By Jamaica
Everyone is a pedestrian at one point, and it is a pretty vulnerable position to be in, which is why there are so many laws in place to protect them. In spite of these laws in order for an accident to occur, at least one person has to be at fault, in my case, it was the drivers. Which isn’t as common in pedestrian accidents.
A couple weeks ago I was on a crosswalk on a pretty busy street in San Francisco at around 9:00pm. It was one of the crosswalks that didn’t have the “pedestrian timetable” and just the three lights. I crossed on green, and as I was coming up to the sidewalk it turned yellow so I started to lightly jog. Then about 5-10 ft away from the sidewalk I saw some bright lights and turn to see a car coming toward me, it ended up clipping my shoulder as I managed to get out of the way. I quickly turned around to the car and driver after I got on the sidewalk, as my brother kept asking if I was okay. Cars started to honk in the intersection so I kind of just started to walk away and eventually needed to sit down. Leaving the driver to continue on their way.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, most pedestrian deaths happen at night in urban areas, outside of crosswalks and in the middle of the street. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has said that pedestrians fatalities only make up 15% of crash deaths.
Even with rules in place to protect pedestrians, laws still get broken. You have to take into consideration the actions of others. Prevention is your best tool. Some ways to do this is to use a crosswalk, make eye contact with drivers, and obey all traffic signs and laws. And if you’re ever hit by a vehicle remember to get the driver’s information or at the very least their license number.