Pedestrian safety should never go underestimated. As our lives progress, it becomes easy to think that we’ll be impervious to damage or that drivers will always see us before they come barreling through an intersection.
However, findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention illustrate that pedestrian collisions are still a very real threat that we all need to be cognizant of. The agency has determined that a pedestrian is killed somewhere in the country once every couple of hours, and 460 people report to the emergency room on a daily basis.
That same news release also points out that 33% of the pedestrians who are struck have a Blood Alcohol Content beyond the legal limit. On the whole, males fared more poorly when compared with females who had been struck by a vehicle, and persons between the ages of 15 and 29 were more inclined to have to seek treatment in an ER than any other age group. Kids were put most at risk by a pedestrian collision.
Make sure that you never make yourself susceptible to this kind of harm. Heed the CDC’s suggestion and always use the mandated crosswalks if ever you have to get across traffic. Make yourself visible at night, and if there is no sidewalk, always walk toward incoming vehicles (the opposite of cycling) and hug the curb while doing so.