3 Main Causes of Pedestrian Accidents

According to statistics, about 450 pedestrians lose their lives every year on roads in the UK. Each of these lives is precious and makes road safety an increasing concern for authorities.

While the responsibility for most accidents almost always lies with the driver, sometimes pedestrians and even other external factors may contribute to an unfortunate incident.

Here are some of the most common reasons for pedestrian accidents that you should be wary of.

Individual Behavior and Careless Habits

Several studies show that it’s the careless behaviour on the road that leads to accidents more often than not. Not only is it observed that the drivers can be reckless, but it can also be a pedestrian’s fault for being distracted while crossing the road, or it could be their careless decision not to use the crosswalk at all.

About 6,000 accidents are also caused due to drink-driving in Great Britain, which is a poor judgement on the driver’s part. It has also been noted that electronics like smartphones may play a considerable part in the increasing number of pedestrian accidents.

Poor Visibility

Pedestrian accidents can also sometimes be caused due to poor visibility. Several factors can contribute to this unavoidable issue—for instance, poor weather conditions. While driving in the rain and areas covered with dust pollution, your vision is likely to be obstructed.

Additionally, even pedestrians wearing dark clothes or colour camouflage or bright blinding lights could affect the driver’s visibility causing an accident.  However, if the cause of poor visibility is the car’s inadequate headlights, there’s a high chance that the court may hold the driver responsible.

Poor Road Structure and Design

As cities are becoming more crowded, multi-lane high-speed motorways and roadways are being constructed to aid traffic flow. This has huge repercussions in the previously clustered areas that had populated streets; a large number of pedestrians living in these areas are still not accustomed to the sudden changes and may become victims of a road accident.

It’s also believed that these road structures are often designed by large-scale commercial developers who fail to take into account the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists when designing the roads.

Have you or a loved one been in a pedestrian accident and ended up with a personal injury? If you’re wondering whether or not to file a pedestrian accident claim, get in touch with us.

Our legal team can help you with bus and car passenger accident claims in Middlesex, UK, and deal with any other legal concerns you have.