South Florida Injury Lawyers Blog
We typically see a drastic increase in the number of car accidents in Vero Beach and elsewhere throughout the last quarter of every year and through the holiday season. These accidents don’t always happen on streets though, as many of them occur on driveways and in parking lots, too.
The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that the U.S. Department of Transportation is pushing on in its campaign to require the installation of rear-view cameras on all new-model vehicles. Drivers’ blind spots hinder the visibility of pedestrians behind a vehicle. The use of back-up cameras will help a driver to see behind the vehicle and pedestrians before it’s too late. Still the most beneficial safety precaution to avoid one of these accidents is driver awareness.
Our Vero Beach pedestrian accident attorneys understand that nearly 300 people die and another 18,000 injured because of back-over accidents in the U.S. every year. As Christmas and New Year’s draws closer, millions of people will be traveling throughout our state to attend holiday gatherings with family and friends. As we visit and friends’ houses and shopping malls statewide, drivers are urged to be extra cautious when backing out of the driveway or out of a parking space as pedestrians are oftentimes overlooked.
“There is no more tragic accident than for a parent or caregiver to back out of a garage or driveway and kill or injure an undetected child playing behind the vehicle,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
The larger the vehicle, the bigger the blind spots are. While the NHTSA is looking to push these back-up cameras to help prevent accidents, driver awareness is still the most effective preventative measure to avoid a back-over accident. Even with cameras, an inattentive driver can miss a passing pedestrian.
Of the near 300 fatalities that are estimated to occur every year because of back-over accidents, nearly 230 of them were committed by the drivers of vehicles that weigh less than 10,000 pounds. More than 40 percent of these victims were pedestrians under the age of 5, which is alarmingly high for any type of accident. Nearly 35 percent of the victims were pedestrians who were 70-years-old or older.
For this reason, families are urged to discuss these incidents with their elderly and children family members. To help to prevent these accidents, drivers are urged to be extremely cautious when reversing a vehicle, but especially when reversing out of a driveway or from a parking spot. Make sure that you look completely around your vehicle before jumping in and reversing. For drivers with larger vehicles, you’re urged to roll down your windows before backing up so that you can hear what’s going on outside your vehicle. Lastly, remember to always back up slowly just in case someone darts behind your vehicle unexpectedly.
If you need advisement because you or a family member has been injured in a pedestrian accident in Vero Beach, Hollywood, Sunrise, St. Lucie or in any of the surrounding areas, contact a personal injury lawyer at Freeman, Mallard, Sharp & Gonzalez, LLC. Call 1-800-561-7777 for a free consultation with an experienced attorney today.
More Blog Entries:
New Campaign Video Depicting Severity of Pedestrian Accidents in Wellington Offends State Lawmakers, South Florida Injury Lawyers Blog, November 23, 2011
Fort Pierce Hit-and Run Accident Kills 54-Year-Old Male Pedestrian, South Florida Injury Lawyers Blog, September 21, 2011