Across the country, there is continuing concern about the ongoing risks pedestrians are facing on the road.
Due to bad driving habits like drunk or drugged driving, distracted driving and fatigued driving, too many pedestrians are dying in or near the nation’s roads and intersections.
As walking becomes more commonplace in congested areas like New Jersey, motorists will have to be even more careful to watch out for pedestrians in the coming years.
Unfortunately, based on recent statistics from the New Jersey State Police, the state has a way to go when it comes to pedestrian safety.
Thus far in 2020, the police have reported 145 traffic fatalities in New Jersey and 138 fatal traffic accidents.
While these numbers are sad in themselves, what is particularly disturbing is that 53 of the fatalities, just over 1 out of 3, were pedestrians.
To put the matter in to context, 60 of the 145 victims were drivers of one of the vehicles involved in the accident and 20 of the 145 were passenger occupants of one of the vehicles. Thus far, only 7 people have died on New Jersey’s roads while riding a bicycle.
The numbers only serve to confirm that pedestrians are particularly vulnerable in car accidents, in large part because they simply have no protection from the force of a vehicle’s impact.
Vehicles need not be traveling at especially high speeds in order to injure a pedestrian fatally, although of course speeding through areas crowded with pedestrians is never a good idea.
Likewise, New Jersey drivers can do a better job of preventing pedestrian accidents by being attentive to the road and being prepared to stop and yield to a pedestrian, even on short notice.
Drivers who do not meet these rather simple responsibilities be found liable compensation to a victim’s family.
