Pedestrian Accidents

Lawyer for Pedestrian Accidents and Injuries

If you were hit by a car, truck, or other vehicle and were injured, call attorney Matvey today to discuss your case and to protect your rights. Pedestrians can suffer significant injuries when they are hit by a car because they have no protection from the impact of the vehicle. Car knock down injuries can occur in crosswalks, on the sides of the road, and often in parking lots of shopping centers and offices. As a pedestrian you have the right to cross a road or parking lot in a safe manner and without fear of being injured.

Pedestrian Accidents and the law

In Pennsylvania, the law regarding crosswalks and pedestrians crossing streets is as follows: Where a person is attempting to cross at a crosswalk and there is a signal indicating that they can do so, the pedestrian has the right of way and cars must yield to the pedestrian. If there are no traffic control devices at a crosswalk, a driver must yield the right of way to a person crossing a street in a crosswalk or at an intersection where there are no crosswalks marked.

It must be noted, however, that a person crossing a street, whether or not at a crosswalk, must do so at a time where there are no cars within a distance that would create a danger to the person crossing the street. What this means is that you can’t step off the curb and directly into the path of a motor vehicle and expect to be safe or have a case. If a person is crossing a street at a point other than an intersection or within a crosswalk, the person crossing the street must yield to cars on the road.

Pedestrian safety tips:

Be careful at intersections. Drivers making a turn may be looking for car traffic rather than for pedestrians. Even if you are within the crosswalk, it is better to avoid getting hit by a car than it is to get hit but have the law on your side.
Cross the street at a designated crosswalk if possible.
Always stop and look left, right, and left again before crossing. It is best to look left as the last direction you look because cars will be coming from your left as you enter the street.
If a parked vehicle is blocking your view of approaching traffic, stop at the edge line of the car and look around it before trying to cross the road.
Increase your visibility at night by carrying a flashlight with you when walking. Wearing reflective clothing that helps to highlight body movement can also make you more visible to traffic.
It is much safer to walk on a sidewalk, but if there is no sidewalk, a not uncommon condition around Pittsburgh, you should walk facing traffic. Doing so allows you to see traffic coming towards you and gives you a better chance of getting out of the way if you have to.

How dangerous are the roads for pedestrians?

As you can see below, injuries to people in impacts between pedestrians and vehicles occur at all ages. Children and the elderly are particularly at risk for many reasons. The height of kids in relation to vehicles can mean a greater chance of head injuries to children. Where trucks are involved there is a greater difficulty on seeing small children. Children also tend to be less attentive to traffic conditions than adults. Senior citizens may be more frail and less able to recover from these types of injuries. Older adults also may move more slowly than younger people and may be less able to react quickly to a dangerous situation.

The statistics on pedestrian accidents reflect significant numbers of injuries and deaths due to collisions between vehicles and people. In 2007, 4,654 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States. There were 70,000 pedestrians injured in traffic accidents in 2007. Most pedestrian fatalities in 2007 occurred in urban areas (73%), at non-intersection locations (77%), in normal weather conditions (90%), and at night (67%). More than two-thirds (70%) of the pedestrians killed in 2007 were males.

Contact Attorney Matvey today at 724-774-0999 to discuss your accident case.

Pedestrian fatality and injury statistics:

Pedestrians Killed and Injured by Age Group, 2007

Age Group (Years)	Pedestrians Killed
<5	106
5-9	93
10-15	155
16-20	287
21-24	296
25-29	341
30-34	265
35-39	354
40-44	400
45-49	469
50-54	447
55-59	306
60-64	188
65-69	182
70-74	200
75-79	192
80+	329
Unknown	44
Total	4,654
Age Group (Years)	Pedestrians Injured
<5	2,000
5-9	5,000
10-15	9,000
16-20	8,000
21-24	6,000
25-29	6,000
30-34	4,000
35-39	3,000
40-44	5,000
45-49	6,000
50-54	4,000
55-59	3,000
60-64	2,000
65-69	2,000
70-74	1,000
75-79	1,000
80+	2,000
Total	70,000

Non occupant Traffic Fatalities, 1997-2007

Year	Pedestrian	Pedalcyclist	Other	Total
1997	5,321	814	153	6,288
1998	5,228	760	131	6,119
1999	4,939	754	149	5,842
2000	4,763	693	141	5,597
2001	4,901	732	123	5,756
2002	4,851	665	114	5,630
2003	4,774	629	140	5,543
2004	4,675	727	130	5,532
2005	4,892	786	186	5,864
2006	4,795	772	185	5,752
2007	4,654	698	152	5,504

Source: National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration

Contact Attorney Matvey today at 724-774-0999

From offices in Center Township, Aliquippa, law offices of Palmieri & Matvey, P.C. serves the personal injury and estate administration needs of Western and Southwestern Pennsylvania including the communities of Aliquippa, Center Twp, Beaver, Ambridge, Baden, Beaver Falls, Bridgewater, Chippewa Twp, Conway, Coraopolis, Cranberry Twp, Economy, Ellwood City, Freedom, Harmony, Hopewell, Leetsdale, Midland, Monaca, Moon Twp, New Brighton, New Castle, Patterson Twp, Pittsburgh, Rochester, Shippingport and Vanport; as well as Beaver County, Allegheny County, Washington County, Butler County and Lawrence County and other areas of Western PA.