Did you know that around 75 pedestrians are hit and killed each year while walking on Utah’s road and sidewalks? In addition to these tragic deaths, nearly 800 others are injured enough to be hospitalized or treated in an emergency medical facility. Since 2012 we have seen an increase in pedestrian accident cases, with the largest demographic of injured individuals ranging from ages 10 – 24. When we see a consistent growth of incidents a year in, and year out, we are left with a few questions. Primarily, “what is causing these accidents to increase?” Just as importantly, “what can be done to decrease the number of times a person is hit while walking?”
Looking at the Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
If you have ever looked at traffic accident statistics before, you are probably aware of distracted driving dangers. However, we often overlook the fact that people are walking the streets more distracted than ever. This does not mean that if you were hit by a car, truck, motorcycle, or even a cyclist, it is your fault. Instead, we want this article to remind us that even though we are walking on sidewalks or crosswalks, we must take a moment to ensure we are doing so safely. Remember that common knowledge among accident reconstructionists is that almost every incident is avoidable and caused by human error. Another way of looking at Salt Lake City auto accidents is to think that nearly every accident results from a chain of misevents happening for the incident to occur.
A Common Example of Pedestrian Collisions
Let’s take a look at a hypothetical situation that happens almost every day on Utah’s roads. A person is walking downtown on the sidewalk listening to music while walking a few blocks to get lunch. While waiting for the light to change so, they can cross the street; they begin scrolling through their phone to find just the right song. In their peripheral vision, they notice that the light has changed, and they can see the movement as people begin to walk forward. Perhaps out of instinct, the person starts walking with the crowd without even looking up from their phone to ensure that the crosswalk is clear. Simultaneously, a car has been waiting to take a right-hand turn at a red light. The person driving the vehicle has grown impatient because of the heavy traffic; their head turned to the left, waiting for a break. Without even thinking, they see a gap in traffic and begin making their turn, only to strike a person using the crosswalk correctly.
In this hypothetical situation, the person listening to their music was doing everything correctly on paper. They were walking on the sidewalk, using a crosswalk, and patiently waited for the light to change. Yet they were distracted by their phone and could not hear or see the signs of danger right before them. When reading the example above, it is essential to remember that we are not victim-blaming. They were, at the end of the day, struck due to the negligence of the driver. However, it is noteworthy to recognize that if they were using all of their sense at the moment, they could have potentially seen or heard the car making the turn and avoided being hit. When we do the same thing day in and day out, we often forget that things can change, and the unexpected can and will happen. If you are reading this, let their article be a reminder that we cannot let modern technology luxuries allow us to be distracted from immediate safety concerns.
