Pedestrian Death Rates are Steadily Increasing

When most people think of injuries and fatalities in automobile accidents, it tends to be drivers and their passengers that come in mind. While they can certainly be the victims in car accidents, they are by no means the only ones. Pedestrians are injured or even killed every day after being struck by reckless or negligent drivers. In fact, over the past few years, pedestrian death rates have been steadily increasing, leading to a more widespread problem for injured individuals.

Last year alone, there were an estimated 6227 pedestrian deaths nationwide, an increase of four percent from 2017. Over the past decade, there has been an estimated increase of roughly 35 percent total. It is tempting to think that this may be because of increased drivers on the road or driving activities, but the opposite seems to be true. Overall, traffic has gone down on a national level, and yet pedestrian fatalities has increased in spite of this. Any death is a tragedy, but these kinds of accidents are usually preventable and are often caused by careless or distracted drivers.

Note that these statistics do not include injuries inflicted to pedestrians that are hit by moving vehicles. If there were better ways to record that data, there would no doubt be an increase amount of pedestrian injuries as well. Most impacts from vehicles are lethal, but plenty are not and this is a major trend too that should not be ignored.

If you have been injured as a pedestrian or if someone close to you has been killed in a pedestrian-related incident, there are certainly grounds for a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver. We at the Franco Firm would be honored to help see justice for you or your family and can help you win your personal injury case with ease. To schedule a free consultation with us today, please call (813) 872-0929.