Whenever someone goes for a walk or a jog near traffic, they face the risk of being involved in a deadly accident. There are multiple factors that can increase their likelihood of being struck by a vehicle, such as the layout of the roads on which they walk, the time of day, weather conditions and other factors. However, it is also important to think about age and the different ways in which this can present a heightened risk of passing away in a pedestrian accident.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pedestrians in certain age groups face a particularly high chance of passing away or sustaining an injury in a traffic accident. For example, traffic accidents which involve pedestrians who are young children can be especially dangerous. During 2008, pedestrian accidents accounted for twenty percent of the traffic crash fatalities among children between the ages of five and nine. During the same year, 18 percent of pedestrian fatalities involved pedestrians who were 65 or older, and it is estimated that pedestrians in this age group accounted for 10 percent of pedestrian injuries in 2008.
While young children and older adults may be especially likely to lose their lives in pedestrian accidents, people of all ages face the risk of being hurt or killed while they walk alongside the road or attempt to cross a street. Sadly, many of these accidents had nothing to do with a pedestrian’s age and only occurred because of a reckless driver. Our law firm strongly believes that negligent drivers must be held answerable.