Articles Posted in Pedestrian Accidents

Another summer in Maryland draws to a close, way too soon. This means streets in Baltimore and other Md. cities and towns are filling up with kids and teens heading back to school. What’s different about today’s youth compared to when we grew up is most have a cell phone in their hands. Texting friends is a way of staying constantly connected. It’s also a way for parents to keep tabs on their tech-savvy children.

Unfortunately, there’s a serious downside to texting. The well-documented hazards of texting while driving have prompted many states, including Maryland, to make the practice illegal. (FYI: Maryland lawmakers closed a legal loophole in Oct. 2011 that allowed drivers to text at stoplights.) It’s easy to see how texting while driving can lead to serious and fatal motor vehicle crashes. Taking one’s eyes off the road for a few seconds to read and send text messages is more than enough time for a serious auto accident to occur.

Now texting while walking is getting more media attention, as pedestrian accident injuries and deaths are up nationwide. Too many people are walking around with their heads down, paying more attention to their cell phones than the traffic racing around them.

Have you noticed how the behavior of Maryland pedestrians has changed in recent years?

Used to be people walked down the street, looked around at the buildings and scenery, and thought about the day’s activities. They walked to and from work, school, and the store, pushed babies in carriages, and trotted their dogs on leashes. The main pedestrian activity in Md. was getting where you needed to go. The biggest distraction was the honking of car horns and of course navigating safely across busy Baltimore City and other Maryland streets.

Now the technological devices that bring a world of information and entertainment to our fingertips are in fact posing a risk to life and limb for not only Maryland distracted drivers — but for distracted pedestrians, too.

Hybrid vehicles are rising in popularity in Maryland and across the U.S., as more people seek to save money on gas with an environmentally friendlier vehicle. However according to a recent insurance industry report, hybrids vehicles aren’t always as friendly to pedestrians. Liability claims for pedestrian accidents with hybrid vehicles are on the rise because people on foot — as well as bicyclists — may simply not hear them coming.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) issued a report late last fall stating that hybrids are actually safer than their non-hybrid equivalents when it comes to protecting motorists in car accidents. However the same cannot be said when pedestrians are struck by hybrids. The IIHS reported that hybrid vehicles are 20 percent more likely to be involved in traffic accidents with pedestrians.

A Baltimore County pedestrian accident injury lawyer works with individuals in cases where a person on foot has been struck and injured or killed by a motor vehicle. We’re hearing more about pedestrian traffic accidents involving hybrid cars, whose engines are very quiet when the vehicle is in electric only mode. Unlike conventional gas burners that rumble along the Maryland roadways, hybrids running on all electric current may approach almost silently — particularly for pedestrians who are wearing iPod headsets, and/or are texting or talking on their cell phones.

According to local media reports, a Baltimore, Maryland grand jury has indicted a man and woman in a hit and run pedestrian accident that left two young people dead.

The Baltimore Sun reports that a man and woman from Anne Arundel County, Md., have been indicted in the deaths of two teenage girls. The teenagers were struck by an automobile while attempting to cross Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near I-395 in Baltimore City. A 28-year-old Maryland man has been charged with two counts each of automobile manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death, as well as one count of driving under the influence of alcohol. A 26-year-old woman has been charged as an accessory after the fact.

Families may consult with Baltimore County accident injury lawyers when loved ones are injured or killed in auto or pedestrian accidents — including those cases that are tried in criminal court. In Maryland, civil lawsuits may follow car accident cases where criminal charges have been filed against the drivers and other parties. Suing for damages in the Maryland Civil Court System allows families who have been hurt to seek compensation from those held responsible. (See link to related Maryland accident attorney article below for more on how civil lawsuits apply to criminal cases in traffic accidents in Md.)

It was a deadly weekend on the roads in Anne Arundel County and Western Maryland. According to The Baltimore Sun, two traffic accidents involving cars hitting pedestrians occurred on Sunday, leaving three people dead and several others with serious injuries. Details on these Maryland pedestrian accidents are as follows….

The Sun reported that in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, a car went off the road and struck three members of a family who were resting on the roadside from a bicycle ride. The family members were taken to area hospitals with injuries and the car driver died.

A second weekend traffic accident occurred in the Western part of Maryland when a car reportedly drove into a crowd of people who were lingering after church. In that Maryland car – pedestrian accident, two people were killed and a third hospitalized.