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Pedestrian Injury
In 1999, nearly 5,000 pedestrians died from traffic-related
injuries and another 85,000 sustained nonfatal injuries
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 Children
15 and younger accounted for 12% of all pedestrian fatalities
and 32% of all nonfatal pedestrian injuries.
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People 65 and older accounted for 22% of all pedestrian deaths
and approximately 8% of nonfatal pedestrian injuries. The
pedestrian death rate for this age group is higher than for any
other age group.
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The pedestrian fatality rate is more than twice as high for men
as for women.
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Hit-and-run incidents account for one out of five pedestrian
deaths.
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In 1999, approximately one-third of pedestrians 14 and older who
were killed by a motor vehicle were intoxicated, with blood
alcohol concentrations of 0.10% or more.
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Strategies to improve child pedestrian safety
CDC, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the
National SAFE KIDS Campaign co-sponsored a meeting of experts to
discuss barriers and potential solutions to the problem of child
pedestrian injuries. This group—the Panel to Prevent Pedestrian
Injuries—consisted of nearly 100 experts from the United States,
Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia and represented more
than 25 professions, including city planning, motor vehicle
safety, public health, child development, school safety, health
education, and engineering. The product of the meeting,
National Strategies for Advancing Child Pedestrian Safety, was
published in October 2001. The strategies will guide national and
community efforts to increase safety for our nation's youngest
pedestrians.
Investigating a high-risk area
In 1999, CDC staff investigated why the pedestrian death rate in
metro Atlanta had increased between 1994 and 1998 while the
national rate decreased. Their findings led to several
recommendations to improve pedestrian safety. These ranged from
engineering interventions such as separating pedestrians from
traffic (e.g., sidewalks) and traffic-calming measures (e.g.,
speed bumps, lower speed limits), to safer ways to cross the
street and improved street lighting. CDC staff also recommended
educating both drivers and passengers about the dangers of exiting
a vehicle in traffic and increasing awareness of the Highway
Emergency Response Operator (HERO) program, designed to assist
stranded motorists. Other strategies included raising awareness
about the risks of injury to pedestrians who have been drinking
and more strictly enforcing driving laws.
Understanding community characteristics
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are studying
community characteristics that may affect interventions to prevent
child pedestrian injuries. They are comparing four neighborhoods
that vary by both risk of pedestrian injury and median household
income to assess—
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Environmental
characteristics, such as traffic patterns, roadways, and play
areas;
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Parents' perceptions
of risk;
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Parents' knowledge
of and willingness to support environmental changes and other
pedestrian safety programs;
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Level of parental
supervision;
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Amount and patterns
of walking by children in the community;
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Injury
experiences of child pedestrians.
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FEATURES |
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To succeed in a claim against another
driver it is necessary to show that they were negligent
which means that they must have failed to act reasonably and
in a manner which respects the safety of other drivers.
Money can never compensate adequately for serious personal
injury or death an innocent party is entitled to just and
fair damages to compensate so far as is possible for their
injury and losses.
Legal cases are won or lost on the
available evidence and the following information should be
obtained and preserved for your attorney as soon as
possible;
- The other driver’s name,
address, date of birth, telephone number.
- The other driver’s license
number and insurance company name and policy number.
- The name and badge number of the
attending police officer.
- The names, addresses and phone
numbers of any witnesses.
- Attend a doctor or hospital to
document any injury.
- Make a detailed personal note
about the accident as soon as possible.
- A diagram of street layout,
position of vehicles and location of witnesses.
- Photograph the accident scene,
damage to the vehicles and any visible injuries.
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1-800-344-9018
