Have you been involved in a road traffic accident as a pedestrian? Here are some of the most common causes of such accidents.
Sometimes pedestrian accidents are caused through no fault of your own. It may be that you are crossing the road legally when a car comes out of nowhere and knocks you over. In this instance, the pedestrian is clearly not at fault. However, there are circumstances when the pedestrian could have helped themselves to not get into an accident.
The Six Most Common Reasons Pedestrians Have Accidents
Here are six of the most common reasons why pedestrians get into accidents in public places.
1 – They are on their phone
Calling, texting, watching videos on YouTube, all of these are common ways that a person might get distracted while they are out using public roads. It is a well-documented fact that about 50,000 fatal crashes in the USA each year are the direct result of a driver on their phone. However, figures for pedestrian phone use causing accidents are slimmer.
2 – Daydreaming
A person who is daydreaming is not paying attention to their environment. We know that a driver’s daydreaming might kill someone, but so could a pedestrian with an overactive imagination. If this has happened to you, calling an experienced Portland pedestrian injury attorney like Johnston Law Firm for help is a great idea.
3 – Jaywalking
Jaywalking is a huge problem throughout the states, but in Oregon it seems particularly prevalent. Last year, 54 people were killed on Oregon roads fatally, more than any other year since records began and in spite of being in lockdown due to the pandemic. Jaywalking has been cited as the reason for many of these deaths.
4 – Alcohol or Drug use
Some pedestrians don’t realize what they are doing near roads because they have limited capacity. It may be that this limited capacity comes from drugs or alcohol, and it may be that they have a disability. You should not judge people. However, those with impairments can be troublesome for drivers who don’t know that they are there and/or are not aware of their medical past. In the fatalities on the road in Oregon last year, many were considered to be under the influence.
5 – Speeding
Many of the problems causing the spate of pedestrian deaths in and around Oregon aren’t pedestrian’s fault after all. Speeding is one of the biggest killers of people on the road throughout the USA. On certain intersections in Portland where the roads are long and straight, repeated deaths occur. Better planning and more speed control measures within the state could help this.
6 – Driver Error
Be it daydreaming, eating, drinking, turning over the radio station, talking to passengers, or answering a phone call: the leading reason pedestrians die in traffic accidents is due to driver error. Drivers make mistakes and when you are in a car, that’s OK. You can take your time and allow people a margin of error. If that error occurs when you are passing a pedestrian and they get hit, you are at fault. The US traffic fatality rate is about 12 people per 100k.
The moral of the story here is don’t be one of those drivers. If you are? Get a lawyer, you will need one, fast.
