High-profile accident raises awareness of dangers faced by pedestrians

April 10, 2014

High-profile accident raises awareness of dangers faced by pedestrians

Article provided by Callahan & Blaine
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The recent high-profile accident at the South-by-Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin, Texas, has put the spotlight on the hazards faced by pedestrians all over the country. In the tragic SXSW incident, a drunk driver being chased by police drove through a street barricade directly into a crowd of people, killing three and injuring nearly two dozen more. The driver has been charged with capital murder for one of the deaths (he will likely face additional capital murder charges) and will likely soon be charged with more than 20 counts of aggravated assault with a vehicle.

Though the SXSW crash is an extreme example, the sad truth is that pedestrians die on America's roadways every day. In 2012 (the most recent year for which final data is available), nearly 5,000 people were killed in car-versus-pedestrian accidents. That is an increase of 10 percent from 2012. Preliminary data from a Governors' Highway Safety Administration report shows that pedestrian accidents fell in many locations in the first six months 2013, but the same isn't true for Arizona. The "Grand Canyon State" had four more pedestrian fatalities in the first half of 2013 compared with the same time in 2012.

Reasons forpedestrian accidents

There are certain behaviors that increase the chances of a car-versus-pedestrian accident, many of them present on Arizona streets every day, including:
-Speeding
-Reckless driving (switching lanes, drifting into marked pedestrian lanes, not fully stopping at stop signs or red lights)
-Distracted driving
-"Distracted walking" (i.e., crossing the street while texting, listening to music or talking on the phone and not paying attention to personal surroundings or traffic)
-Failing to maintain vehicle safety systems like brakes
-Drunk driving
-Not wearing light or reflective clothing when walking or biking at night
-Pedestrians crossing in the middle of the block instead of at marked crosswalks
-Not checking for pedestrian traffic before turning at red lights or stop signs or before exiting a driveway or parking lot

Furthermore, given that our nation's infrastructure was built upon a car-friendly model, there are also urban planning issues that simply make it unlikely that cars and pedestrians can co-exist on the road safely. Efforts are underway at the state and federal level, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "Everyone is a Pedestrian" campaign, the ongoing Federal Highway Administration's "Spotlight on Pedestrian Safety" program and the Arizona Department of Transportation's "Bicycle and Pedestrian Program" to accommodate a more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly culture. Some of the ideas proposed by these nationwide and state-level programs include:
-Installing marked, lighted crosswalks
-Constructing designated bicycle and pedestrian pathways
-Increasing police patrols in pedestrian-heavy areas (to discourage speeding or reckless driving)
-Conducting roadway modification feasibility studies
-Releasing public awareness and education campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the importance of sharing the road responsibly

Moving forward after an accident

Obviously, there is a huge size disparity between a person on foot and one inside a passenger or commercial vehicle. The mass differential alone is enough to cause serious injuries, but add in other factors like speeding or drunk driving, and you have a recipe for disaster.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a pedestrian or bicycle accident, you likely have questions about paying your mounting medical expenses, covering lost wages, affording the cost of rehabilitation and holding the responsible driver accountable. For answers to these and other questions, consult an Arizona personal injury attorney with experience handling these difficult cases.