New Have Personal Injury: Pedestrian Accident Safety

At one point or another, we will all find ourselves as pedestrians. New Haven personal injury accidents, as well as accidents across the state of Connecticut, have been on the rise. Here are a few safety tips:

• Avoid distraction. Cell phone use or wearing earphones when crossing streets diminishes the ability of your two key senses – hearing and seeing – that are used to detect and avoid cars.
• Use crosswalks. Cross the street where you have the best view of traffic. Don’t cross mid-block or diagonally. If there’s no crosswalk nearby, cross in a well-lit area where you have the best view of traffic. Look left, right, and left again.
• No crosswalk? Yield to traffic. Pedestrians walking outside of crosswalks must yield to all other traffic.
• Enhance your visibility at night. Walk in well-lit areas, carry a flashlight or wear something reflective, such as stickers or armbands, to be more visible.
• Watch for cars backing up in parking lots and driveways. Brake lights can mean that a car is about to back up.
• On a sharp corner with limited visibility (a blind curve) or a steep hill, it’s safer to walk along the outer corner rather than to stay in the inner corner, even though this is opposite of the rule to face traffic when walking.
• Look for cars in all directions – including those turning – before crossing the street. Never assume a driver sees you or will stop. Make eye contact with drivers before crossing to make sure they see you.

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