Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog
DC officials are kicking off their Street Smart campaign this spring to combat last year’s increase in pedestrian and bicycle crashes. Last year there were 83 cyclist and pedestrian fatalities in the Washington region—a 9% rise from the year before. This year, at least four people have died in DC pedestrian accidents.
More DC pedestrian and cyclists facts as reported in The Washington Post:
• There were 436 DC bicycle accidents in 2010.
• The number of bicyclists and pedestrians hit last year was 25% higher than in 2009.
• Ambulances answered 1,299 pedestrian collisions calls in 2010.
• 16 of the DC traffic fatalities were bicyclists or pedestrians.
• The intersection of Howard Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue SE saw the most number of DC pedestrian accidents—13—with 1 of the victims dying.
• The intersection of New York Avenue and North Capitol Street saw 12 Washington DC pedestrian accidents.
• 11 Washington DC pedestrian injuries were sustained at the Seventh and H streets NW intersection and the H and North Capitol streets N.
Most DC pedestrian accidents take place at intersections when an auto is turning and a person is crossing the street while the “walk” sign is activated. Unfortunately, even if a pedestrian has the right of way, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the driver has seen him/her.
Pedestrians and bicyclists have little in the way of protection during a DC traffic crash, and the injuries are usually catastrophic. Spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, head trauma, severed limbs, and organ damage can be costly to treat and recover from. Some injuries are permanent.
Our Washington DC pedestrian and bicycle crash lawyers are familiar with the serious injuries can result. For years, we have helped many victims and their families prove liability and obtain the financial recovery that they are owed.
Hopefully, the Street Smart campaign will bring the DC cyclist and pedestrian injury toll down. In addition to new ads, the campaign will include heightened efforts by police to ticket drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians who don’t follow traffic laws.
Campaign to protect pedestrians, cyclists as number of crashes in the District rises, The Washington Post, March 30, 2011
Related Web Resources:
District Department of Transportation
More Blog Posts:
71-Year-Old Dies in Hit-and-Run Washington DC Pedestrian Accident, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, November 18, 2010
Washington DC Pedestrian Accidents At Higher Risk of Occurring After Daylight Saving Time Ends, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, November 5, 2010
68-Year-old Mount Pleasant Woman Killed in Bicycle Accident with DC Guard Truck, Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog, April 20, 2010
Contact our Washington DC personal injury law firm to explore your legal options.