Factors That Can Increase The Probability of A Pedestrian Accident in DC

Due to the volume of people and traffic in Washington, DC, pedestrian accidents are bound to happen, with that said, however, certain factors can make an accident more likely. The following are some of these factors and how they can impact an injury case. To learn more or discuss your accident, call and schedule a consultation with a DC pedestrian accident lawyer today.

Drivers At Nighttime

Headlights are installed in a motor vehicle for a purpose. The purpose, generally, is to allow that the operator of the motor vehicle to see better at night.  Therefore, if the conditions warrant it, people should use their headlights in order to help them see things that are there to be seen, including pedestrians, other vehicles, animals, construction or any other thing that a driver may encounter on the roadway.

Speeding Drivers

As it relates to speed, traffic typically flows in unison.  It is a rare occurrence where one vehicle is able to travel at a significantly higher rate of speed than another vehicle on the same road traveling in the same direction.  However, if people are traveling with traffic or have been able to pass through a few intersections with the green light, they may not fully recognize the speed at which they are travelling.

Many times people do not pay attention to how fast they are traveling.  Instead, drivers rely on the vehicles around them to set a suitable pace. If a person has to make a right or left hand turn, he/she may not fully appreciate how fast traffic is moving and this may cause him/her to make a right or left hand turn faster than normal which could be dangerous for pedestrians.

How Can Speeding On An Unfamiliar Road Be a Hazard to Pedestrians?

Any time drivers are traveling along a road that they are not familiar with, they are at a disadvantage. When drivers are traveling faster than they should on a road with which they are not familiar, then they are compounding their error. They may not be familiar with either the topography of the land or the twists and turns of the road, which may cause them to make a sudden turn unsafely. This type of behavior can ultimately have a negative effect on pedestrians.

Another common issue is that drivers of motor vehicles who are not familiar with an area may be receiving directions or instructions from a passenger in the vehicle. This can also have a negative effect because they may be looking for street signs or attempting to follow instructions and might fail to observe either a red light or fail to see a pedestrian that is lawfully crossing the street in a crosswalk.

Road Rage

Road rage puts all pedestrians at an increased risk of being struck because the operator of the motor vehicle is not traveling in a safe and prudent manner. When a person engages in what is commonly referred to as “road rage”, they are, by the common understanding of the term, operating their vehicle in an unsafe manner.

When anyone operates their vehicle in an unsafe manner, it puts all pedestrians at greater risk of being struck by that motor vehicle.