As per a report published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2006), 21% of pedestrian fatalities occurred due to pedestrians not using the available crosswalks. These numbers are enough to show how important it is for pedestrians to use crosswalks and not jaywalk.
If you don’t know, jaywalking is when a pedestrian crosses the road in an undesignated area or at a time when they aren’t permitted, such as when the traffic signal goes green. A lot of people cross the road when they shouldn’t, without realizing the danger they’re putting themselves and others in. If you’ve ever crossed a street where a crosswalk wasn’t present or when the timer on the crosswalk signal has ended, know that you’ve broken the law every time you did it.
Now, one may think that crossing the street quickly is harmless, but in reality, it increases the risk of accidents significantly. If you’ve been in a motorcycle accident where you hit a pedestrian or because you tried saving a pedestrian who was jaywalking, you should hire the best motorcycle accident lawyer because you weren’t at fault and you shouldn’t let the pedestrian at fault demand compensation from you!
How Dangerous is Jaywalking? How Jaywalking Contributes to Motorcycle Accidents in the United States
Jaywalking is considered a fineable misdemeanor for a reason. In fact, jaywalking is one of the biggest reasons for motorcycle accidents in the United States.
If you try to cross a street where there’s no crosswalk or the crosswalk signal is red, understand that the motorcycle (or car) driver isn’t anticipating a pedestrian. For the driver, the signal is green, and any law-abiding citizen would assume the green signal means they can drive straight ahead.
Now, if a person is jaywalking when the motorcyclist is driving at high speed, they may not be able to stop their bike immediately and end up hitting the pedestrian. There’s also a chance that the motorcycle slips due to abrupt braking, and the motorcyclist falls and gets hurt. Another possibility is that the motorcyclist tries to steer sharply to save the pedestrian and ends up hitting another motorcycle, car, or person not even on the road. Jaywalking is even more dangerous when it’s dark because the motorcycle rider may not see you at all.
Who is Liable If a Motorcycle Driver Hits a Jaywalking Pedestrian?
If you hit a jaywalking pedestrian, the first question that you’ll have is, ‘who’ll be held responsible?’ Most motorcycle drivers assume that it’s their fault since they were driving the motorcycle. But that’s not always the case. If you hit a jaywalking pedestrian and they’ve got hurt badly, you should immediately seek help from a lawyer.
If the jaywalking pedestrian decides to file a lawsuit against the motorcycle driver, they may not get full compensation, as they may expect. If your state follows the doctrine of modified comparative negligence, the jaywalking pedestrian may not get any sort of compensation if they’re found to be negligent or in the wrong and their percentage of fault is 50% or more.
If it’s less than 50%, the pedestrian and motorcycle driver will have to partially bear damages. In most cases, both parties must bear some percentage of the damage. But never, in any case, should you take full responsibility if the hurt pedestrian was jaywalking because they broke the law, and you shouldn’t be made to take all the blame alone.
Final Word
Hiring the best motorcycle accident lawyer will save you from bearing all the damages if you’ve been in an accident where you hit a jaywalker. The lawyer will help you claim compensation for your losses.
