In a response to a post from last week, Bike To Work Barb mentioned a 'Vulnerable Users Bill' being worked on by the Cascade Bicycle Club of Seattle. I looked it up to find that Mike Hope, a legislator representing Lake Stevens in Western Washington, is introducing legislation that would help victims of hit-and-runs, and their families.
House Bill 2728 would expand eligibility for pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists who have been injured or killed by a hit-and-run driver to receive compensation. House Bill 2730 would expand hit-and-run provisions to differentiate between hitting and leaving the scene of a collision involving a pedestrian, bicyclists or motorcyclist versus a collision with vehicles only.
Hope told the Lake Stevens Journal, “...This legislation recognizes that hitting a pedestrian [or bicyclist] with a vehicle is much more dangerous than hitting a person inside a vehicle. It would provide compensation for victims of a hit and run, whether they are driving victims or walking victims. These provisions are simple, but will mean a lot to future victims and parents.”
What do you think- is this valid legislation because a lot of hit-and-runs are the result of carelessness or do you believe that it's a case of 'accidents happen?'
2 comments:
There is Crime Victims Compensation, but it only covers medical treatment and up to 15K for lost wages.
For anyone besides us government workers, that $15K isn't much money. Plus, the hit-and-run has to be determined a crime in order for the victim to receive the money, right? And most of the time, vehicle- pedestrian or vehicle- bicyclist accidents are determined to be 'accidents' and no one is ticketed. At least that's the case in Spokane anyway, in the majority of cases the driver isn't found at fault.
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