How Does Arizona Law Treat Distracted Pedestrians?
Distracted driving is a serious issue in the United States and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is responsible for crashes that create over 1,000 injuries and 9 deaths each day. Across the country, there are laws prohibiting distracted driving because of it’s known dangers. In Arizona, approximately 11% of all accidents are due to distracted driving.
Arizona was quite lenient for a long time on distracted driving. However recently, the governor signed into law a ban on drivers holding wireless devices. The law is not in place currently but will be effective in January 2021. Currently, law enforcement in the state is pulling drivers over and giving them warnings. This makes Arizona the 48th state to ban texting and it becomes the 18th state to ban hand-held devices.
It Is Unlawful To Be Distracted While Walking In Arizona?
While the state is moving forward with legislation to reduce the number of distracted drivers on the road from using hand-held devices, they have not enacted any legislation stopping pedestrians from engaging in distracting behavior while walking. Distracted walking is a growing problem across the country and has lead to many accidents resulting in injuries and death.
Pedestrians texting while walking, listening to music, or talking on the phone increases their risk of being in an accident. According to studies, texting is at the most distracting behavior and puts pedestrians at the highest risk for accidents. In 2017, there were close to 6,000 pedestrians who were killed in traffic accidents across the country. This means that every 88 minutes one pedestrian died that year. Pedestrians are 1.5 times more likely to be killed in a car accident than vehicle occupants in a crash. This is so because pedestrians lack sufficient surrounding protection to absorb the impact of a crash.
It is important that drivers are alert to their surroundings so they can avoid hitting a pedestrian. It is critically important that pedestrians take their own safety seriously and are also alert to potential hazards and dangers surrounding them. CNN reported that one-fifth of fatal traffic accidents take place with pedestrians who are using their mobile devices. Texting, emails, phone calls, picking out songs on a music app, and the popularity of social media have contributed to pedestrians expending more energy and attention to their phones than they do to their environment.
Staying mindful of others is the best thing we can do to reduce accidents and the tragic injuries and loss of life they inflict on our communities. When an accident does occur, even if it is because of a pedestrian’s distraction, the pedestrian may still be able to obtain compensation for injuries and damages. In Arizona, the comparative negligence laws allow the courts to determine the percentage of fault of each party in an accident. This means that even though one party may have more fault than the other, each party can still obtain some amount of compensation reduced by their percentage of liability.
Where Can You Find An Arizona Serious Injury Law Firm?
The Arizona automobile accident injury attorneys at ELG can examine your accident experience and provide you with options to pursue the most compensation possible. When you are seriously injured you need the most experienced and talented Phoenix serious injury attorneys handling your case.
Contact the bilingual Spanish-speaking Phoenix personal injury attorneys at ELG today at (623) 877-3600 to schedule your free consultation.
