ABSTRACT
Although the portion of traffic fatalities and injuries that involve pedestrians in the U.S. has dropped somewhat in recent years, it still accounts for about 11% of the 42,000 people each year killed on our highways and streets (U.S. DOT, 2000). About 6% of the pedestrians involved in a collision are killed, while only about 1% of vehicle occupants die. Total cost of traffic crashes in the U.S. approaches $200 billion annually. Despite recent strides, pedestrians do not have the kinds of advocates other groups in the trafficloss community have, with each case relatively separate and countermeasures largely local. Because of the vulnerability of pedestrians in even low-speed collisions, care in preventing collisions must be emphasized. This chapter raises the issues that might apply in pedestrian collisions and discusses plaintiff and defense arguments and their criminal implications in detail.
