Aaron Cohen Law
Hit-and-run cases in the United States are unfortunately at an all time high and numbers are, unfortunately, only increasing. Statistics from 2015 show that a hit-and-run crash occurs in Los Angeles about every 18 minutes and that the problem has been aggravated to the extent that it is now being called an epidemic.
There are several different types of hit-and-run cases. Most hit-and-run cases do not involve any injuries. This is primarily because these types of accidents generally occur when a driver hits a car that was parked on the street. The problem, however, lies in the fact that some severe cases of hit-and-runs may also be fatal.
As unfortunate as it may sound, most drivers of hit-and-run cases are not found. What’s even worse is that even if the driver is found, they are barely convicted or sentenced to severe punishments. The severity of the situation is not done justice to since reckless drivers and those who flee from hit-and-run scenarios are often not given punishments of more than three or four years behind bars.
What is the Aaron Cohen law?
The Aaron Cohen law was introduced as a result of the increase in hit-and-run cases. The major reason why the Aaron Cohen law was introduced was because a lot of people escape the scene after a hit-and-run accident.
The Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act was introduced in memory of a cyclist who was killed in a hit-and-run case in Miami in the year 2012. The driver of the vehicle was put behind bars for less than a year even though investigators had found evidence that he had been drinking before the incident occurred.
The introduction of the bill by Diaz de la Portilla has put a minimum mandatory sentence on people who escape hit-and-run scenes when they were driving under the influence. As a result of the Aaron Cohen law, drivers who escape fatal hit-and-run scenes will have to serve a minimum of four years behind bars.
Drivers who flee from the scene after fatal accidents pose a threat to a lot more pedestrians and motorists which is why the Bill also imposes a revocation period of the license of the driver. Drivers who are found to flee from the scene after a fatal attack will have their driver’s license revoked for at least three years. Additionally, such people will also be forced to go through driver education to ensure that such scenarios do not occur in the future as well.
Since people are now aware of the punishments that they might have to face, there is a high chance that motorists and drivers throughout the country will be more cautious.