Pedestrian Injury: Avoidance and Prevention

By: Jan Camille Canivel
Submitted: 2008-10-08 15:03:25
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Nowadays, accidents take place even at the most unexpected times. Even if you are just walking home from the church, school, or grocery store, you might be unlucky and injured when involved in a pedestrian accident. 

Pedestrian accidents result to injuries as well as deaths of the victims that were hit. About 110,000 people are injured and 60,000 people die annually in the Unites States due to pedestrian accidents. 

A pedestrian obtains motor vehicle caused injuries every eight minutes while auto accidents caused the death of 4,641 pedestrians.

Although pedestrian accidents is lesser in number compared to other accidents and the number of pedestrian accidents that occur decreased in the recent years, an alarming number of persons injured or its fatality rate remain.

Being a victim in a pedestrian accident is very unlucky. Victims in these incidents
often suffer from:

•    fractured bones

•    traumatic brain injury

•    paraplegia

•    coma

•    quadriplegia

•    spinal cord injury

The worst thing that this can brought a victim is death. Victims in these accidents are defenseless and powerless. 

Usual Victims of Pedestrian Accidents

The number one victims in pedestrian accidents are children, who account for about 40% of the pedestrian injury-related deaths. Children who are often victims in these incidents usually live in areas that have a large population density of children, low socioeconomic status, high housing density, household crowding, poor supervision, and does not have a safe playing environment.

Meanwhile, the pedestrian injury death rates of black children are 100% bigger compared to the fatality rate of white children.

When it comes to gender, males are most often involved in a pedestrian accident, having 80% or two thirds of driveway-related incidents.

Causes of Pedestrian Accidents

There are various reasons why pedestrian accidents occur. Both of the parties can be held accountable for the incident.

Errors on the part of the pedestrians include:

•    jaywalking - pedestrians prefer to cross the street through inappropriate locations

•    Parent in pursuit- parents run after their children, sometimes in total disregard of the ongoing traffic and approaching vehicles

•    walking on a limited access highway- pedestrians sometimes cross highways which are marked with "no pedestrians"

•    darting of children- often times, children dart into the roadway while in pursuit of a toy, another child, their pets or other animals.

Meanwhile, misconducts or errors committed by the drivers that often result to pedestrian accidents include:

•    Driving while intoxicated- there is a high risk that a pedestrian accident will take place whenever there are drunk drivers out on the streets

•    disregarding a crosswalk- sometimes, drivers do not pay much consideration to crosswalks

•    disregarding a pedestrian already crossing the roadway- sometimes, drivers do not apply proper caution though they are already aware that there are pedestrians who are currently crossing the roadway

•    ignoring traffic controls- sometimes, drivers do not follow traffic signs especially relating to pedestrian traffic

Ways to Prevent Pedestrian Accidents

Some tips to avoid pedestrian accidents from happening include:

•    Forbid children to play in streets, parking lots, driveways, and unfenced yards adjacent to streets

•    Do not allow children less than 10 years old to cross the street without the accompaniment of an adult

•    Always model and instruct the right pedestrian behavior to children

Face the Battle with Los Angeles Pedestrian Injury Attorneys

If you live anywhere in California and gets involved in a pedestrian accident, you should seek aid from Los Angeles pedestrian injury attorneys.

One of the major reasons why pedestrian accidents occur is due to the negligence of the driver. These lawyers will do their best to prove that you are victim in the incident and entitled damages and compensations.

For issues regarding pedestrian accidents or related concerns, you can consult with our expert Los Angeles pedestrian accident attorneys. You can visit our website to avail of our free case evaluation.

Jan Camille has fascination for reading and writing. She finished AB Journalism in one of the famous universities. She aims to pursue a degree in law and at the same time continue to write. She wants to inspire others through her writings because she believes that writing is an instrument that can touch other people's minds and hearts.

Article source: Expert Articles

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