What Are the Main Causes of Pedestrian Accidents?

Why Are Pedestrian Accidents so Dangerous?

Is there anything more terrifying than the idea of 4,000 pounds of metal hitting you at forty miles per hour? That is exactly what occurs in many pedestrian accidents. A pedestrian accident often involves serious injury and could result in pedestrian fatalities. According to the Center for Disease Control, there were 5,977 fatal pedestrian accidents in 2017 and an additional 137,000 pedestrian injuries that required emergency room treatment.

How a Driver Causes Pedestrian Crashes

Many fatal pedestrian crashes start with a negligent driver. Pedestrian crash cases often involve some form of reckless driving or careless drivers. This can include:

• Drivers exceeding the posted speed limit.
• Distracted driving or not paying attention to the many pedestrians in the area.
• Failing to properly negotiate traffic lights or traffic signs.
• Drowsy driving. This is when a driver operates a car under conditions of severe fatigue. The results can be slowed reaction time, poor decision-making, and lack of attention. All of these factors can easily lead to an accident. Drowsy driving contributes to 37,000 injury crashes and 886 fatalities per year.
• One of the most significant contributors to traffic accidents where pedestrian deaths occur is driving while impaired on drugs or alcohol. According to the CDC, 17% of accidents that resulted in the death of a pedestrian involved a driver with a blood alcohol content of over 0.08g/dl, the legal limit in all 50 states.

All of these examples involve a failure of the driver’s duty of driving with due regard for the safety of pedestrians and other motorists in the roadway. This behavior results in many pedestrian crashes each year which result in injury. If you or a loved one was injured in a pedestrian accident, call our personal injury lawyers for a free, no-obligation case review today.

The Pedestrian’s Role in Accidents

Anytime someone on foot enters the traffic way, there are significant risks involved. State and local laws regulate how and where a pedestrian may enter the roadway. The pedestrian must understand those risks and follow the rules in place to avoid an accident and possible injury.

Jaywalking is another common reason for pedestrian crashes where the pedestrian fails to use designated crosswalks and any accompanying pedestrian signal. These areas and signals are specifically designed so that motor vehicles can anticipate pedestrians in the roadway and slow down.

Pedestrian accidents may occur when the pedestrian is engaged in distracted walking. This is most commonly due to the use of a cell phone or other electronic device. Distracted pedestrians can lead to a general lack of awareness of surrounding traffic and result in traffic crashes and personal injury.

Just like with an at-fault driver, one of the leading causes of accidents is alcohol-related or walking while intoxicated. The CDC has another sobering alcohol-related statistic: 33% of all fatal pedestrian crashes occurred when the pedestrian had a blood alcohol content above 0.08g/dl.

How to Reduce Pedestrian Accidents

The data is clear, the majority of pedestrian fatalities occur in urban areas at non-intersections. Using simple common sense can eliminate many of the causes of pedestrian accidents. For the pedestrian, this includes:

• Crossing the roadway at marked and unmarked crosswalks. While the use of marked crosswalks is preferable to an unmarked crosswalk, that is not always possible. An unmarked designated crosswalk can differ from state to state, but the person entering the roadway must always exercise reasonable care when stepping into the traffic way. Attempting to always use traffic signals to assist in crossing a roadway will also help avoid many pedestrian accidents.
• Wearing dark clothes, especially at night is potentially hazardous. The lack of visible clothing may mean the driver fails to see a person in the roadway which could result in a collision. Pedestrians need to wear reflective clothing and know that drivers may not see them in the low light conditions, even if they have the right of way in a crosswalk.
• Distracted walking is another sure-fire way to increase the risk of an accident. If you are going to use your cell phone stop walking while you are engaged with the phone. Too often cell phones eliminate situational awareness and lead to an accident.
• Having a plan for getting home after drinking alcohol can prevent some of the most serious pedestrian crashes. By making a plan beforehand an inebriated person will not have to walk to their destination, risking having to enter the roadway while impaired.
• On the driver side of the equation, common sense is still supreme. Do not drink and drive. As the statistics show, this is the most likely scenario in which someone will die as a result of a pedestrian crash.
• Distracted drivers put everyone at risk. Put the cell phones away while driving and focus on the traffic flow. This is particularly important as a driver approaches pedestrians crossing the roadway.

The Cost of a Pedestrian Accident

As you can imagine, the cost of either being struck by a car or striking a pedestrian can be catastrophic. For any victim of an accident, there could be serious injuries and the medical bills that come along with them, especially for pedestrians. Plus, the financial cost of lost wages and lost income due to being unable to work.

Injuries, however, are not just limited to the pedestrian. The driver may also suffer similar costs due as a result of corrective action that causes the driver to strike a fixed object or another vehicle. These injuries can be just as severe as those suffered by the pedestrian.

For any party involved in a pedestrian motor vehicle accident, there is a risk of death which adds additional costs as well as pain and suffering for the survivors of the victim.

Who Is Responsible for a Pedestrian Crash?

This can be a complicated question due to the concept of contributory negligence. This is a law that exists in five states: Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, DC. It does not allow the person initiating a personal injury or wrongful death claim to recover any damages if they are found to share any of the fault of the crash. However, there have been recent developments in the law, which is is why it is in your best interest to speak with an experienced pedestrian accident lawyer about your claim.

Whether you were struck by a car, truck, bike, or motorcycle, Regan Zambri Long PLLC has the right pedestrian accident attorney for your case. With over 100 years of combined experience and over $650 million recovered for their clients, the legal team of Regan Zambri Long PLLC’s personal injury lawyers stands ready to provide legal advice in even the most complicated of pedestrian crash cases. Contact us today for a free case evaluation to learn more about your legal options.