www.kisslinglaw.com
Kisslinglaw treats these cases like any other accident and has been able to get them dismissed. According to Fox News,
Pedestrian
deaths surged by an estimated 10 percent last year as the economy
improved, the price of gas plunged and motorists put more miles behind
the wheel than ever before, according to an analysis of preliminary
state traffic fatality data.
The
growing use of cellphones distracting drivers and walkers may also be
partially to blame, states a report released by the Governors Highway
Safety Association, which represents governors' highway safety offices.
Warmer weather and shorter winters along with a greater awareness of
health benefits may also be encouraging people to walk more.
"This
is really sobering news," said Richard Retting, co-author of the
report. "Pedestrian safety is clearly a growing problem across the
country."
The
data analyzed were from the first half of 2015. If the trend holds true
for the full year, it would be the largest year-to-year increase in
pedestrian deaths since 1975 when the current federal system for
recording traffic deaths was created.
The
report is based on state traffic fatality figures, extrapolated for the
full year by researchers at Sam Schwartz Consulting, which specializes
in transportation matters.
There
were 2,368 pedestrians killed in the first six months of 2015, compared
to 2,232 during the same period in 2014 — a six percent increase.
Researchers arrived at a 10 percent increase for the entire year by
factoring in that fatalities for the first half of the year are
typically underreported, and that for at least the last five years an
average of 25 percent more pedestrian deaths were recorded in the second
half of the year, which includes warmer summer months, Retting said.
Total
traffic deaths, which had been trending downward for the past decade,
were also up an estimated 8 percent last year. But pedestrian fatalities
have been rising since 2005, and now account for 15 percent of total
traffic deaths. The last time pedestrian deaths accounted for that large
a share of traffic deaths was 25 years ago.
Nearly
three-quarters of pedestrian deaths occur after dark, and a third of
those killed had been drinking alcohol, according to National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration data. By comparison, about 15 percent of
motorists involved in those crashes had a blood alcohol content at the
legal limit or higher.
Four
large population states — California, Florida, Texas and New York —
accounted for 42 percent of the pedestrian deaths in the first six
months of 2015. States with the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities
per 100,000 residents were scattered across the country — Florida, 1.35;
Arizona, 1.27; Delaware, 1.27; South Carolina, 1.12; Mississippi, 1.07;
Oregon, 1.04, and New Mexico, 1.01. The District of Columbia also tied
Oregon for the sixth highest rate, 1.04.
In
a related issue, the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents city
bus drivers, estimates that roughly one pedestrian is killed every 10
days by a city bus because of blind spots in poorly designed buses. Wide
"A pillars," which connect the windshield to the driver's side window,
and poorly placed side mirrors frequently obstruct drivers' view of
intersections, according to the union.
"Until
the industry demands a change in the design of buses to remove the
unnecessary blind spots like European buses, people will continue to die
in these preventable accidents," said Larry Hanley, the union's
president.
