Why Drivers Must Yield To A Pedestrian
The streets are not nice to pedestrians — and for a reason.
Urban planning in most cities in the United States is catered towards vehicle transportation, and this all dates back to the origin of the US interstate highways system. The creation of freeways and highways, as we know them to be in the present, was all orchestrated by Thomas MacDonald who had a vision of interconnecting highways sprawling across the nation.
While this did bring about opportunities of economic prosperity to multiple urban areas in the United States, it did eventually come at the expense of pedestrians. As we are currently seeing, the burgeoning car-centric culture of the country has put pedestrians at risk.
And while we have managed to curb pedestrian fatalities three decades ago, we are seeing this issue worsen in recent years, specifically after the COVID-19 restrictions have eased.
A recent report by the National Public Radio has stated that pedestrian fatalities have remained in pandemic numbers (note: drivers were incentivized to drive recklessly with so few pedestrians on the road during the height of COVID-19, which ironically led to more pedestrian deaths) even as the lockdown was waning.
This is bad, but it’s even worse for vulnerable groups. The youth and elderly specifically have been found to be susceptible to such deaths. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both groups experience disproportionate deaths on the road.
People who are 65 years old and above, while accounting for 17% of the U.S. population, make up for about 20% of overall pedestrian fatalities. In the same vein, 20.4% of children under 15 years old have died due to traffic-related accidents.
Pedestrians are no match to a driver behind thousands of pounds of metal. Which is why drivers must yield the right of way to pedestrians at all times. Here are some more reasons why:
1.) Drivers must yield to pedestrians because it’s their legal obligation.
Because pedestrians are at an automatic disadvantage against big heavy cars, the state has afforded them legal protections on the road. For one, a senate bill was just recently passed in California which made jaywalking legal as long as it’s reasonably deemed “safe” to do so.
While it seems counterproductive in ensuring pedestrian safety, this may actually give them leverage against reckless drivers who have used previous jaywalking laws against them. In an event that a driver hit a pedestrian, they would have less of an advantage to twist the situation in their favor.
2.) As a driver you must yield to pedestrians to avoid wrongful deaths.
With nothing to protect them from harm except their adrenaline and reflexes, a lot of pedestrians end up falling victim to wrongful deaths on the road. And disturbingly, we are seeing an increase in pedestrian deaths in recent years. The rates at which this issue is occurring has been exacerbated after lockdown restrictions have eased.
This is presumably due to multiple factors. As aforementioned, drivers during the height of COVID-19 had formed a habit of reckless driving, which increased the pedestrian fatalities rate during that era. This figure remained, however, well after business operations resumed.
Bad habits are hard to reverse. But with so many lives at stake, drivers must endeavor to practice safe driving.
3.) A pedestrian may get Spinal Cord Injury if a driver is not careful.
Getting injured, as opposed to passing away from an accident, is not necessarily the better outcome especially if the pedestrian is suffering from a catastrophic injury as a result. Spinal Cord Injuries, in particular, are life-altering.
For one, a pedestrian affected by SCI may become paralyzed, which affects how they go about their day-to-day activities. It affects the relationship they have with their loved ones as well, for better or for worse.
4.) When dealing with pedestrians a driver must be mindful; otherwise, the pedestrian may get a traumatic brain injury.
Another catastrophic injury that pedestrians may get as a result of a car collision is a traumatic brain injury. Like pedestrians who ended up getting a spinal cord injury, TBI patients are also suffering from a life-altering injury that affects how they navigate the world.
TBI patients, for example, have been reported to exhibit signs of increased irritation and agitation. This bleeds into their interactions with close relatives and friends. People with brain injury may also experience changes in their sense of taste and smell.
5.) A driver must yield to pedestrians so that they don’t inflict emotional trauma.
Whether pedestrians end up injured or dead in a car collision, one thing that is almost certain in pedestrian accidents is the emotional toll that the victims and their family go through.
Remember, in a pedestrian accident, the victim’s family is also involved. Just because they are not wheeled into the hospital alongside the pedestrian does not mean that they are out of the picture.
After all, they are the ones who would have to file a wrongful death accident case if the pedestrian ends up dying for the driver’s recklessness. The emotional trauma that they would have to go through is insurmountable, and you wouldn’t want to be the one inflicting that kind of pain.
Call Omega Law Group
While pedestrian fatalities are not inevitable, the car-centric culture of the United States and the system that perpetuates it makes it extremely difficult to alleviate this issue.
True, pedestrians are powerless against a car careening towards them, but with the right attorney, they may at least have a fighting chance at court. They will need to call a pedestrian accident expert.
They need to call Omega Law Group.
The highly-skilled attorneys at Omega Law Group have decades of combined legal experience they use to their advantage to fight for their clients.
Pedestrians will be in good hands with Omega. The competent partners and founders of the firm have racked up numerous accolades from industry-vetted organizations, even garnering prestigious features from publications in the likes of the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Business Journal.
With over millions of dollars accrued in settlements, their empathy for their clients on top of their shrewd negotiation and fierce litigation skills make them a perfect match to vulnerable pedestrians recently affected by a life-altering accident.
True to their mission and vision to provide equitable and quality legal service for their clients, Omega Law Group still operates on a contingency-fee basis. This allows clients to avoid paying for legal fees upfront. Schedule a FREE consultation with our elite legal team now to learn more.