types of accidents


Pedestrian Accidents

Pedestrians include not only those who walk, but people using wheelchairs, skateboards, roller skates and other nonmotorized, non-bicycle conveyance on a public street. Traveling without seatbelts, helmets or other protective gear, pedestrians are some of the most vulnerable users of American roads. In a confrontation with a vehicle, pedestrians almost always lose. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that a pedestrian was injured in traffic every eight minutes in 2005, and pedestrians accounted for 11 percent of all traffic fatalities.

That vulnerability gives pedestrians special privileges on the road. The laws governing pedestrians vary from state to state and even between cities, but in general, drivers are required to yield to pedestrians in almost all situations -- at a crosswalk, at a corner, at driveways, and even in illegal or unreasonable situations, such as a pedestrian running out into oncoming traffic. Legally, a “crosswalk” appears at all intersections with sidewalks, regardless of whether there are lines painted there, and some laws create a crosswalk wherever a pedestrian is crossing a road, even if it’s not an intersection. Vehicles must stop for any pedestrian attempting to cross at a crosswalk and wait until they have finished crossing to continue. California law also emphasizes that drivers may not pass another vehicle stopped at a crosswalk. If vehicles must cross the sidewalk to get to a driveway or alley, they must yield to any pedestrians.

Many states assign drivers a special responsibility to watch out for pedestrians who are very young, very old or blind. In 2005, 51 percent of traffic fatalities among those 15 or younger were pedestrian deaths; 17 percent of pedestrian deaths were deaths of children under 16. Because children are less predictable pedestrians, drivers are instructed to watch out for them, especially in residential neighborhoods and around schools. Drivers are subject to special, lower speed limits around schools; there are also special laws requiring drivers to stop behind a school bus with red lights flashing. Veering around and passing such a stopped vehicle is strictly prohibited.

The law also sometimes gives special privileges to pedestrians who are elderly, blind or disabled. Perhaps because of the increased vulnerability that comes with age, pedestrians 65 and older had the highest death rates per 100,000 population in 2005 (2.18 for those aged 65 to 74, and 3.17 for those 75 and older). Again, the law often requires drivers to give extra time to older people and people with physical disabilities for crossing the street. Drivers are also generally required to yield the right of way to pedestrians carrying a red-tipped cane or guided by a service dog.

But pedestrians also have a legal duty to take care when they cross a public street. That means stopping for red lights, DON’T WALK signals and stop signs; not crossing in front of traffic if they think it won’t be able to stop in time; and obeying signs prohibiting them from crossing. In some jurisdictions, pedestrians are also legally barred from crossing in the middle of a street unless there’s a crosswalk. Pedestrians also have a duty not to stop in the middle of a crosswalk, blocking traffic. If they must walk in the road, pedestrians must yield the right of way to oncoming vehicle traffic.

Most pedestrian deaths -- 79 percent in 2005 -- take place between intersections. That’s true regardless of age, meaning that it’s not just children who cross streets at places where they shouldn’t. The NHTSA’s 2005 study showed that the most commonly reported factor contributing to a pedestrian fatality was improper crossing of the roadway or intersection, at 21 percent. Right behind it, at 20.9 percent, was walking, working or doing something else in the road. Other common causes the study found included:

Sometimes, more than one person may share responsibility for a pedestrian accident. Some crashes are partly or completely caused by insufficient road maintenance or inadequate signs and stripes. Others are hit and runs, where the driver ignores his or her responsibility to stop, which account for a shocking one-sixth of all pedestrian deaths. And some crashes happen when pedestrians are getting on or off of public transportation, trusting the transit agency and the drivers around them to keep them safe. In any of these cases, someone other than a driver may be at fault. A competent pedestrian accident attorney can evaluate your specific case and identify who was at fault.

When pedestrians and cars tangle, the pedestrians often end up with serious injuries. A study of the hospitalization records of pedestrians hit by cars in California found that a sobering one-fourth of them were treated for a traumatic brain injury. Another 32 percent of the pedestrians’ injuries were to the lower extremities; 87 percent of those injuries were a broken bone of some kind. And 14 percent of the pedestrians the study looked at weren’t sent home from the hospital, but were transferred to other facilities because they needed extended care.

Bisnar | Chase has specialized in California pedestrian and other auto accident law since 1978. Because we’ve seen and won thousands of cases, we know that pedestrians hit by cars often sustain serious, life-changing injuries. The victim may suffer not only physical and mental injuries, but financial and emotional ones -- loss of independence, inability to earn a living, emotional trauma and lifelong lack of independence. If your life or the life of someone you love has been turned around by a pedestrian accident, you deserve to hold the responsible person liable for your physical, emotional and financial damages. Bisnar | Chase can help. Call us today at 1-866-990-8787 for a free, no-obligation consultation or click here to fill out our case evaluation form online.