Distractions Contribute to Teen Pedestrian Accidents

As many as three -quarters of all teenage pedestrian accident fatalities occur between the hours of 7 PM and 7 AM. That information came from a new report by Safe Kids, which surveyed teenagers and their walking practices.

As many as 50% of the teenagers admitted that they often crossed the street while using a mobile device. Those findings are alarming to Burbank pedestrian accident lawyers because teenagers are at a high risk of accidents when they are distracted while they are walking.

Teenagers who had been in an accident or nearly been in an accident also frequently reported crossing in the middle of a block. Teenagers need to be taught safe walking practices, and those include walking only at a marked crosswalk. The survey included 1,000 teenagers, and out of these, 40% said that they had been struck or almost struck by a car, motorcycle or bicycle while walking.

At least 50 percent of the teenagers admitted that they walk outside in the dark at least sometimes. That could also explain why so many pedestrian accident fatalities, or 75% of them involve teenagers walking outside between 7 PM and 7 AM.

The study also found that there is a teen pedestrian injury every hour somewhere in the country. In 2012, there were 284 teen pedestrian fatalities across the United States. Another 10,000 teen pedestrians were injured in these accidents. It’s as important to teach the teenagers the safe ways of walking, as it is to teach young children safe practices. Teach your children that if they need to use a cell phone while walking, they must stop walking, and find a safe place to do so.

Teens need to avoid using headphones as much as possible when they’re walking, and must never use headphones when they’re crossing the street. Teenagers must cross at crosswalks, or using traffic signals, or at corners. Always use sidewalks for walking.