By: It’s not easy being a pedestrian in Southern California. Despite a multitude of safety precautions built into virtually every part of our day-to-day lives, walkers and runners still face many threats to their safety several times a day.
A pedestrian can be at risk from an inattentive driver who does not see them in a crosswalk, or a mom who is rushing to pick her kids up after school and only has 10 minutes to get them to their next activity. Elderly drivers with diminished capacities are also a threat as well as drivers backing out of a parking place at a mall, drivers who are temporarily blinded by the sun, or those who simply fail to follow traffic lights and signage.
Unfortunately, according to facts compiled by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, more than 70,000 pedestrians were injured in crashes in 2015 and more than another 5,300 people were killed, representing the highest number killed since 1996.
Contributing Factors of Pedestrians Who Were Hit by Cars
More than 70% of pedestrians who were killed in car accidents were males, and of these, about one in three had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher. Unfortunately, 14% of all drivers involved in an accident with a pedestrian had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or better as well. Other factors such as time of day, weather conditions, and urban vs. other types of locales also played a part in these types of accidents.
While some pedestrian accidents could be avoided, when a person is hit by a car due to reckless or negligent behavior on the part of the driver, the pedestrian or his surviving family members can retain a pedestrian accidents attorney in Riverside and seek damages for their losses.
Roberts Law Firm serves clients in the California cities of Newport Beach, Orange, Santa Ana, Irvine, Anaheim, and Riverside as well as serving clients throughout Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties.