Pedestrian Safety in Cold Weather

Rs Law Offices/Our blog/Pedestrian Safety in Cold Weather

Pedestrian Safety in Cold Weather

11/01/2023

When it’s cold outside, people drive worse than they did before. If you’re a pedestrian, you need to take extra precautions during the cold weather and, if you’re driving, you need to keep an extra eye out for pedestrians who are even harder to see, especially if snow is lowering your visibility. Safety is always paramount, but it’s especially important to walk and drive defensively when it is cold and possibly snowy and icy out. Here are some guidelines to avoid being involved in a cold weather pedestrian accident.



Visibility is Key

Visibility is going to be the number one thing that prevents a potential accident – if attentive drivers can see you, they’ll be sure to avoid you and hopefully slow down for you. You can increase your visibility by:

  • Wearing bright clothing whenever possible
  • Wearing high-visibility
    or reflective clothing or accessories to keep people aware of your presence
  • It is also feasible to wear blinking lights like
    you might find on a bike to make your presence undeniable

Don’t Walk on Streets

Whenever you can, walk on the sidewalk to prevent any accidents that could occur from a small bad decision on a driver’s part, or from the inevitable patch of snow or ice.

  • If you’re stuck with no choice but to walk on a
    roadway, be sure to walk facing traffic, as far to the left as you can – it increases
    visibility of you and the cars
  • Wear good, non-slip boots to avoid slipping and
    falling, so that you don’t find yourself falling into a roadway or victim to
    some other accident

Walk Defensively

It is your responsibility as a pedestrian to stay safe, and since you can’t control the cars around you, you need to walk defensively, and safely. Using crosswalks and following lights and street signs is a must.

  • Watch for any vehicles before you step out from
    behind a snowbank – they may not be able to see you, and vice versa
  • Only cross at crosswalks and intersections –
    make eye contact with drivers before stepping in the street
  • Protect yourself by staying aware and not
    wearing headphones. Listening to music or podcasts while you walk can be nice,
    but you may run the risk of not hearing vehicles or other potential dangers
  • Don’t assume vehicles will do the right thing –
    many accidents are caused by drivers breaking the law or skirting some “small”
    law – assume they are going to drive poorly, and stay aware and attentive
    during your walk

Pedestrian Safety Tips for Drivers

Your job as a driver is to get from A to B while protecting everyone around you – including both your passengers and pedestrians. Pedestrians almost universally have right of way, but also – they aren’t in giant metal boxes – they don’t stand a chance, so look out for them.

  • Slow down anywhere a pedestrian can cross
  • Slow down when it is snowy and icy
  • Sunglasses are okay in the winter, too – snow
    can cause intense glare, causing an
    accident

blogs

You might like

Defensive Driving During a Summer of Distracted Drivers

With warm weather, we’re all trying to relax as best we can, wherever we can. Unfortunately, some people can take this a little too far, and find themselves incredibly distracted when in the driver’s seat. Not only that, but with heat exhaustion a possibility, some drivers could be making even worse decisions. It’s your job […]

17/06/2022
Read more

What to Know About Arizona’s Lemon Law

Like many other states, Arizona has a Lemon Law in place to help protect consumers who buy faulty vehicles from being stuck with them with no recourse. Arizona’s lemon law, though, is a little different from other states, with certain restrictions in place that are specific to Arizona. Here are a few basic guidelines to […]

16/05/2022
Read more

Lemon Laws for Defective Hyundai Vehicles in California

If your newly acquired or leased Hyundai car has repeated problems that require repair, the vehicle manufacturer or its licensed representative owes you a refund, repair, or replacement.  If you wind up with a lemon car and the manufacturer is not willing to take care of the vehicle, you will need to seek the counsel […]

07/09/2020
Read more

Benefits of a Dashboard Camera

As we all know, the streets and highways of California can be a wild place and accidents can happen. Collisions can range from disorienting to terrifying, and reconstructing the events around a crash can be a challenge in some cases. While there are more street and traffic light cameras than ever before, obviously not every angle of […]

11/05/2021
Read more

Slip and Fall Injury Facts

Slip and fall injuries are, unfortunately, quite common. They can occur anywhere – a public space, a business, or someone else’s home. The injuries can range in severity but can cause you to miss time away from work and make you incur huge medical debt. If you fell somewhere other than your own home, you […]

10/07/2022
Read more

Top Five Most Common Car Accidents

Despite the plethora of traffic rules and safety measures implemented, car accidents are still quite rampant in the country. According to a report on the World Health Organization website, over three million people are injured in auto-accidents yearly, while 30,000 others succumb to their injuries.  As experienced car accident attorneys, we’ve handled our fair share […]

22/03/2021
Read more

5 Ways Parents can Encourage Safe Teen Driving

For teenagers, getting a driver’s license is a significant milestone. It marks the beginning of independence and instills a sense of responsibility.  Most teen parents often share their children’s excitement but remain equally apprehensive since they’re well-aware of the dangers that come with driving. And they do have a perfectly valid reason to fret because […]

29/03/2021
Read more

Hit by a Police Car? Here’s What You Need to Know

Although car accidents are pretty common on Californian roads, car crashes involving law enforcement officers are quite rare. However, this is not to mean they do not happen. A police officer might cause an accident during a police chase against a suspect, or even due to negligence. What do you do when you are injured […]

15/03/2021
Read more

Winter Driving Safety Tips

Having your winter tires installed on your car and packing a windshield scraper is a good start to being prepared to drive in the winter, but as the cold weather gets harsher, the driving conditions get worse. With this comes the tendency for some people to overcorrect or not know how to stop properly, or […]

26/12/2022
Read more

Five Helpful Facts and Tips About Motorcycle Accidents

Motorcycles are specialist machines. They require their own licenses, training and a specific discipline for driving safely. Learning to drive defensively on a motorcycle can be more difficult than doing so in an automobile. Each year, there are 2,907 total motorcycle crashes, 2,274 of which result in injuries and 156 of which result in some […]

03/10/2022
Read more

contact form

Get in touch

By providing your phone number, you agree to receive text messages from RS Law Offices. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. View our Privacy Policy.