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When a truck hits a pedestrian, the walker can suffer devastating or fatal injuries. Almost everyone eventually has to be on foot on a sidewalk, near a road, or crossing a street. While many people stroll along with no apparent sense of danger, many pedestrians lose their lives or become permanently disabled because of a truck accident.
We offer some tips on how pedestrians can avoid accidents. Even if you follow these suggestions, however, it is possible to get injured due to someone else’s negligence. In that unfortunate situation, a California pedestrian accident attorney can help you hold the careless party liable for your money damages.
Why Prevention Is Your Best Bet
We do not need to tell you how badly a person can get hurt when struck by a truck. Pedestrian accidents with trucks have high fatality rates. Trucks are heavy and large, packing quite a punch when they collide with an unprotected human body.
The National Safety Council provides this guidance on how pedestrians can stay safe and prevent becoming victims in accidents:
- If there is a sidewalk, use it. You can slash your odds of getting hit if you use the surface intended for walkers – the sidewalk. A truck is highly unlikely to run up onto the sidewalk.Â
- When there is no sidewalk, stay as close to the edge of the road or shoulder as possible. Walk facing traffic. While it might be frightening to face oncoming vehicles, you stand a better chance of jumping out of the way of a distracted driver if you can see them approaching.
- Do not jaywalk. When there is a crosswalk, use it. If there is no crosswalk, cross at an intersection. You might think that it is more dangerous to cross at an intersection because of cars traveling in multiple directions, but drivers tend to keep a better lookout for pedestrians crossing at intersections than in the middle of a block.
- When there is no crosswalk, make sure that you do not try to cross the street if you do not have a clear view in both directions. It is better to walk a little further down the block to a spot where you can see approaching cars.
- Expect drivers to appear suddenly and without warning when you try to cross a street, whether you use a crosswalk or not. Look both ways two times before stepping into the street. Try to make eye contact with the drivers. Assume that they do not see you if they do not make eye contact with you.
- When you have to walk at night, use a flashlight and wear light-colored, bright, or reflective clothing.
- Be particularly watchful when walking near parking lots, alleys, and driveways. People sometimes enter, exit, or back up in these situations without thinking about pedestrians.
- Do not walk near motor vehicles, even on the sidewalk, if you have been drinking or using drugs.
- Stay off of your cell phone and remove earbuds. You need to have all of your senses available to protect you from danger.
If you got hurt in a pedestrian accident, a California truck accident attorney could help you pursue money damages for your losses. Also, if your close relative died from a pedestrian accident, we might be able to pursue additional compensation on behalf of the legal beneficiaries. Contact us today.