Leaving the scene of an accident is against the law in the state of Illinois. However, it is a common practice that drivers engage in because they are driving without insurance, are afraid of getting arrested for impaired driving, or do not have liability insurance coverage. If you are ever the victim of a hit-and-run accident, you should understand that the police play an important role in your case.

Gathering Information for Police

After a hit-and-run accident, you should gather as much information as possible to help the police. Some of this information includes license plate information, the make, color, and model of the car that fled the scene, and the description of the driver. You may not be able to gather all of this information so it’s imperative that you write down anything you can remember.

According to a recent report, as many as 15 percent of drivers in the state of Illinois are driving without vehicle liability insurance. That report also found that the number of uninsured drivers tends to fluctuate along with the unemployment rate, as people who lose their jobs and are struggling financially are forced to choose which priority bills get paid. Auto insurance is often not high on the list that includes shelter, food, and utilities.

New Hampshire is the only state which does not require motorists to have auto insurance. However, with a national average of one in seven motorists driving without coverage, it is apparent these laws do not always work. The state with the lowest percentage of uninsured drivers – Massachusetts at 4 percent – requires all drivers to show proof of insurance before they can register their vehicle.

Many auto insurance policies have uninsured motorist coverage to cover the cost of injuries or property damage in the event an accident is caused by an uninsured driver. When an uninsured driver is at fault for a motor vehicle accident, it is those policies which cover those damages, passing costs of these accidents to insured drivers – in the amount of more than $10 billion every year.

Even though Illinois and most other states require motorists to have insurance, a study conducted in 2011 showed that 13.8 per cent of drivers, or about one in seven, is uninsured nationally. This makes your chances of being involved with an uninsured motorist pretty high. Luckily, there are steps you can take in order to make sure the other driver, if he or she was at fault, will still pay your damages.

If the accident caused damage in excess of $500, personal injury to anyone involved, or even death, the Illinois Safety and Financial Responsibility Law requires you to file an accident report with the Illinois Department of Transportation within 10 days of the accident.

The uninsured motorist will have his license suspended if he is found to be at least 50 per cent at fault for the accident. In order for the uninsured motorist to reinstate his or her license, they must fill out an SR-22 insurance policy to show their proof of financial responsibility.