Legalities of Keeping Pedestrians Safe on Busy D.C. Streets

A horrific accident occurred September 10 when a pedestrian was unexpectedly hit at the busy intersection of Ordway Street NW and Connecticut Ave in D.C. Fortunately, D.C. Fire and EMS were on the scene right away. It was miraculous that the emergency response teams provided care for the victim right where the accident occurred, but this is just one eerie example of a pedestrian being hit all-too-frequently in America.

Shockingly, the CDC found that a pedestrian death takes place every 1.6 hours. It’s clear that drivers need to be more aware and pedestrians should try to be more cautious to reduce the frequency of these accidents, so this incident raises several questions. Which party is liable in such a situation, and are there any steps drivers and pedestrians can take to keep the roads safer?

When Is the Driver Liable?

Every driver is responsible for weighing the driving conditions and driving carefully according to the circumstances. All driving settings can be vastly different from another. “According to personal injury law, people who drive take on the responsibility of duty of care. This means that drivers must abide by the standard of how a cautious and sensible person would act in a similar situation,” explained Matthew Landau, attorney and founder at Landau Law Group.

The laws expect that an ordinarily careful person will be even more cautious when a pedestrian is (or could be) around. For instance, a driver could be traveling at the speed limit slowly and could still be responsible for an accident if they didn’t reduce their speed right when they saw pedestrians entering the crosswalk -- the reason being that an ordinarily careful driver would slow their vehicle down in a similar situation.

How Drivers Can Help to Keep the Roads Safer

Drivers should make sure they are able to stay alert while operating a vehicle. In crosswalks, drivers need to be anticipating a stop just in case they need to yield to a pedestrian.

When Is the Pedestrian Liable?

If possible, an ordinary and careful driver needs to ensure that they don’t hit anyone in the roadway. Nevertheless, if the pedestrian behaves in a manner that would not be possible for a careful driver to avoid the accident, the pedestrian will be held liable by the judge or jury.

How Pedestrians Can Help to Keep the Roads Safer

Pedestrians need to make sure they are visible, alert, and not distracted. It is imperative to only walk in designated walking areas and to follow the pedestrian laws.

When Could Both Parties Be Held Liable?

Every accident is different, and even in vehicle-pedestrian accidents both parties can be held partially liable. Frequently, both the pedestrian and the driver could have played an equal role and they both acted in an unsafe manner that was not careful given the situation. States have varying laws regarding shared fault. All states require a jury to determine what percentage of fault each party had in causing the accident.