According to a new report from Transportation for America, Charlotte is the seventeenth most dangerous area for pedestrians. Transportation for America studied traffic patterns for 52 metropolitan areas with more than one million people from 2000-2009. The report indicates that 208 pedestrians were killed during this nine year period in Charlotte, accounting for 17 percent of all traffic fatalities in Mecklenburg County.
The report also indicated that Raleigh is the 13th most dangerous city for pedestrians. Charlotte and Raleigh are more dangerous than larger cities and more notorious cities with higher traffic such as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and New York City. The report further indicated that pedestrian safety has declined over the past decade for many metropolitan areas and pedestrian deaths have risen. Transportation for American attributes these trends to the fact that pedestrian safety is not high on the priority list of many municipalities' concerns.
This statistic raises concerns as pedestrian safety has been highlighted as an issue in Charlotte recently. In fact, one pedestrian was hit and another killed within two days near Uptown in January. Campaigns have been instituted to educate the public on and prevent other traffic issues such as seatbelt safety and drunk driving, but little initiative has been directed towards pedestrian safety.
From a legal standpoint, this presents an issue both from a personal injury and a criminal defense perspective. From a personal injury standpoint, as pedestrian safety decreases, accidents involving pedestrians are likely to increase, leaving innocent people injured. These injuries can be quite daunting and expensive. Often times, the motorist is uninsured or not adequately insured. Other times, the driver will contest liability. This raises another point. The increased reliance upon mobile phones, music devices, gaming devices, etc. continually diverts the attention of many pedestrians. Therefore, there is an increasing chance the Defendant / driver in a case may have an argument of contributory negligence against a pedestrian who was injured, assuming his / her attention was distracted by such a device. It is important to remember whenever you are injured as a result of someone else's fault, you should contact a Charlotte personal injury attorney to address the merits of your claim and any potential issues. You may be entitled to relief, but there are various hurdles to overcome. This becomes particularly important as many injuries do not manifest immediately following an accident. A competent attorney can help address these concerns.
From a criminal defense standpoint, this article raises concerns, as traffic violations or criminal charges result from such pedestrian accidents, especially in cases involving injuries. As always, whenever you face a traffic citation or criminal violation, regardless of the seriousness, it is important to contact a competent attorney to address the merits of your case, so a defense can be presented to minimize the consequences.
Obsdailyviews.blogspot.com, The deadly streets of Charlotte, 2/6/12
Leave a comment