Personal Injury Cases – Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli

Halloween night is supposed to be a time of lighthearted tricks and delicious treats. Unfortunately, with so many young children on the roads trick or treating in West Hartford, New Haven, Manchester and throughout Connecticut, there is a significant risk of a pedestrian collision occurring. A personal injury lawyer knows that kids are always more likely than adults to become involved in a pedestrian collision. Unfortunately, the risk of a crash causing a child’s death is increased on Halloween compared with other days of the year.

Kids Face Added Risks on Halloween Night

According to a comprehensive study conducted by State Farm of more than four million collision records from accidents between 1990 and 2010, an average of 5.5 children were killed on Halloween night in pedestrian accidents each year. This is more than double the 2.6 kids who lose their lives in pedestrian collisions on the other days of the year.

An estimated 70 percent of deadly pedestrian crashes involving children occurred in the middle of the block, rather than at intersections or corners. Consumer Affairs speculates that this is because children run out in the middle of the road from in between two parked vehicles and drivers are unable to see them in time to stop their vehicles and avoid a deadly crash.

Accidents are most likely to occur between the hours of 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM, and 60 percent of the total deadly pedestrian accidents happen between 5:00 and 9:00 PM. The hours with the most accidents are the time when it begins to get dark and visibility is reduced.

It is surprisingly not the youngest children who are at the greatest risk of deadly pedestrian crashes on Halloween night. Young adults between the ages of 12 and 15 are the age group with the highest number of fatalities. In total, kids in these age groups made up 32 percent of the victims of deadly Halloween pedestrian collisions. Children between the ages of five and eight were the second most likely to be killed in a Halloween pedestrian crash. A total of 23 percent of the victims of deadly Halloween collisions were within this age range.

Parents need to be aware that children of all ages face dangers on Halloween Night. Safe Kids Worldwide provides some advice for parents and kids on how to stay safe. For example, children under the age of 12 should not be out trick-or-treating or participating in Halloween activities unless they have an adult with them. Kids should wear bright colored costumes if possible and should have reflective gear on their trick-or-treat bags such as stickers. Wearing a mask should be avoided as it can obstruct vision, and kids should be reminded to cross at corners and look both ways before going across the road.

By following these best practices for safety, hopefully there will be fewer deaths during the upcoming Halloween events. Drivers should also do their part by focusing on the road, slowing down in residential neighborhoods and being extra careful of kids out on Halloween night.

Contact a Hartford accident attorney today at the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. Calling 1-800-WIN-WIN-1 for your free case consultation or visit http://www.salomoneandmorelli.com.

Pedestrian traffic injuries may cause as many as 1.2 million deaths and 50 million injuries worldwide each year.  In the United States alone, one pedestrian is killed an average of once every nine minutes. Young children and the elderly are at a much greater risk of pedestrian collisions, and in motorized countries, pedestrian accidents are the second-leading cause of unintentional injury deaths among kids between the ages of five and 14.

An article published in the Journal of TRAUMA® Injury, Infection and Critical Care reviewed the history of efforts to prevent pediatric pedestrian crashes and provided some tips on how lives could be saved. Unfortunately, there have been relatively few programs that have succeeded in reducing pedestrian deaths. Drivers need to play a very important role in watching out for kids and helping to ensure they stay safe. Accident attorneys in Connecticut can represent children and families injured by pedestrian crashes and help them to take legal action if a negligent driver causes a collision.

Preventing Pediatric Pedestrian Accidents

Programs designed to prevent childhood pedestrian accidents date back as far as the 1950, when clinicians in the United Kingdom designed a method called the Kerb Drill. This involved making children recite rules in a military style. The Green Cross Code was also introduced, establishing a set of easy-to-follow guides for crossing roads that are still used widely throughout Britain today.

In the 1970’s, British doctors formed a Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) to raise awareness among parents and decision makers about how unintentional injuries in children can be prevented.

In the late 1980s, the World Health Organization released studies showing that the best way to reduce the rate of childhood pedestrian crashes involved combining education with interventions in the community and the environment. The WHO believes that achieving safety for pedestrian children involves three E’s: education, engineering and enforcement.

A program founded in 1987, called the Safe Kids Organization, was established in Washington D.C. and used the WHO’s principles. The goal of Safe Kids was to change attitudes, behaviors, the environment and the law in order to reduce the risk of kids getting hurt. The program is active with education and lobbying efforts at local levels, and Safe Kids programs are available in 150 cities.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have also teamed up to tackle the issue of childhood pedestrian safety. They conducted a multidisciplinary conference in 2002 and experts developed strategies for reducing childhood pedestrian crashes.

