However, some pedestrian crossings are not signposted. Others are marked relatively discreetly (faded paint, for example). Even if you can cross a street without crossing recklessly, you could end up in the hospital or morgue, due to a lack of driver attention. Distracted driving accidents have multiplied in recent decades as the popularity of portable devices has skyrocketed.
Texting while driving is illegal in Indiana, making it easy to establish negligence against a texting driver. This law seems appropriate, considering that a texting driver can travel along a football field without even looking at the road. Mobile phones aren't the only culprits when it comes to distracted driving. Loud music, talking to a passenger, and even shaving in the rearview mirror can be distracting when driving.
Remember that pedestrians can also cause accidents, from activities such as reckless crossing and distractions, such as using a cell phone. The fragility of the human body combined with the camouflage effect of dark clothing at night results in a deadly concoction. After all, a motorist can't help but hit you if you can't see it. If you wear dark clothing at night, assume that you are invisible to motorists and take precautions consistent with this assumption.
Pedestrian accidents happen after night more often than during the day. Recklessly crossing the street is crossing a road outside a pedestrian crossing, whether marked or unmarked. Outside pedestrian crossings, it is the pedestrian who must give way to the driver. Reckless crossing is by far the most common way pedestrians cause accidents that injure or kill them.
If you are injured in a pedestrian accident while crossing recklessly, you may only be entitled to reduced compensation or no compensation. Reduced visibility can be due to weather conditions, road conditions (a blind curve, for example), defective headlights, improperly adjusted mirrors, or improper use of headlights. Using bright headlights in fog, for example, only further reduces visibility. Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, such as speeding, is a major cause of car accidents.
Drug and alcohol use has a significant impact on people's reflexes, reaction time, and coordination. Driving a car poisoned by these substances poses a significant risk on the road. Consumer Product Safety Commission studies show that distracted walkers being treated in emergency rooms have quadrupled in the past seven years, as well as an increase in pedestrian accidents in which the person died. Many pedestrians who are involved in these types of accidents suffer serious injuries and require immediate medical assistance to help them recover.
Other factors, such as poor street lighting or faulty headlights, can contribute to a pedestrian accident. Pedestrian crossing laws in Pennsylvania state that, even if you have a green light as a driver, if there was a crosswalk without a traffic control traffic light at the same intersection, you would still have to stop for the pedestrian. With many pedestrians walking on sidewalks every day, these types of accidents unfortunately happen. This forces pedestrians to take additional steps to ensure their own safety, even in circumstances where the pedestrian has an unambiguous right of way.
Reckless cruising or distracted walking can put you in serious danger of causing a pedestrian injury accident. Drug, alcohol, and even prescription drug poisoning can cause many different types of accidents, including pedestrian accidents. However, the most common distractions that cause pedestrian accidents are usually on the part of the driver. However, if the pedestrian light is in place and shows a “do not walk” sign, the pedestrian may not have a right of way, but the motor vehicle operator must still give way.
Of course, other common causes of pedestrian accidents include drivers who simply don't pay attention to their environment, those who are under the influence of a substance, or drivers who are speeding. Consumer Product Safety Commission statistics show 1,152 people are being treated for injuries in emergency rooms after pedestrian accidents that occurred while using a telephone. When a pedestrian accident is caused by inclement weather, it can be difficult (but not impossible) to assign responsibility. You may think that reckless drivers passing through traffic lights cause a significant portion of pedestrian accidents in California.
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