People who cause crashes can already get sued. How will a tougher criminal law improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists?
As best we understand the situation, most drivers at fault for hitting a pedestrian or bicyclist suffer either no consequence (beyond any remorse they might feel) or endure some inconvenience while their insurer wrangles with the victim over compensation, potentially resulting in the driver having to pay higher auto insurance premiums. Even if the victim wins a lawsuit in court, the suit will take from 2-4 years to finish and the at-fault driver will often be protected by her or his insurer from paying any large lump sum damage award. More commonly, the driver’s insurer and the victim will settle out of court. Even if the driver carries the required insurance (and many don’t), the minimum bodily injury liability insurance coverage in Kentucky is $25,000 – much less than the medical costs of many crash injuries. This results in many cases in which the injured party receives a settlement inadequate to recoup medical costs, let alone lost income or abilities. In a typical scenario, the in
