Most Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
When you’re out on foot, it’s a golden opportunity to enjoy Charleston’s beautiful weather and beautiful scenery, but it also leaves you vulnerable to dangerous pedestrian accidents. Because nothing comes between you and the immense impact of a pedestrian accident, the physical, financial, and emotional losses you experience can be immense. An experienced Charleston pedestrian accident attorney is standing by to help.
Accidents in Intersections
When you walk, you’re most likely to come into contact with the traffic all around you when you cross at intersections. The fact that intersections represent the spots on our roads where traffic that is traveling in many different directions converges makes them especially dangerous, and the primary forms of driver negligence become that much more problematic.
Driver Negligence
The most significant cause of pedestrian accidents is driver negligence, which comes in far too many dangerous forms.
Distraction
In order to navigate and safely accommodate everyone on the road – including pedestrians – motorists must train their full attention on their driving. Any form of distraction, including all the following, can prove life-threatening:
- Texting, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) calls the most alarming distraction of all
- Chatting on the phone or with passengers in the vehicle
- Digging around for a lost item, such as one’s phone
- Daydreaming
Distracted drivers put pedestrians at very serious risk.
Excess Speed
Speed limits are set to ensure that drivers can safely handle the roadway and to afford them enough time to react to risk factors like pedestrians ahead. Drivers who choose to ignore speed limits or to adjust their speed in relation to the road’s condition set the stage for dangerous accidents, including pedestrian accidents.
Impairment
Statistics demonstrate that impaired drivers are overly represented in fatal pedestrian accidents – as well as other kinds of crashes. Drunk drivers have difficulty focusing both their vision and their thought processes, which – when coupled with their slowed reaction times – translates to very dangerous driving and increased risk for pedestrians.
Exhaustion
Drowsy driving is often likened to drunk driving – based on the forms of impairment associated with too little sleep. Drowsy drivers are more prone to cause pedestrian accidents than are careful drivers who follow the rules of the road, have to get enough sleep, put their distractions away, and keep an eye out for pedestrians in their midst.
You Need an Experienced Charleston Personal Injury Attorney on Your Side
If a motorist’s negligence leaves you injured in a pedestrian accident, seeking just compensation that covers your complete losses is paramount. The seasoned pedestrian accident lawyers at Parham Law in Charleston, South Carolina, recognize how serious pedestrian accidents often are and leave no stone unturned in their fierce pursuit of fair compensation for valued clients like you. Our savvy legal team is on your side and here to help, so please don’t put off reaching out and contacting or calling us at 864-400-2545 for more information about what we can do to help you today.