If you want to avoid getting hit by cars, you need to know pedestrian accidents facts. Follow these tips, and you can avoid many of the most common accidents on the road.
When walking on a road with no sidewalk, walk on the left side of the road.
Few people are even familiar with, and even fewer follow, this important recommendation. We are so ingrained to walk and drive on the right side that it strikes us as inherently dangerous to walk against the traffic direction. The opposite, in fact, is true. If you must walk on a road with no sidewalk—which is to be avoided if possible—it’s safer to do so on the left side of the road. You’re more likely to see approaching cars in advance, giving you more time to get out of the way and negating the possibility that you’ll take an unintentional sideways step at just the moment a car is passing you from behind.
Be especially cautious at night.
It should come as no surprise that, according to recent statistics, the majority of fatal pedestrian accidents occur between 6 PM and midnight. Pedestrians—who, unlike cars don’t come equipped with headlights—are much more difficult to see at night. Even on a clear night, for example, drivers’ visibility is diminished—the headlights cannot follow the curves of the road. What they can see is limited to the angle and range of the beams, giving them visual access to far less of the environment than during the day. If you must walk on the road at night, make sure to wear bright clothing to heighten your visibility. Wearing reflectors and carrying a flashlight is even better.
Don’t cross between two parked cars.
It’s especially dangerous to cross in the middle of the block between two cars parked on the side of the road. This is another common accident scenario. The danger derives at least partly from the fact that the pedestrian must be more or less in the road in order to see if it’s safe to cross. The pedestrian is also camouflaged by the parked cars, and any situation where both the pedestrian’s and the driver’s view of each other is compromised, accidents are likely to occur.
Don’t “dart out” or run into the street.
This one may also sound too obvious to mention, but so-called “dart out” accidents are disturbingly common, where the pedestrian appears suddenly in front of the car and the driver is unable to stop in time. Dart out accidents are also especially disadvantageous for the pedestrian because the driver is rarely judged to be at fault, which puts strict limits on the compensation that the pedestrian is entitled to.
Don’t assume that a car will stop for you.
A big one, to be sure. Many of the accidents I’ve dealt with over the years have involved one person putting too much faith in another. Drivers will do what they want, not what we as pedestrians want them to do or what we think they’re going to do. They see what they see, not what we assume they see, nor even necessarily what is right in front of them. There are a lot of inattentive, inexperienced and plain ole bad drivers out there, and we would all do well to remember that. Simply because you have the right of way does not guarantee your safety. The frequency of accidents is proof that people make mistakes. So walk defensively