What Kind Of Rights Does The Law Offer To Pedestrians

Every year the number of pedestrians getting into accidents is increasing at an expedited rate, this is a prevailing issue in almost every state of America. In 2012, pedestrian deaths reached their all time high; and since then, there has been a marginal increase in the number of reported pedestrian accidents. The driving force behind this rapid increase in pedestrian accidents is due to the fact that many people prefer communing using local transport or walking.

Back in 2013, San Bernardino reported 6931 victims who were killed due to a road accident. Out of this number, 300 car crashes involved pedestrians. Since the number of pedestrians involved in road side accidents is increasing at a rapid rate, legislations have introduced stringent laws which encompass the rights of pedestrians. Since pedestrians can also be at fault during a road side accident, every motorist is also allowed certain rights in order to safeguard their interests. This legislation has been introduced in order to combat this prevailing issue in every state as pedestrians are getting into accidents almost on a daily basis!

Laws Differ from State to State

Every state has introduced their own legislation which governs the rights allotted to pedestrians. For example, the district of Columbia, Washington, South Dakota, Oregon, Georgia and Hawaii do not use pedestrian crossings to regulate how pedestrians commune. This basically implies that each state has their own set of rules and regulations that govern the rights allowed to pedestrians. In some states, a pedestrian might have the right of way, while in others the motorist might have the right of way. At the end of the day the rights offered to pedestrians vary from state to state, but all of them effectively encompass the inherited rights.

Rights of pedestrians in San Bernardino

San Bernardino is governed by California’s legislation and the rights allotted to pedestrians are a little different compared to other states. Some of the most prominent rights of pedestrians include:

Pedestrians have the right of way when crossing from within a marked or unmarked crosswalks
Drivers have to reduce their speed when approaching a cross walk
Drivers have to do everything in their power to ensure the safety of a pedestrian
Pedestrians are not allowed to suddenly cross the road
Pedestrians will have to yield the right of way when approaching a cross walk
Pedestrians can only cross a road diagonally if they are authorized by a traffic device

This list is just a glimpse into the rights that are offered to pedestrians by law. The nuances of these laws and how a pedestrian can effectively enforce his or her rights are only understood by pedestrian accident lawyers in San Bernardino.