Originally Posted by
Biker395
The law should be changed so that the punishment for hit and run is no less than the punishment the offender would receive were they found to be DUI when the collision occurred. Anything else encourages the offender to hit, run, and hide long enough to sober up. That is NOT ok.
Absolutely the laws should be changed; however there will still be many dodges like "I didn't realise that I hit something", "I thought I hit an animal, pothole, etc." The other thing is intent. Perhaps a change in the law would strengthen the concept of intent so that running away more clearly shows that the driver intended to avoid prosecution. Even so, jail time, revocation of license, fines ... don't seem to be much of a deterrent to some. I think the courts need to consider redefining "cruel and unusual punishment" so the driver gets a taste of what he did to the victim.
Every day while I'm riding, I have to trust other road users to be competent in their abilities and compliant with laws and conventions. These kind of stories are really eroding my trust to the point where I don't like riding on public roads much anymore.