Salt Lake City is a lively urban area with pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists sharing the streets. Pedestrian safety remains a concern whether in busy downtown intersections or residential neighborhoods. Traffic laws are in place to regulate right-of-way laws, but when drivers fail to yield, serious accidents can occur.
Many of these incidents occur at parking lots, junctions, and crosswalks where people expect cars to stop. Failure to yield to a pedestrian may result in life-altering repercussions.
Victims may sustain serious injuries, prompting them to seek legal counsel. A Salt Lake City pedestrian accident attorney can assist injured individuals in pursuing compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages.
Here is why failing to yield causes pedestrian accidents and what can be done to prevent them.
Driver Negligence
Negligence on the part of the motorist is defined as failing to yield. It indicates that they failed to drive with appropriate caution, which caused harm to another individual. This carelessness usually results from speeding, distracted driving, or ignoring traffic signals and signs in pedestrian collisions.
Drivers must be aware of their surroundings and prioritize other people’s safety. They endanger pedestrians when they don’t do this.
Pedestrian Right-of-Way
According to Utah traffic laws, pedestrians have the right-of-way when crossing marked crosswalks, unmarked crosswalks at intersections, and intersections with traffic signals. When pedestrians are present, drivers need to yield and come to a complete stop if necessary.
In addition, drivers must also yield to blind or visually impaired pedestrians using a white cane or guide dog.
Possible Consequences of Not Yielding
If drivers fail to yield, they put themselves and others in danger of accidents that can lead to severe injuries or even fatalities. Pedestrians have minor protection against a vehicle’s impact, and collisions can result in broken bones, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and more.
Apart from physical injuries, failing to yield can also have legal consequences for the driver. They may face fines, points on their driving record, or even criminal charges if they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.
Furthermore, a driver’s failure to yield in a pedestrian accident can have long-lasting effects on the victim’s mental and emotional well-being. As a result, they may suffer from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that affects their daily life and activities.
Preventing Pedestrian Accidents
As a motorist, you can help prevent pedestrian accidents by staying focused on the road at all times, obeying traffic signals and signs, and always yielding to pedestrians. This includes
- Slowing down when approaching crosswalks and intersections
- Making eye contact with pedestrians before proceeding
- Looking out for blind or visually impaired pedestrians
- Avoid texting, eating, or adjusting the radio while driving
Conclusion
Everyone, including automobile and walker users, has to maintain pedestrian safety. Our responsibilities as drivers include following traffic laws and yielding to pedestrians when necessary. We should also be cautious when crossing the street as pedestrians and pay attention to all traffic lights.
Everyone can have safer streets by preventing pedestrian injuries and being aware of the repercussions of not yielding. So, let’s all do our share to drive responsibly and help keep others from suffering needless injury.
