Pedestrian accidents

Published on: October 29, 2024

School Bus Safety Notes on Preventing Car Accidents

With hundreds of thousands of children across the metro Atlanta region now back at school, it is important for motorists, parents and other stakeholders to focus on looking out for school buses and keeping children safe. Unfortunately, every year there are car accidents near school buses in which children are killed or injured.

As a motorist, know the rules to follow when it comes to sharing the roads with school buses. School buses are some of the most regulated vehicles on our streets, and, therefore, are subject to a number of rules and regulations. Motorists in Georgia and other states are also required to follow the rules when they share the roads with these massive vehicles and their precious cargo, in order to avoid auto accidents.

When you are following a school bus, look out for the flashing lights. Yellow lights mean that the bus is preparing to slow down, which means that you need to slow down and prepare to stop as well. A red light means that children are being picked up or dropped off. You must remain stopped while the red light is on and the Stop arm is extended. Wait till the bus actually starts moving before you start your car and move ahead too.

Published on: October 24, 2024

Infrared Therapy Promises Quicker Recovery for Spinal Cord Injury Victims

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

New research focuses on the use of infrared light therapy to help reduce the impact of a spinal injury soon after it occurs.

Spinal cord personal injuries are some of the most devastating injuries, and often occur in auto accidents, motorcycle accidents and pedestrian and bicycle accidents. There is no complete cure for a spinal injury. However, millions of dollars are being invested in research into circumventing or limiting the impact of spinal cord personal injuries. Some of this research focuses on interventions that can limit damage during the early hours after the personal injury.

Recently, researchers using a grant by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health announced that they are in the process of testing an infrared tool that can help reduce the activity of mitochondria cells after an injury. According to the researchers, a lot of the long term impact of a spinal injury can be limited if interventions are made immediately or within a few hours after the injury. As soon as a spinal injury occurs, the mitochondria cells go into overdrive, creating large amounts of free radicals, and increasing cell damage in the area. According to the researchers, it is therefore important to limit the activity of the mitochondria soon after the spinal injury.

Published on: October 14, 2024

Why You Should Care About Pedestrian Safety

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

At some point, in our day, we are all pedestrians. Negligence by pedestrians places them at risk of being involved in an auto accident, not just when a the person is walking on the road, but also when he or she is exiting their car, jogging, leaving an office building or engaging in other activities. There can be no safety for motorists unless there is safety for pedestrians.

Next month, the Department of Transportation celebrates National Pedestrian Safety Month, and transportation safety organizations as well as pedestrian safety advocates around the country will focus on raising awareness about the rights of pedestrians and ways of keeping them safer. The Halloween holiday towards the end of October also increases the overall risk of auto accidents for pedestrians, especially children, which makes the month of October an even better time for safety organizations to raise awareness about the car accident risks facing pedestrians.

The need to spread awareness about the rights of pedestrians has become even more dire in 2024, with a steady increase in the number of pedestrians being killed in car accidents recorded over the past 2 years. Pedestrian wrongful deaths now account for some of the highest numbers of wrongful deaths in car accidents nationwide. In 2022, according to statistics by the United States Department of Transportation, there were more than 7,500 pedestrian accident wrongful deaths. That translated into an average of 21 pedestrians dying daily in auto accidents. It also means that an average of 70 pedestrians were killed in auto accidents every minute in the United States that year. Pedestrians accounted for 18% of all traffic accident wrongful deaths in 2022.

Published on: September 23, 2024

Lack of Insurance and Recovery after Spinal Cord Personal Injuries

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Uninsured or under-insured patients, who have suffered spinal cord injuries due to auto accident or other traumatic events, may be much more likely to be taken off life support.

A recent study measured the impact of insurance coverage on the survival and recovery of persons after a spinal cord injury. The study focused on more than 8,400 American adults who had suffered a spinal cord injury, and found that uninsured or under-insured patients were much more likely to be taken off life support much earlier than those with insurance.

Spinal cord injuries are often caused in auto accidents, trucking accidents and motorcycle accidents. These are not just devastating personal injuries with long-term consequences, but are also extremely expensive personal injuries to treat. The costs involved in treating spinal cord injuries can range between $95,000 to well above $1,000,000, depending on the complexity or level of the injury. Spinal cord injuries very often can result in paralysis, which in turn, can lead to a number of other effects on a person’s health.

Published on: September 20, 2024

New Bill Would Require SUVs, Trucks to Protect Pedestrians

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

A new bill that is expected to be introduced soon would require federal standards for the heights of SUVs and pick-up trucks to also consider pedestrian safety. This is an extremely important change which is likely to save lives in auto accidents involving pedestrians and bicycles.

According to Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pennsylvania), who is introducing the new bill, while there is much that is currently being done to protect occupants inside the vehicle, there is much more that can also be done in order to protect vulnerable users like pedestrians and bicyclists who are outside the vehicle when auto accidents occur.

The popularity of pick-up trucks and SUVs has skyrocketed in the past few decades, and these are some of the most in-demand automobiles on the American roads. Unfortunately, while these are very popular vehicles, their presence on our roads also pose a serious danger to motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists. Their large sizes and bulk makes it much more likely that occupants of smaller vehicles will suffer serious personal injuries or wrongful deaths when they are involved in an auto accident with these large SUVs and trucks. There is immense danger to pedestrians and other vulnerable users like bicyclists who are involved in auto accidents with these vehicles.

