The Los Angeles City Council adopted a resolution Wednesday urging state lawmakers to enact an Amber Alert-type system which would generate notifications when a hit-and-run incident has occurred. Alerts would include information such as the make, model, and license plate of the suspected vehicle, which would then be distributed to the public and media outlets shortly thereafter.
The resolution was authored by Council Member Mitch Englander and is modeled after a similar alert system in Colorado. The resolution gives the city the option to support any future bills that are introduced.
California bears the largest percentage of hit-and-run crashes in the nation. The problem is particularly dire in Los Angeles, where more than 100 fatal or severe hit-and-run incidents occur each year. According to law enforcement officers and traffic safety experts, the problem can be attributed to a large number of unlicensed and uninsured drivers, wide, busy thoroughfares and intersections, and fears surrounding the strict penalties for drunk driving.
Read more about the resolution adopted by the Los Angeles City Council here.