Penn. Bill Would Use Collision Shops to ID Hit-and-Run Vehicles

April 7, 2022

Legislation on the move in the Pennsylvania state Senate aims to help police identify drivers involved in hit and run crashes that result in serious bodily injury or death to a victim.

April 7, 2022—Auto repair shops in Pennsylvania could soon play a role in helping track down drivers of hit-and-run crashes that leave a victim seriously injured or dead.

According to a story by the Penn Live Patriot-News, the bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Anthony Williams, (D-Philadelphia), calls for the creation of an alert system to notify repair shops for vehicles involved in a hit and run crash involving a serious injury or death within a certain time period after the incident occurred.

The Senate Law & Justice Committee approved the bill by an 11-0 vote. It now is in a position to be considered by the full Senate.

“Repair shops will be put on notice that if someone comes within a certain period of time with damages to their car that were alerted by the state police, … that information would be advanced to the state police and then they would investigate those cars,” Williams says.

If a shop fails to report a vehicle matching the description of one in the alert system, the owner or operator of the shop could be charged with a third-degree misdemeanor.

Williams says state police have some concerns about the cost and technology to implement such a notification system but he thinks both can be overcome.

The Pennsylvania State Police and PennDOT offered a statement about the bill, saying they “appreciate the intent behind Senate Bill 24. While we will continue to review the legislation, there are initial concerns that inserting a new alert in addition to the Amber Alert and Missing and Endangered Person Alert systems [which Pennsylvania is nationally recognized for implementing] could impact their overall effectiveness.”

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FenderBender Staff Reporters

The FenderBender staff reporters have nearly three decades of combined journalism and collision repair experience.

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