Most Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
One can guess who will physically lose the battle in an auto-pedestrian collision. A legal problem with proving the cause of these collisions is that at least one of the parties involved usually ends up catastrophically injured or killed and is unable to contribute to our investigation into how this collision actually occurred. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2016 there were over 5,987 fatalities involving automobiles and pedestrians in the United States.
Automobile-pedestrian accidents occur for the same reasons that other car accidents happen but pedestrians are at a much greater risk of serious injury and death. The issue with pedestrians for drivers of vehicles is that they are hard to see, are significantly smaller than a vehicle, can enter a lane of travel from pretty much anywhere, and are often unpredictable in terms of where they are going or what they are doing. Add to this mix distracted driving, texting, intoxication, sun glare, heavy traffic, children playing in the street, speeding, complicated cross walks, traffic signal malfunction, urban/rural environments, weather, day/night lighting conditions, and age and we are not surprised to see the number of pedestrian deaths is actually increasing. In fact, between 2007 and 2016 the percentage of fatalities involving pedestrians increased from 11% to 16%.
So the question is what can you do about it to have the best chance of not being hit by a vehicle when you are a pedestrian. The truth is you can only control how you behave in these types of situations and need to think and act in a proactive manner to protect yourself. You should consider the following ways to be safe when walking in areas with vehicles:
- Be as predictable as possible by following the rules of the road.
- Make eye contact with the driver of any vehicle when using a cross walk to ensure they actually see you. While you may think there is no reason why they shouldn’t have seen you, it is better to be safe than sorry.
- Wear appropriate reflective gear/clothing when walking at night time.
- Only cross the street at the corner or at an intersection.
- Walk and do not run into the intersection.
- Look for signs that a car is going to move into your path such as break lights, engine noise etc.
- Make sure to completely cross the street or wait to cross until you can. Hanging out on the island or mediation dividing a street is incredibly dangerous.
- If walking on a street, use the side of the street where you will be facing oncoming traffic for greater visibility.
- Use sidewalks whenever they are available.
- Do not use your phone or any other devise while walking that will distract you from your ability to safely hear and observe what the traffic around is doing.
It is quite probable that we are all a pedestrian at some point during our day. We hope these ideas can help you avoid getting injured. If you have been injured as a pedestrian, we are here to help you recover and live the best life possible. The personal injury attorneys at Pushchak Law Firm are here to help.
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