aggressively towards cyclists, or take off knowing that there are others in the group as witnesses.