The temperature climate of San Diego County allows residents to enjoy many outdoor activities year round. With the onset of spring upon us, an even greater number of people will be outside soon walking, jogging and more. As this happens, the dangers to pedestrians become more apparent. People can be involved in a pedestrian accident in a variety of situations including in a parking lot, in a crosswalk or other part of an intersection and on a sidewalk.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website note that people 65 and over represented 19 percent of pedestrian fatalities and 11 percent of injuries sustained in a pedestrian accident in 2010. In another 20 percent of fatal pedestrian accidents, victims were children from five to nine years old. In all, close to 40 percent of the people who died in a fatal pedestrian accident across the country in 2010 were in those two age brackets.
The risk of a pedestrian knockdown should be taken seriously by everyone in San Diego regardless of age. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration online records for 2013 indicate that 54 out of the county’s 196 traffic-related deaths were pedestrians. Pedestrian fatalities even outnumbered those of motorcyclists, of whom 43 died on county roads in 2103. Drunk driving accidents accounted for 57 deaths in San Diego County. Statewide, 3000 people in all lost their lives in motor vehicle accidents. Of those, 701 were pedestrians.
Head trauma, brain injury, back injury and more are just some of the serious injuries that can leave victims permanently disabled or that can lead to death when pedestrians are hit by automobiles. Awareness of how to stay safe and get help is always important.