Pedestrians have little if no protection against oncoming traffic. If a person is hit by a car, they might be severely injured because they don't have the structural or technological protections that a car might have. Because pedestrians are more vulnerable to serious injuries, drivers must pay special attention to pedestrians and obey traffic laws that protect people walking near traffic.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released new data that shows an increase in pedestrian involved car accidents in 2010 over 2009. There was a 19 percent increase in the number of pedestrians injured in car accidents and a 4.2 percent increase in the number of people killed by cars.

Experts are not exactly sure what is causing this increase and say that the data is still too new to pinpoint a cause. An article in USA Today suggests that wider roads that are designed to move larger volumes of traffic, with little improvements to ensure pedestrian safety could be one cause. They also say that population shifts, were people are living closer to work and shopping areas, allowing them to walk to their destinations might also be contributing to the increases.

While many different factors may have contributed to this increase in pedestrian injuries and deaths, the driver of the vehicle should ultimately be held responsible when they hit a pedestrian. Drivers need to make sure they are watching for pedestrians, stopping before crosswalks and are not distracting with technology to prevent more serious injuries and death of pedestrians.

Source: USA Today,"As U.S. road deaths drop, more pedestrians getting struck," Larry Copelsand, Dec. 9, 2011