A Houston woman was recently killed while crossing Interstate 10 in southeastern Texas. A man and a woman were seen arguing along the side of the interstate. As the couple crossed the eastbound lanes of traffic, a Dodge truck hit the couple. The woman died at the scene and the man was taken to the hospital with a broken arm.
In 2009, the most recent year statistics are available for Texas, 347 pedestrian were killed. Texas ranked among the top four states in pedestrian fatalities. Nationwide during the same year 4,092 lives were lost in pedestrian/motor vehicle car crashes. While this was a decrease from prior years, it still leaves some wondering how to reduce the number of pedestrian killed by automobiles.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety noted several trends. The majority of pedestrian fatalities take place in urban areas. Nearly one-half of the fatalities occurred over the weekend or at night (4:00 p.m. – 4:00 a.m.).
How to stay safe
The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center has tips for pedestrians:
As a pedestrian, you need to pay close attention to traffic around you and be aware that drivers of vehicles may not see you.
Source: Fatal Auto-Pedestrian Accident