Walking should be safe, but pedestrians can face serious dangers on city streets. The common causes of pedestrian accidents in Huntsville all share one theme, which is driver negligence. These types of accidents can leave a lasting negative impact on an individual’s life.
Contact our dedicated pedestrian accident attorneys at Siniard Law, LLC, for help after an injury. Our team could assist you with your legal claim to get the compensation you deserve.
Distracted Driving
Phones have created an epidemic of inattentive drivers. Someone texting at 40 miles per hour may not see a pedestrian crossing the road ahead of them. In addition, eating, adjusting the radio, talking to passengers, and checking navigation apps can all take a driver’s eyes away from the road. Those few seconds of distraction may cover hundreds of feet of travel, potentially causing a serious crash.
The human brain is not designed to both process texts and watch for pedestrians simultaneously. However, many Huntsville drivers often assume they can multitask while driving their vehicles, but this is not possible and can lead to accidents involving pedestrians.
Failure To Yield at Crosswalks
State law requires drivers to stop for pedestrians in marked crosswalks. However, many drivers roll through or speed up in an effort to try to beat the pedestrians before they cross the road. This type of aggressive behavior can lead to devastating injuries.
Unmarked crosswalks exist at every intersection, whether painted lines are on the road or not. Pedestrians at these locations face particular dangers since drivers may sometimes not expect them to cross the road, which can lead to a crash on some Huntsville streets.
Speeding
Speed kills pedestrians more often than any other cause for these types of incidents. Huntsville has residential areas with 25-mile-per-hour speed limits that drivers routinely exceed, placing pedestrians at risk of accidents. School zones with 15-mile-per-hour speed limits are also frequently ignored. These speed limits exist for the safety of pedestrians, but enforcement cannot be everywhere.
Higher speeds also reduce reaction times quite significantly. A driver traveling 45 miles per hour in a zone with a 35 miles per hour speed limit can cover a lot of distance before their brain processes the pedestrian ahead of them. Attempting to come to a full stop can take even longer.
Impaired Driving
Drunk and drugged drivers can cause pedestrian accidents throughout Huntsville. Alcohol slows a driver’s reaction time, impairs their judgment, and reduces their coordination. Drivers under the influence do not see pedestrians until an impact occurs.
Drug impairment creates similar dangers. Prescription medications, marijuana, and illegal drugs all affect a driver’s ability to control a vehicle. Some drivers may think they are fine to drive when they are actually dangerously impaired.
Poor Visibility Conditions
The hours at dusk and dawn may create challenging visibility for drivers and cause pedestrian accidents, such as in Huntsville. Pedestrians tend to blend into backgrounds during these transition periods as daylight changes. Drivers whose eyes have not adjusted may miss people crossing the street ahead of them.
Night walking also carries obvious dangers, as dark clothing makes pedestrians nearly invisible. Poorly lit streets and intersections increase this problem, and some drivers do not slow down despite the reduced visibility. Rain or fog, as well as glare from the sun, may temporarily blind the vision of drivers.
Backing Vehicles
Parking lots can become dangerous areas when drivers back out of parking spaces, as some drivers may not check their mirrors well or not at all. Pedestrians walking behind vehicles may also disappear into blind spots. Large trucks have massive blind spots that can hide an entire person. Backup cameras help, but only when drivers actually look at them. Many accidents happen because drivers rely on the vehicle’s mirrors alone.
Delivery trucks backing up in residential areas hit pedestrians with disturbing frequency. These drivers often face pressure to complete their routes quickly and save time by not completing safety checks. These issues may cause crashes with Huntsville pedestrians.
Left Turns at Intersections
Drivers turning left across traffic focus on finding gaps between the oncoming cars, so they may forget to check for pedestrians who are crossing the street that the driver is trying to turn onto. In this case, the pedestrian has the right-of-way but may still get hit by a vehicle.
This scenario occurs constantly at busy Huntsville intersections, causing injury to pedestrians in this type of crash. Drivers may feel pressured to turn from the cars behind them, so they may try to complete their turns quickly. However, pedestrians become an afterthought in this kind of rushed driving situation.
Driver Aggression and Impatience
Some drivers view pedestrians as obstacles that slow them down on the road. These drivers may honk, gesture, and accelerate aggressively near crosswalks. This kind of hostility can lead to close encounters that sometimes turn into actual collisions with pedestrians in Huntsville.
Drivers who feel entitled to the road take chances around pedestrians. They may pass too close to them, turn without adequate clearance, and generally prioritize their convenience over pedestrian safety.
Contact an Attorney To Discuss Pedestrian Accidents in Huntsville and Why They Happen
State law protects pedestrians and holds careless drivers accountable. If you were impacted by this type of crash, you have two years to file a claim, but evidence may disappear quickly.
The attorneys at Siniard Law, LLC, have experience with the common causes of pedestrian accidents in Huntsville and could build strong cases for injured victims. We fight for the compensation you need to recover from injuries that never should have happened to you. Call us today for help getting started with your case.
