Bristol Pedestrian Accident Attorneys
Pedestrian accidents can be brutal collisions that result in very serious injuries or death. Even a low speed pedestrian accident can have devastating consequences. Drivers have a responsibility to watch for pedestrians, but often fail to do so. Design factors can make it unreasonably difficult for drivers to see or properly respond to the presence of pedestrians. Malfunctioning traffic signals can give the all-clear to pedestrians and cars at the same time, leading to tragedy. If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a pedestrian accident, the Bristol pedestrian accident attorneys of Hunter, Smith & Davis, LLP, are here for you.
Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
Pedestrian accidents are often the fault of a careless drier who simply doesn’t pay attention when pedestrians are likely to be present. However, there are many other causes, some of which do not involve driver negligence or compound driver negligence to create a very dangerous situation. Driver negligence that commonly leads to pedestrian accidents includes:
- Failure to observe crosswalks
- Distracted driving
- Running a red light or stop sign
- Failure to use turn signal
- Failure to check blind spots before backing up
- Drowsy or fatigued driving
- Intoxication
- Speeding
- Driving too fast for the conditions even within the speed limit
- Illegal passing of school busses
- Not using caution in areas where children are known to be present, such as school zones
- Not using caution in construction zones
- Failure to use caution when passing a vehicle stopped on the side of the road
- Failure to use appropriate caution in hazardous weather or road conditions
Other common causes of pedestrian accidents, include:
- Poorly designed crosswalk
- Improperly marked crosswalk
- Faulty bus stop design
- Dangerous intersection design
- Poorly designed parking lots and parking garages
- Inadequate barricades to prevent vehicles from entering pedestrian areas
- Inadequate lighting in parking lots and parking garages
- Inadequate lighting in areas where pedestrians are likely to be present due to lack of street lights or malfunctioning streetlights
- Inadequately marked construction zones
- Lack of safe pedestrian detour in construction zones
- Lack of school crossing guard
- Defective vehicle
Places Where Pedestrian Accident Happen
When you are on foot, you know to use caution in areas where cars are supposed to be, like intersections and in parking lots. But, pedestrian accidents can happen in unexpected places, such as on sidewalks, in parks, and even in your front yard. Examples of the places where pedestrian accidents happen include:
- Intersections
- Other crosswalks
- Bus stops
- Parking lots
- Parking garages
- School zones
- Playgrounds
- Parks
- Bike paths
- Sidewalks
- Shoulder of road
- Freeway on and off ramps
- Overpasses and bridges
- Railroad crossings
- Warehouses
- Loading and unloading zones
- Alleys
- Driveways
- Front, back and side yards
To learn more about your rights and how you can recover compensation for your pedestrian accident injuries, please call the Bristol pedestrian accident attorneys of Hunter, Smith & Davis, LLP, at (423) 378-8830 or (423) 378-8862 or submit an online contact form today.
