What you Need to Know About Crosswalk Accidents

A cross walk accident can happen any time, anywhere. Just because you are obeying crosswalk rules and have the right of way does not grant you automatic protection from careless or reckless drivers. Unfortunately, crosswalk accidents do happen, and as the pedestrian, you are the one likely to deal with the long-term consequences of those accidents.

Cross Walk Accidents by Drivers Making Right Turns

Drivers making right turns into a crosswalk cause some of the most dangerous crosswalk accidents. When drivers are turning right, they typically look left to check on the traffic flow, and then turn without looking right again. If you have stepped out into the crosswalk while a driver was checking oncoming traffic, you could be seriously injured by the driver's distraction and failure to check the crosswalk.

Drivers Making Left Turns and Causing Cross Walk Accidents

Drivers making left turns are also dangerously distracted by oncoming traffic, and are also capable of causing cross walk accidents that lead to serious injuries. Drivers turning left in traffic typically do not look into the crosswalk before they turn; they are simply looking at oncoming traffic to determine whether or not it is safe to turn. Pedestrians in crosswalks must be extra-vigilant when crossing to ensure drivers are not turning without looking.

Who is at Fault in a Cross Walk Accident?

Fault is a tricky thing to establish, but in the case of cross walk accidents, fault may be fairly clear-cut. If you are crossing with the right of way and a driver turns and causes a cross walk accident, the driver is at fault. However, if you step out suddenly into traffic without a right of way, or even with a right of way, and a vehicle is too close or traveling too fast to yield the right of way to you, the question of fault becomes less clear.

Cross Walk Statistics

No one ever plans to be in an accident. However, pedestrian fatality statistics have remained steady around 5,000 per year for the past 15 years. Pedestrian injuries have generally gone down, but there are still approximately 70,000 pedestrians injured every year. This translates to nearly 200 pedestrians injured every day, and roughly 8 pedestrians injured every hour. Many of these injuries occur in cross walk accidents, even when pedestrians have the right of way.

Know Your Rights

With heavy traffic in many parts of the Dallas/Fort Worth area, even crossing the street can be dangerous. If you are injured in a cross walk accident, know your rights. The Anderson Law Firm offers free consultations to people who have been injured in cross walk accidents, or other pedestrian injuries.