The injury attorneys with Althauser Rayan Abbarno warn drivers and pedestrians to be more aware of their surroundings. The most recent statistics from the CDC indicate, 5,376 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States in a year. This averages to one crash-related pedestrian death every 1.6 hours.
Many municipalities are passing and enforcing more strict panhandling and crossing laws to create safer roadways for pedestrians and drivers. In the City of Centralia the City Council recently modified their ordinance originally meant to stop panhandling in the middle of city streets, to include all activities in the city street. 
Almost 129,000 pedestrians were treated in emergency departments for non-fatal crash-related injuries in 2015. Pedestrians are 1.5 times more likely than passenger vehicle occupants to be killed in a car crash on each trip.
Distracted driving and distracted walking are most certainly contributors. Who is most at risk of pedestrian injury or death
- Older adults
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- Pedestrians ages 65 and older accounted for 19% of all pedestrian deaths and an estimated 13% of all pedestrians injured in 2015.
- Children
- In 2015, one in every five children under the age of 15 who were killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians.1
- Drivers and pedestrians who are alcohol-impaired
- Almost half (48%) of crashes that resulted in pedestrian deaths involved alcohol for the driver or the pedestrian. One in every three (34%) of fatal pedestrian crashes involved a pedestrian with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of at least 0.08 grams per deciliter (g/dL) and 15% involved a driver with a BAC of at least 0.08 g/dL.1
Hopefully, this will keep folks safe and allow them to seek assistance from the sidewalk in a safe place.
If you or someone you know was injured by an automobile, call the injury attorneys with Althauser Rayan Abbarno at (360) 736-1301 for a free injury consultation in Centralia or Olympia.
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