Co Donegal has emerged as the hit-and-run black spot of Ireland.
New research shows that the county has a higher proportion of hit-and-run claims than other counties.
Figures compiled by the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) show that half of the Donegal accidents reported to it involve untraced drivers.
Untraced incidents, which are commonly referred to as “hit-and-runs”, occur when the driver of one of the vehicles involved departs the scene of an accident without providing information to the other parties involved.
The MIBI is a not-for-profit company established to compensate victims of road-traffic accidents caused by uninsured and unidentified vehicles.
It is funded by the insurance companies in Ireland, whose costs in turn are then added to customers’ motor premiums.
The operation of the MIBI costs €60m a year, which works out at €30 on the average premium.
Figures put together by the MIBI show that a total of 2,261 hit-and-run incidents across all counties were reported to it over the past three years. This accounts for almost three out of every 10 events reported.
There were 114 such incidents in Donegal, meaning that hit-and-runs accounted for practically one out of every two Donegal events reported to the MIBI.
At the other end of the scale, only 10 of these incidents took place in Roscommon or in Leitrim, while Sligo saw 14.
