Automobile and pedestrian accidents carry a high risk for serious injury, particularly to the pedestrian. Common places for these types of accidents are crowded city streets, school zones and crosswalks where the driver fails to see or act upon the crosswalk. If nowhere but these areas, pedestrians need to look both ways before crossing the street in order to avoid potential injury or death.
A primary cause of pedestrian accidents is failure of the motorist to keep a proper look out on the road in front of him or her. A motorist keeping a proper lookout can avoid most pedestrian accidents.
Another type of pedestrian auto accident is when kids dart into traffic to chase after a ball, another child or a pet. Motorists must pay extra attention when in children’s neighborhoods or where schools might be in session. Adults are at risk when they go after the child who has darted out into traffic, leaving two victims instead of one. Although these are called “dart out” cases, the motorist often is in a much better position than the child to avoid a collision.
There are some highways in which there should be no pedestrian traffic, such as freeways. These pedestrians put themselves at risk for car and truck accidents. You should never leave a disabled vehicle when on a limited pedestrian roadway. Crossing such a roadway is exceedingly dangerous.
In one study, 22 percent of all pedestrian automobile accidents are fatal. Most of these patients were dead at the scene. They suffered, head, chest and abdominal injuries with high Injury Severity Scores in those who did not survive. Sixty five percent of victims had at least detectable levels of alcohol in their system.
Driver error also often leads to pedestrian auto accidents. Drivers can disregard crosswalks, hitting pedestrians as they cross. Drivers can also disregard traffic controls that allow pedestrians to cross and may turn into the pedestrian’s right of way. This increases the chance of a pedestrian automobile collision. Drivers must avoid pedestrians who have already begun their transit across the roadway. In such cases, the pedestrian has the right of way.
Other types of driver errors include driving while drunk. These types of drivers are at high risk of running into pedestrians. Pedestrians can be struck while on the sidewalk if the driver is drunk. The other incident that can happen is when a driver ignores the red flashing lights on the school bus and strikes a child or children in the process.
The biggest problem for pedestrians is that they are up against thousands of pounds of heavy metal and glass so that even low-speed collisions can be deadly or can at least result in serious, life-changing injuries. When kids are involved, things are even worse so that parents are responsible for setting good examples for kids.