Drivers are notorious for evading accountability. Shielded by the anonymity of a vehicle, many feel immune to consequences — the same way people hide behind usernames in comment sections. The car becomes armor, and behind that armor, people let out their worst selves. It makes you wonder: is this who they really are, or just the ugliest version?
The aggression is everywhere — flipping people off, tailgating, honking at pedestrians, even swerving toward cyclists. And when collisions happen, the cowardice kicks in. Half of all crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists in Los Angeles are hit-and-runs. Of those, only 20% are solved. That means four out of five drivers face no consequences.
And here’s the kicker: the penalty for a hit-and-run fatality? A maximum of four years — only if the driver isn’t intoxicated. This legal loophole actually incentivizes fleeing the scene. Sober up before you’re caught, and you might get a slap on the wrist.
On Fountain Avenue alone, it feels like someone’s struck and hospitalized, or killed, each day of the week. Which is why I’m making a case for cameras. Everyone — pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders, dog walkers — should consider wearing one. If we all started recording, it would change behavior. Drivers would think twice — not just about fleeing, but about how they drive in the first place. Because they’d know: the footage doesn’t lie.
Too often, the victim is left unconscious, dead, or unable to tell their side of the story. Recording shifts the burden of proof away from the injured and back onto the person who caused the harm.
I’m investing in a body cam and wearing it every time I walk. In Los Angeles, with so many aggressive and distracted drivers, it’s not paranoia — it’s common sense. I love walking. I love running. I love my limbs. I’d like to keep them.
So drive mindfully. And if you can, record license plates when you cross the street. Because even when you do everything right, the system still expects you to prove it.
And as Ratso Rizzo would say, “It ain’t a bad way to pick up insurance.”
It seems logical … But everyone can always use their phones camera for pictures or video. To have multiple quickly taking phone video … Possibility It will come close to accidents are cover from all or many angles.
I thought CA was pro pedestrian? I guess not! Thanks for the update! Wait, people hid behind Anonymous comments? Oh yeah? Your mother eats dirty socks!!! 🙂
What camera would you wear?
All we need is an end to one-party rule.
CA has had such terrible leadership for so long……that it will take draconian measures to reverse the trend.
You’re a fricking broken record. Do you sit at your computer and wait for a new article to come out so you can say the same drivel every time?? Sad sad sad
As if there are no hit and run collisions in Republican states!