According to a report on WFAA.com, a man who suffered from cognitive impairment was killed in a pedestrian/auto accident on August 6. The man was crossing the street, according to reports, and walked right into the path of oncoming traffic. This shows that, even when you think that you’ve got a clear road in front of you, the situation can change in an instant and things can go very wrong.
Pedestrians and Crossings
Pedestrians, in most cases, exercise appropriate caution when crossing the road. Even though they do have the right of way, they have to be careful not to get in front of a driver that doesn’t have enough room to stop. This is something we learn in elementary school. There are cases, however, where drivers are suddenly faced with a pedestrian that jumps right in front of them and when there is no room to stop. These situations may involve:
- Young children who aren’t paying attention
- Mentally-challenged people, such as the victim in the recent crash
- People who are intoxicated or under the influence of drugs
- People who are distracted by cellphones or other devices
Of course, you can’t always identify such people by their appearance, except in the case of children, so you’ll do well to assume that pedestrians are going to surprise you and that they’re probably going to jump out in front of you when you approach intersections. It’s better to be safe about this than to end up hurting someone when it could have been avoided altogether.
When You’re the Victim
You have the right of way as a pedestrian. If you take risks that put yourself in a bad situation, you really can’t blame drivers if they happen to hit you; if you ran into traffic without checking, for instance. If you’re at an intersection, however, and you’re crossing in accordance with the law, you have the right to expect that drivers will obey the law and yield the right of way to you.
If they don’t and you’re injured, consider speaking with an auto accident attorney in Dallas about the matter. An attorney may be able to get you compensated for the injuries you suffer through a lawsuit. While there’s no guarantee of winning, it’s worth it to investigate your options when a driver injures you when you had the right of way.
