Beaver County Pedestrian Accident Attorney

Lawyer for Pedestrian Accidents and Injuries

If you were hit by a car, truck, or other vehicle and were injured, call attorney Matvey today to discuss your case and to protect your rights. Pedestrians can suffer significant injuries when they are hit by a car because they have no protection from the impact of the vehicle.  Car knock down injuries can occur in crosswalks, on the sides of the road, and often in parking lots of shopping centers and offices.    As a pedestrian you have the right to cross a road or parking lot in a safe manner and without fear of being injured.

In Pennsylvania, the law regarding crosswalks and pedestrians crossing streets is as follows:  Where a person is attempting to cross at a crosswalk and there is a signal indicating that they can do so, the pedestrian has the right of way and cars must yield to the pedestrian.  If there are no traffic control devices at a crosswalk, a driver must yield the right of way to a person crossing a street in a crosswalk or at an intersection where there are no crosswalks marked. 

It must be noted, however, that a person crossing a street, whether or not at a crosswalk, must do so at a time where there are no cars within a distance that would create a danger to the person crossing the street.  What this means is that you can't step off the curb and directly into the path of a motor vehicle and expect to be safe or have a case. If a person is crossing a street at a point other than an intersection or within a crosswalk, the person crossing the street must yield to cars on the road.

Pedestrian safety tips

• Be careful at intersections.  Drivers making a turn may be looking for car traffic rather than for pedestrians.  Even if you are within the crosswalk, it is better to avoid getting hit by a car than it is to get hit but have the law on your side.
• Cross the street at a designated crosswalk if possible.
• Always stop and look left, right, and left again before crossing. It is best to look left as the last direction you look because cars will be coming from your left as you enter the street.
• If a parked vehicle is blocking your view of approaching traffic, stop at the edge line of the car and look around it before trying to cross the road.
• Increase your visibility at night by carrying a flashlight with you when walking. Wearing reflective clothing that helps to highlight body movement can also make you more visible to traffic.
• It is much safer to walk on a sidewalk, but if there is no sidewalk, a not uncommon condition around Pittsburgh, you should walk facing traffic.  Doing so allows you to see traffic coming towards you and gives you a better chance of getting out of the way if you have to.

How dangerous are the roads for pedestrians? 

As you can see below, injuries to people in impacts between pedestrians and vehicles occur at all ages.  Children and the elderly are particularly at risk for many reasons.  The height of kids in relation to vehicles can mean a greater chance of head injuries to children.  Where trucks are involved there is a greater difficulty on seeing small children.  Children also tend to be less attentive to traffic conditions than adults.  Senior citizens may be more frail and less able to recover from these types of injuries.  Older adults also may move more slowly than younger people and may be less able to react quickly to a dangerous situation. 

The statistics on pedestrian accidents reflect significant numbers of injuries and deaths due to collisions between vehicles and people.  In 2007, 4,654 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States. There were 70,000 pedestrians injured in traffic accidents in 2007. Most pedestrian fatalities in 2007 occurred in urban areas (73%), at non-intersection locations (77%), in normal weather conditions (90%), and at night (67%). More than two-thirds (70%) of the pedestrians killed in 2007 were males.

Pedestrian Accident News

• Man on bicycle killed in crash with pick-up truck in Oakland
• Woman injured by bus in Oakland
• Four year old boy hit by car in Beaver Falls
• Car strikes and injures six
• Train hits and kills teenager in Derry
• Boy suffers concussion after being hit by Robert Morris police car in Moon Township
• Two critically injured after being hit by car on Route 51 in Rostraver Township
• Road worker killed in Armstrong County multi-vehicle crash
• Child pedestrian struck by truck in New Brighton
• Pedestrian struck by train in Leetsdale

Pedestrian fatality and injury statistics

Source: National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration

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