Automobile Hits and Severely Injures South Carolina Pedestrian

CHARLESTON, SC- Live5news.com writes that a vehicle struck a pedestrian early this week in Charleston, leading to severe injuries. The incident occurred in the late morning on Northside Drive. Officers arrived on the scene and transported the victim to a local hospital.*

Pedestrians are dying in record numbers around the country, and the trend is playing out in South Carolina as well. According to recent reports, the state has the sixth-highest number of pedestrian deaths per 100,000 residents. The frightening statistics indicate that there is a nationwide and local problem playing out on the roads. 

Officials are promoting the need for changes to infrastructure in order to keep the roads safe for those traveling on foot, as well as on bikes. Police often lament the tragedy that most of these incidents are completely preventable. In too many cases, a person will be hit by a car outside of a crosswalk, with a crosswalk not far from the crash location. 

While it is important for pedestrians to follow the rules of the road, there are many factors at play, and blaming pedestrians when something goes wrong is not a productive way of addressing what is reaching epidemic proportions. 

A better way of approaching the situation would be to look at the actual problems people are facing when walking in the state. Oftentimes there are no crosswalks nearby, vehicles are permitted to travel at high rates of speed, and lighting is not adequate to allow drivers to see people in the road at night. 

Safety advocates express frustration at the lack of progress, but acknowledge that making real changes will require massive projects and millions in funding. 

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:https://www.live5news.com/2020/01/13/police-pedestrian-severely-injured-n-charleston-crash/ and https://www.postandcourier.com/news/hundreds-of-sc-pedestrians-and-bicyclists-are-dying-here-s/article_882982e6-6611-11e9-b638-bb86571a640e.html