Published on: September 2, 2024

Lighted Crosswalks Can Help Prevent Pedestrian Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Simple design interventions like illuminated crosswalks can make it easier for motorists to see pedestrians at crossings and prevent pedestrian car accidents. A pedestrian car accident often results in severe personal injuries to the pedestrian or his or her wrongful death.

The issue of pedestrian safety is one that has been front and center for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as it grapples with an increase in the number of people being killed in car accidents. Several studies have found that simple improvements to design and infrastructure can help prevent many of these accidents.

Many of these interventions are focused on making pedestrians more visible to drivers. Very often, motorists fail to notice motorists with devastating consequences. A new study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that something as simple as illuminated crosswalks can make motorists more visible and help reduce the chance of pedestrian car accidents.

Published on: August 5, 2024

Simple Street Design Changes can Help Prevent Pedestrian Accidents

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

Reducing the number of pedestrians killed in car accidents every year is key to reducing the number of auto accident wrongful deaths recorded across the country. Simple design interventions can help accomplish this goal.

According to a report titled Dangerous By Design by Smart Growth America, basic design interventions that may be simple to execute are often all that are required to reduce the number of auto accident fatalities involving pedestrians every year. Pedestrian crash deaths have been driving the increase in car and auto accident deaths across the country, and the expert consensus is that unless these deaths are minimized, there will be very little progress made in keeping our roads safer.

The U.S. does not boast the type of pedestrian – friendly infrastructure that is the hallmark of roads in Europe, but small steps can minimize the risk to pedestrians even on our roads. The report Dangerous By Design finds that simple design interventions can reduce auto accident risks. For example, brighter lighting and illumination at key pedestrian -heavy areas can make a huge difference for pedestrians. A brightly-lit street means pedestrians can be seen clearly and avoided by motorists. Similarly, shorter crossing distances for pedestrians can also help. Multi-lane roads provide minimal opportunities for pedestrians to cross safely. Better designed medians and brighter markings at curbs can also help reduce the risk to pedestrians. Even simple steps like more striped crosswalks and stop signs will alert motorists to pedestrian activity in the area. The use of pedestrian refuge islands and curb extensions are also strategies that can help minimize the risk of pedestrian accidents.

Published on: August 1, 2024

Georgia Teens to Benefit from New Auto Accident Prevention Program

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

All K -12 students in Georgia will now benefit from free access to traffic and road safety education thanks to a collaboration between the Georgia Department of Transportation and a leading education media organization.

Georgia has struggled with an increase in the number of car accident wrongful deaths across the state, with 1,800 people dying in auto accidents across the state in 2022. There were more than 2,000 auto accidents recorded in the state that year involving drivers between the ages of 15 and 24. Clearly, this is a high risk category of motorists and the Department of Transportation wants to ensure that drivers falling in this age category have access to all the resources that they need in order to drive safely and responsibly.

The new collaboration is called the Car and Road Safety Program, and is an initiative between the Georgia Department of Transportation and We Are Teachers which is a national educational advocacy program. We Are Teachers conducted surveys across Georgia schools, working together with teachers in order to develop high quality materials that are specifically targeted to Georgia students. The 5 year program will make available to students quality theoretical resources as well as the chance to take a virtual field trip anywhere in Georgia. There are also lots of interactive quizzes and plenty of activities to sharpen young motorists’ knowledge about traffic safety.

Published on: July 16, 2024

Welcome Drop in Pedestrian Accident Wrongful Deaths in 2023

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

New data finds a drop of 5% in the number of pedestrians killed in auto accidents in the United States last year.

The Governors Highway Safety Association recently released new data that finds a 5.4% drop in the number of pedestrians being killed in auto accidents compared to the previous year. In 2023, a total of 7,318 pedestrians were killed in car accidents.

While the news of a drop in the number of deaths is encouraging, it is too early for celebration. The fact is that pedestrian accident numbers continue to remain stubbornly high. According to Governors Highway Safety Association data, the numbers in 2022 were a 14% increase over pre- pandemic numbers. Pedestrian deaths accounted for close to 18% of all auto accident deaths in 2022. Between 2010 and 2022, there was a shocking 77% increase in pedestrian accident wrongful deaths, and the increase in overall traffic accident deaths was just 22 percent during this time.

Published on: June 13, 2024

Pedestrians Twice as Likely to be Involved in Auto Accidents with Electric Cars

by Robert N. Katz, Esq.

As electric cars become more popular on our roads, there are frequently more reports of car accidents involving these vehicles with pedestrians.

The demand for electric vehicles has nowhere near peaked, and as the number of such vehicles increases on our roads, we are understanding more about the specific dangers involving such cars. While electric cars have their advantages, they can be extremely silent, and this can pose a threat to vulnerable users on our roads, like pedestrians. According to the results of a new study, pedestrians are as much as three times more likely to be involved in fatal car accidents involving electric cars compared to gas powered cars.

Both electric and hybrid cars were found to be more dangerous compared to gas powered cars. The rate of accidents was 5 wrongful deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in the case of electric cars, and just 2.5 wrongful deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in the case of gas powered vehicles.