Hit-and-run laws and what to do in Vermont

A crash rattles you even when everything goes right. When the other driver speeds off, it gets worse fast. You're left with the damage and the bills, and no obvious person to send them to. Vermont treats leaving the scene as a crime, and it also gives you a specific way to recover money when that driver is never found. Here is what the law says and the steps that protect you.

What leaving the scene means under Vermont law

Vermont's hit-and-run rule is 23 V.S.A. § 1128. Any operator who causes or is involved in a crash that injures someone other than the driver, or damages property other than their own vehicle, must immediately stop and render any assistance reasonably necessary.¹ Stopping is not optional. Slowing down or circling back later does not count.

At the scene you have to give your name, your residence, your license number, and the name of the vehicle's owner. You owe that information to anyone who was hurt, to anyone whose property you damaged, and to any law enforcement officer who responds.¹ The statute expects you to pull over where you can do it safely without blocking traffic, then hand over those details in person.

It doesn't matter whether you think the crash was your fault. The duty applies to every operator involved in the collision, not just the one who caused it.¹

The penalties for driving away

Vermont grades the punishment by how badly someone was hurt.

For a hit-and-run involving property damage or an ordinary injury, the penalty is a fine of up to $2,000, up to two years in prison, or both.¹ If the crash caused serious bodily injury, the exposure climbs to a fine of up to $3,000 and up to five years behind bars.¹ Serious bodily injury isn't a loose phrase here. It is defined by statute as an injury that creates a substantial risk of death, a substantial impairment of a bodily organ or of health, or substantial disfigurement.²

When someone dies, leaving the scene carries a fine of up to $3,000 and a prison term of not less than one year and up to fifteen.¹ On top of any fine, a conviction under § 1128 adds a $50 surcharge that goes to Vermont's DUI Enforcement Fund.¹

The report you have to file within 72 hours

Separate from the duty to stop, Vermont requires drivers to report certain crashes to the DMV. Under 23 V.S.A. § 1129, if anyone is injured or the total property damage reaches $3,000 or more, the operator must send a written crash report to the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles within 72 hours.³ The report goes on a DMV form, and the Commissioner can require more detail.

That section also carries a duty most drivers don't know about. If you're insured, you have to give the injured person or the owner of the damaged property the name and address of your liability insurer along with your policy number.³ The Vermont DMV handles these operator reports and is where you request a copy of the official crash report later, including crashes investigated by the Vermont State Police.⁴ You can read how to pull a Vermont crash report on the crash reports hub.

If you're the victim and the driver runs

Get to safety, call 911, and let the police document the scene. Photograph the damage, the road, and anything you caught of the other car. Even a partial plate or a smear of paint transfer helps. Note the direction it went. Then get medical attention, because Vermont is an at-fault state and the value of any later claim tracks the medical record.

Here is the part that matters most in Vermont. Even if the other driver is never identified, you are not necessarily stuck. State law requires every auto policy issued here to include uninsured motorist coverage, and that coverage is written to reach hit-and-run and unknown motor vehicles by name.⁵ The same insurance that would pay if an uninsured driver hit you is the pool you tap when the driver flees and can't be found.

The minimum uninsured motorist limits are $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for bodily injury, and they must match your liability limits if those are higher, unless you rejected the higher amount in writing.⁵ The statute also builds in property coverage for a hit-and-run: up to $10,000 per claim, subject to a $150 deductible, for damage to your vehicle when the at-fault driver is unknown.⁵ If your car lost resale value after the repair, that is a separate claim covered on our Vermont diminished value page.

Notify your own insurer promptly and cooperate with the claim. An uninsured motorist claim is a claim against your own carrier, so the company you pay is now on the other side of the negotiation. If the police do identify the driver, you can pursue that person directly instead, and a Vermont attorney can help you decide which path recovers more.

Your deadline and how fault is shared

Vermont gives you three years from the date of the crash to sue for a personal injury, and the same three years for damage to your vehicle, both set by 12 V.S.A. § 512.⁶ Vermont law can pause that clock in narrow situations, such as when the injured person is a minor, but those exceptions are limited and evidence fades fast in a hit-and-run.

If the driver is found and you file, Vermont uses modified comparative negligence. You can still recover as long as your share of the fault is not greater than the other driver's, and your award is reduced by your own percentage.⁷ Cross 50 percent and you recover nothing. For context on the money that is supposed to be available, Vermont's minimum liability limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injuries plus $10,000 for property damage,⁸ often far less than a serious crash actually costs.

The bigger picture

Vermont is a small, rural state, and its crashes skew toward higher-speed roads with few witnesses, the exact conditions that make a driver think they can disappear. The state recorded 59 traffic deaths in 2024, a rate of 9.1 per 100,000 residents.⁹ A hit-and-run turns a bad day into a paperwork problem, but the statutes lay out a clear sequence. Stop or report, document what you can, file with the DMV, and lean on your uninsured motorist coverage if the other driver is gone.

This article is general information about Vermont law, not legal advice for your situation.

Sources

23 V.S.A. § 1128 (Crashes; duty to stop). Vermont General Assembly. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/013/01128
13 V.S.A. § 1021 (Definitions; serious bodily injury). Vermont General Assembly. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/13/019/01021
23 V.S.A. § 1129 (Crashes; reports). Vermont General Assembly. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/013/01129
Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Crashes. https://dmv.vermont.gov/enforcement-and-safety/laws/crashes
23 V.S.A. § 941 (Insurance against uninsured, underinsured, or unknown motorists). Vermont General Assembly. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/011/00941
12 V.S.A. § 512 (Limitation of actions; injury to person or property). Vermont General Assembly. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/023/00512
12 V.S.A. § 1036 (Comparative negligence). Vermont General Assembly. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/12/027/01036
23 V.S.A. § 800 (Motor vehicle liability insurance; minimum limits). Vermont General Assembly. https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/23/011/00800
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Fatality Facts 2024: State by state (Vermont). https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/fatality-statistics/detail/state-by-state

Hit-and-Run Laws and What to Do in Vermont