Pedestrian Safety in Cold Weather

Law/Наш блог/Pedestrian Safety in Cold Weather

Pedestrian Safety in Cold Weather

29/05/2024

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

Winter Slip and Fall Accident Tips

Whether your winter is cold and snowy or just plain cold, winter is a time when slipand fall accidents are increasingly likely. Cold, wind, ice and snow are problems on their own and when they combine, it’s a perfect storm of injury possibilities. Typically, these conditions result in bruises and bumps, but there’s always the […]

29/05/2024
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 […]

29/05/2024
Read more

More Apps for Increased Rideshare Safety

If every ride you take is just you and an unknown driver, it doesn’t hurt to look into your safety options. And while any unsure situation could potentially turn dangerous, you can do yourself a favor by finding helpful methods for letting people know where you are and where you’re going to be, and generally […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Five Apps for Increased Road Safety

Staying safe on the road is more important as more and more cities become increasingly dependent on automobile transportation. Increasedroad safety is about diligence and attentive driving, but there are also ways to “gamify” or in other ways incentivize safe driving, through smartphone apps. Here are five apps designed to keep you less distracted and […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Five Apps Every Trucker Should Have

Driving a tractor trailer or any other large vehicle isn’t just about long hours, lots of miles and making sure you’re still driving safely after those lengthy days. It’s a lifestyle, and like any other connected lifestyle in the 21st century, there are plenty of apps to go around designed to help make a truck […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Common Causes of Car Accidents – and Ways to Avoid Them

Car accidents are an increasingly common source of injuries and loss of property and life. Every year, there are estimated to be over six million car accidents, in the US alone. We drive everywhere, and even short distances pose a hazard to drivers, as well as pedestrians and people on bicycles. The loss of property […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Winter Bicycle Riding Tips

With cold winds in your face and slick surfaces to navigate, the winter is not the ideal to ride on your typical bicycle. Many of us use a bike as our regular transportation, and some of us have our bikes tricked out for winter riding, as well. In order to make the most of your […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Common Causes for Tractor Trailer Accidents

There’s a good reason tractor trailers require a specialty license to operate them. They’re big, fast, heavy, and – in the wrong conditions – incredibly dangerous. It is estimated that 3.5 percent of all automobileaccidents each year involve tractor trailers. Around 4,600 of these result in some sort of fatality. This can be due to […]

29/05/2024
Read more

Five Products for Increased Automobile Safety (ru translation)

It should be no surprise that in Arizona and California, with the increasing dependence on cars, automobile accidents are increasingly likely. In the event of an accident, you want to have as many bases covered as possible – from minor repairs you can do yourself to getting yourself out of harm’s way as quickly and […]

04/06/2024
Read more

Slip and Fall Injuries in Arizona and California

In desert climates especially, some property managers have a tendency to not count on inclement weather when it comes to the upkeep of their properties. This means that, over time, things like rain and seismic shifts can slowly wear away at all kinds of surfaces, making them unsafe to walk on. While property managers may […]

29/05/2024
Read more

контактная форма

Свяжитесь с нами

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.