Way back in the early 20th century, when cars started appearing en masse, urban planners (though, at the time, the term “urban planner” probably didn’t exist) were faced with a dilemma: cars need roads, but people also need somewhere to walk…and if people walk where cars drive, it’ll be bad news. Their best idea? The sidewalk. When you think about it, sidewalks don’t actually do much: sure, the curb does a bit to block cars, but it’s not like cars can’t drive over them. And if a pedestrian gets hit by a car, injuries they sustain, and the ensuing personal injury claim, won’t be lessened by their city’s half-hearted attempt at protection.
When a Pedestrian Gets Hit by a Car: Injuries and Fatalities
Though, in modern industrial nations, the statistics on pedestrian injuries and fatalities trend downward annually, they are nonetheless harrowing numbers that represent a very serious public health epidemic. In the US, there are over 70,000 pedestrian injuries and more than 4,600 fatalities annually. This amounts to an average of one pedestrian death every two hours and one injury every eight minutes.
When a Pedestrian Gets Hit by a Car: Risk Factors
While anyone can be hit by a car, injuries that arise fall into patterns that allow us to recognize certain pedestrian risk factors.
- Time of day: Most accidents occur between 6pm and midnight.
- Alcohol: Nearly 40 percent of pedestrian collisions involve alcohol consumption on the part of the pedestrians themselves, while 18 percent involve driver intoxication.
- Location: Over 60 percent of pedestrian fatalities occur in urban areas, and more than 75 percent occur at non-intersections; while rural areas have lower percentages of pedestrian collisions, accidents demonstrate more severe injuries and higher rates of fatalities in these areas.
If you’ve been hit by a car, injuries often become a burden far beyond the accident itself. You know the stats and the risks, but no one can be 100 percent safe. Get a free personal injury consultation, and the best injury lawyers can help you receive the compensation you need.
Source:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2859736/