Hit and Run: Why Drivers Who Hit Cyclists Drive Off
A driver hits a cyclist, looks back, and keeps going. Most people assume that's the end of it because there's no one left to find. But what happens in the next sixty seconds often decides whether anyone ever does.
Between 2017 and 2023, the number of US bicyclists killed by drivers who fled the scene rose 63 percent, from 168 to 274. By 2023, nearly one in four bicyclists killed by a car was a hit-and-run victim. For people inside cars, the rate was under two percent. Federal data for 2024 show the first real drop, about 16 percent, but the number is still well above 2017.
In this episode…
The skinny
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