Are Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents on the Rise in SLO?
Due to an increase in pedestrian and bicycle accidents, San Luis Obispo police have stepped up patrols. As more people use non-motorized transportation, the risk of being injured or killed by cars has increased. In the last three years, SLO police have investigated more than 235 cases of vehicle versus pedestrian or bicyclist accidents.
This special enforcement operation includes increased patrols to find speeding drivers, drivers making illegal turns, failure to come to a complete stop at stop signs and failure to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Accidents in the United States
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,376 people died in pedestrian/motor vehicle accidents in 2015. That averages to 15 deaths every day, the highest rate of pedestrian fatalities since 1996. In the decade leading up to 2015, total traffic fatalities fell nearly 18 percent. However, pedestrian fatalities rose 12 percent.
In 2015, there were approximately 70,000 pedestrians injured in car accidents. That was a 15 percent increase in injuries compared to a decade earlier. However, the actual number is much higher, according to hospital records (the NHTSA only recorded accidents that were reported by police).
Bicyclists and pedestrians are at a high risk of injury in accidents involving cars. Catastrophic injuries such as broken bones, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and more can result in expensive medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and permanent disability resulting in reduced capacity for work. If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a pedestrian or bicycle accident in San Luis Obispo, our personal injury attorneys can fight for the recovery that you deserve.