The results of the CDC and NHTSA efforts confirmed that neither education nor environment modification do enough to single handedly reduce the risk of childhood pedestrian crashes. They should be combined with behavior evaluation and skills training.

Focusing on social and environmental risk factors and educating kids has helped to reduce the rate of pedestrian accidents, and thus make kids safer. There is still a long way to go, but safety experts continue to work on developing methods of saving children’s lives.

Contact a Hartford accident attorney today at the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli. Calling 1-800-WIN-WIN-1 for your free case consultation.

Walking is a great way to get around. Some people walk for pleasure while others commute on foot. Unfortunately, walking can also be dangerous if city roads are not designed for pedestrians or if drivers don’t take steps to share the road safely.

Accidents end up happening far too often when pedestrians are involved, and the CDC reports that in 2010 there was a pedestrian killed in a crash an average of once every two hours throughout the year. With another 70,000 pedestrians injured over the course of the same year, there was also a pedestrian injured once every eight minutes.

Our New Haven pedestrian accident lawyers know that the number of pedestrian crashes has increased over the past several years, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reporting that the number of pedestrian fatalities rose eight percent between 2009 and 2011. Something needs to be done to help keep pedestrians safe and the Department of Transportation is taking steps to accomplish this important goal.

Department of Transportation Working to Encourage Pedestrian Safety

The NHTSA announced in the beginning of August that a new set of tools was being launched by the Department of Transportation to help combat the rising number of pedestrian fatalities over the last several years.

The new programs were announced by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who commented that everyone is a pedestrian at some point no matter where they live or how they commute. Because everyone walks at least sometimes, he said: “We all have a reason to support pedestrian safety, and now, everyone has new tools to help make a difference.”

The new tools that the DOT has made available include resources targeted towards parents; towards local leaders and city planners; and towards all others involved in taking steps to improve safety for pedestrians.

One of the tools available is a new website that has been launched called Everyone is a Pedestrian. The website offers safe walking tips, curriculum and resources for teaching about pedestrian safety, research and statistics on pedestrian accident risks, and programs and activities that can be used by safety educators.

The DOT is also making grants available to cities that have high numbers of pedestrian accidents. More than $2 million has been made available in order to provide funding for education and enforcement initiatives in states where the rate of pedestrian deaths exceeds the national average. States will have the opportunity to apply for these grants until August 30.

The money made available for grants represents a very small percentage of the money that has been dedicated in recent years to improving road safety for pedestrians. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has committed more than $3.8 billion since 2009 to complete more than 11,000 projects to improve safety for pedestrians and bicycle riders.

Hopefully, these efforts by federal transportation and highway agencies will help to make a real difference in bringing the pedestrian death rate down and in saving the lives of those who enjoy taking a walk.

If you were injured in a pedestrian accident, contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli, by calling  1-800-WIN-WIN-1.

What would you do if a car hit you while crossing the street? Sound far fetched? Pedestrian accidents happen every day. Actually, every 8 minutes, to be exact, a pedestrian sustains an injury in a traffic accident in America, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That’s more than 69,000 injuries each year. Just recently, a Connecticut teenager was seriously injured while crossing the street in Simsbury.

Even worse, such accidents are sometimes fatal. In 2008, 4,378 pedestrians were killed in accidents nationwide. That figure has fallen every year since 1998, when 5,228 pedestrians were killed in America. But every death counts.

What can you do to protect yourself? Know the facts. Here’s who, when and where pedestrians are most often killed nationwide, according to statistics.

• Men be cautious – more than 70 percent of pedestrians killed are men.
• Be careful at night – 70 percent of pedestrian accidents happen after dark.
• Urban areas higher risk – 72 percent of accidents happen there.
• Weather not a factor – 89 percent of all pedestrian accidents happen during normal weather conditions.

That’s why the NHTSA recommends taking these steps to keep pedestrians safe.

• Cross the street at a designated crosswalk.
• Be careful at intersections. Drivers may fail to yield to pedestrians.
• Increase your visibility at night. Carry a flashlight and wear reflective clothing.
• Walk on a sidewalk or, if you must walk in the street, walk facing traffic.

Know the facts. Be aware. Pedestrian accidents are serious. If you’re a victim of a pedestrian accident, you need an aggressive law firm that means business. You need The Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli.

Pedestrian accidents can change your life forever. This may be your only shot at getting the justice you deserve. Don’t leave your future to chance. Contact the Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone & Morelli.