Perhaps the most dangerous type of car accident is a pedestrian accident. It can be fatal or result in serious injuries even at low speeds. While an accident at 10 miles per hour between two cars in a parking lot probably won’t even send anyone to the hospital, a person who gets hit at the same speed could have life-altering injuries. These are simply the most unforgiving type of accidents.
With that in mind, there has been a concerning trend over the years: More pedestrians are dying in accidents.
In a report that came out in 2018, researchers looked at data from 2007 to 2016. What they found was that total traffic fatalities dropped by about 14%. At the same time, though, pedestrian deaths jumped by a staggering 27%.
As you can imagine, this also meant that pedestrians made up a larger percentage of overall traffic deaths. They accounted for just 11% back in 2007, but they had gone up to 16% by 2016. That was the highest percentage that had been seen in the previous 33 years.
This raises all manner of questions about the risks that pedestrians face. While safety systems on cars can attribute to the drop in overall fatalities — by preventing accidents and keeping people safer during accidents — what is it that puts pedestrians in more danger? One potential reason is distracted driving. Drivers may not see pedestrians at all until a crash happens.
Have you gotten seriously injured or lost a loved one in an accident? If so, make sure you are well aware of all of the legal options you have to seek financial compensation.
