Category: Pedestrian Accidents

Did you know that the fall season is the most dangerous time of year for children? That’s because according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, children are at an increased risk for pedestrian accidents. Officials say the shorter daylight hours make it harder for drivers to spot children who are walking to school or waiting at a bus stop.

Adults are strongly encouraged to walk children to school, especially if they are younger than 10. Also, officials say all children who walk to school should be taught the basics of traffic safety, including crossing the street safely.

Kids who ride their bike to school must also be trained to bike safely, and must wear their helmets at all times.

A local police officer was nearly hit by a drunk driver in Carlsbad recently, according to San Diego news outlet KGTV. The woman was eventually taken into custody on suspicion that she intended to hit the officer.

A Border Patrol agent found the driver sitting in her vehicle on the median near Carlsbad Boulevard and Ponto Drive. He contacted local police, who arrived to discover the driver had locked herself in her car. Instead of following the officers’ directions to get out of her car, she began to drive away, pointing her vehicle directly at one of the police officers. The officer had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by the car.

The San Diego district attorney’s office has decided not to file charges against a ninety-two-year-old man who identified himself as the possible driver in a hit-and-run accident earlier this year, a local news story reports.

In January 2010, a 15-year-old teenager from Vista was skateboarding on Thibodo Road with three friends when a white Toyota Camry hit the teen from behind, then drove off. The severely injured young man was rushed to the hospital but did not survive his injuries.

The day after the San Diego accident, the ninety-two-year old man told police that he may have been driving the car that struck the teenager, but he was unsure. The man said that he had struck something while driving the previous night, which he thought had been some kind of inanimate object or perhaps an owl. The man did not stop to determine what he had hit.

A 26-year-old man suffered a broken pelvis after being hit by a motorist who fled the scene shortly after the accident occurred. According to a SanDiego6.com article, the man walked three-fourths of the way across Grand Avenue in Pacific Beach when he was hit. The driver who struck the pedestrian and kept driving is reported to have been in a black pickup truck. One complex factor in this San Diego pedestrian accident is that the pedestrian allegedly crossed the street despite a red-hand warning signal for him to wait. Nevertheless, in order to help prevent serious injury or fatal car accidents, motorists must always check for pedestrians and other vehicles even when given the right of way with a green light.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that from 1997 to 2006, there were 49,128 pedestrian fatalities, which accounted for 12% of all fatalities in motor vehicle collisions. Single-vehicle accidents are responsible for a significant majority of pedestrian deaths. Considering that California is one of three states that has more pedestrian accident deaths than any other in the nation, San Diego motorists must follow all traffic laws and be fully aware of surrounding vehicles and pedestrians at all times.