Pedestrian Killed in Crash on Bush River Road in Columbia, South Carolina (SC)

COLUMBIA, SC- Wltx.com writes that a pedestrian was struck and killed by a car in Richland County this week. The victim was reportedly attempting to cross Bush County Road when the accident took place.*

Reports indicate that the incident happened in the late evening, and the vehicle was a 2007 Ford Explorer. The driver did not suffer any injuries in the crash. The victim was rushed to the hospital but died a short while later. 

Pedestrians are dying in higher numbers in the United States in recent years. The number of fatal pedestrian incidents has reached above 6,000 a year, and at least part of the issue is our choice of cars. Studies indicate that SUVs and other larger passenger vehicles are more likely to kill a pedestrian in a crash than would be a sedan. 

Current safety standards do not include pedestrian safety, but the National Transportation Safety Board is looking at altering those requirements to include how safe vehicles are for vulnerable road users. Concerns about the ways in which SUVs impact pedestrians are important now that larger vehicles are accounting for more than 60 percent of vehicles bought across the nation.

The issue with larger vehicles is not just that they are heavier and more massive, but also that they are farther from the ground and therefore strike victims higher on their bodies than would a car. When a person is struck by an SUV, they will often suffer an impact to their torso. In many cases, a sedan will strike a person's legs causing less severe harm. 

Pedestrian detecting systems could be used to lower the number of deaths. Another proposed idea is external airbags. 

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 a 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.wltx.com/article/news/person-hit-and-killed-on-bush-river-road/101-42485db2-a012-4485-9316-0adbce6d6180

https://www.curbed.com/2018/9/27/17909270/pedestrian-deaths-suv-car-design