Are We Thinking About Pedestrian Safety the Wrong Way?

The pedestrian accident lawyers at Silverman, McDonald & Friedman have decades of experience handling pedestrian accident cases in Delaware. Most of the injuries we have seen in these types of accidents are horrific as pedestrians have no protection and barely stand a chance against large and heavy vehicles. If you have been in a pedestrian accident and need strong legal representation, call our firm in Wilmington, Seaford, or Newark right away.

Many pedestrians are killed in Delaware and other states across the country every single year. While there have been laws created and implemented to try to ensure that vehicle drivers do not continue to harm pedestrians, these accidents are still occurring at alarming rates. The reason for this is because we are likely thinking about pedestrian safety the wrong way.

What have lawmakers and law enforcement officers been focusing on when it comes to pedestrian safety?

Many lawmakers and law enforcement officers have been concentrating on addressing drivers’ mistakes and errors to reduce pedestrian injuries and fatalities. Therefore, instead of trying to develop new ways to combat these issues, the same techniques and methods are being focused on. For example, a lot of people are aware of the fact that many pedestrian accidents occur because drivers choose to speed. However, not many people think outside the box when it comes to ways to stop this from happening.

According to an eye-opening article published in The Atlantic, “We’ve all been miseducated that the way to solve this problem is to have more squads of police chasing Americans so that they wouldn’t drive 120 miles per hour rather than arranging cars so they can’t go that fast.” This statement was made in 1977 by William Haddon who was the first administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The goal of this statement was to express how America has avoided taking any steps to prevent driver mistakes, such as speeding, from ever occurring, but we are still dealing with this issue almost 70 years later.

Haddon was not implying that drivers do not make mistakes or errors that cause pedestrian accidents. Instead, he explained that steps can be taken to keep these opportunities out of drivers’ hands, which could reduce the number of pedestrian fatalities each year. However, instead of taking measures to change vehicles to prevent these accidents from occurring, vehicles continue to become bigger, faster, and more powerful. Therefore, pedestrians involved in an accident with a vehicle today stand even less of a chance of surviving.

The article explains that it is human nature to make mistakes, but “traffic deaths are not inevitable if regulators and automakers protect people from the worst consequences of their mistakes.” Almost 60 years ago, Ralph Nader testified about the dangers that vehicle manufacturers allow or incorporate into these powerful machines, which led to the development of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Not long after this, new features were introduced, such as seat belts, collapsible steering columns, and adhesive windshield bonding. However, these features were not meant to prevent driver mistakes that could protect pedestrians; instead, they still allowed the driver to make mistakes, but would protect the driver from injuries that could be fatal.

Other issues that are not being addressed to help pedestrians: public transportation and safer roads

Other issues that are not being addressed to help pedestrians are increasing public transportation and safer roads for walking. Instead, most roads across America are suburban, rural, and sprawling. As a result, there is a lack of public transportation and safe walkability, meaning that pedestrians in these areas do not have safe ways to get around. Even though many of these areas are getting shopping centers, restaurants, and other commercial facilities, they are still not taking pedestrian safety into consideration, which causes an increase in pedestrian accidents and fatalities. Therefore, while drivers and passengers inside vehicles are becoming safer, the more vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, are not.

An article published in the Infrastructure Report Card pointed out that around 45 percent of those who live in the United States do not have access to any type of public transportation, and what is available is aging and often unreliable. As a result, the United States has a D- for its public transportation options, and there is not much hope for fixing these systems or creating new ones to give pedestrians other options than walking.

What steps have other countries taken that are working?

Europe and Japan have taken steps to ensure that those who are inside and outside a vehicle are protected during an accident. These countries fully consider the risks for pedestrians and have chosen to do something about it, such as changing the design of bumpers and hoods, creating new detection systems, and ensuring that vehicles have airbags that inflate on the outside. As a result, in the past decade, Europe has seen a 36-percent decrease in pedestrian deaths, and Japan has seen a 39-percent decrease. On the other hand, in the last decade, the United States has experienced a 77-percent increase in pedestrian deaths.

We are lowering speed limits and changing roadways instead of re-designing and creating more public transportation options, providing more safe sidewalks, and adding features to vehicles that prevent them from speeding and severely injuring pedestrians on impact. The Vision Network explains that “We know what works, but we are not – at least not in the U.S. – showing the political and public will to make the changes needed to make safety paramount.”

Delaware is one of the leading states for Pedestrian deaths

According to a recent study, Delaware is the third most dangerous state in the entire country for pedestrians. The current pedestrian death rate in our state is 3.29 fatalities per 100,000 residents, which is over 74 percent higher than the national death rate among pedestrians. It is also 112 percent higher than the median pedestrian death rates in all states.

The Delaware pedestrian accident lawyers at Silverman, McDonald & Friedman have over 100 years of combined experience representing Delaware personal injury victims. Our team knows how to get victims of pedestrian accidents the results they need and deserve. We know how to find compelling evidence and build strong arguments against negligent drivers who carelessly and recklessly cause pedestrian accidents. If you are ready to start pursuing compensation for your damages, schedule a free consultation today. We serve clients in Newark, Wilmington, and Seaford for your convenience. Call our office or submit our contact form today.