Georgia Injury Law Blog
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.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study found that these lighted crosswalks are very beneficial in areas where there are few street lights. The researchers found that in such areas, drivers were as much as three times more likely to yield to pedestrians at a lighted crosswalk, compared to areas where there were no such lighted crosswalks. The researchers also found that when these crosswalks were also equipped with yellow flashing beacons, the drivers were a staggering 13 times more likely to notice and yield to pedestrians.
Most pedestrian accidents occur in the dark. In 2022, more than 7,500 pedestrians were killed in auto accidents, and out of these, more than 75% occurred at night. Motorists are more likely to miss pedestrians who are walking about at night. Wearing neon jackets or reflective clothing or sticking reflecting tape to your clothes can help increase the chances that a motorist will notice you in time.
However, these are much less effective measures than a combination of flashing beacons and a lighted crosswalk. These kinds of design inventions are not very difficult or expensive to install, but can save hundreds of lives every year. When combined with other traffic safety measures like restrictions on speeds in pedestrian – heavy areas, they can significantly help reduce the risk of pedestrian car accidents.
Car accidents involving pedestrians can result in severe persona injuries. A pedestrian has very little protection in the event of an auto accident which means that he is at risk of suffering personal injuries like spinal injuries, head and brain injuries and other catastrophic injuries. Persons who have suffered such serious personal injuries may not only have to deal with immediate medical expenses, but also long term costs including surgeries, rehabilitative aids, therapies and medications.
The Atlanta car accident lawyers at Katz Personal Injury Lawyers are dedicated to the representation of persons who have suffered injuries in car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across the state of Georgia. If you have suffered injuries in a car accident, talk to an attorney at our firm and discuss your legal options for a claim for damages. You may qualify for damages that include medical costs, lost income and other types of compensation. Talk to an attorney at our firm and discuss your case. Initial consultations are free.