New York residents may be interested to learn that according to 2012 statistics, there is one pedestrian death related to motor vehicle accidents every two hours in the United States. At highest risk are children, people over the age of 65 and pedestrians who are intoxicated.
Pedestrians are also more likely to be injured in urban areas, at night and away from intersections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pedestrians may be able to help prevent injuries and death by wearing reflective clothing and walking on sidewalks. If no sidewalks are available, it may be safer to walk against traffic on the side of the road. Pedestrians should also try to only cross the street at intersections or crosswalks.
The CDC has released a number of other findings regarding pedestrian injuries and deaths based on various studies. For example, elderly people are more likely to be hit after falling. This includes tripping on a curb, so to some degree, improvements can be made to help prevent these types of accidents. The CDC also found that certain ethnic groups are more likely to be injured in pedestrian accidents. For example, American Indians and Alaskan Natives are more likely to be in such an accident, and a study in Atlanta from 2000 to 2004 found Hispanics had higher rates of injury.
Individuals who are injured in a pedestrian accident may wish to consult an attorney. In many cases, the victim might struggle to get adequate compensation from insurance. A pedestrian injured by a motor vehicle could face a long recovery period, and in such cases, the victim may wish to file a lawsuit if the accident was caused by the negligence of the vehicle’s driver.