Chapel Hill/Durham Pedestrian v. Auto Accidents
In the Triangle, and in Chapel Hill specifically, we probably have a LOT more pedestrian activity than most areas in North Carolina. With lots of college kids, youngsters, and commuters, auto accidents involving pedestrians are all too common.
You would think these wouldn’t happen as much as they do. We have traffic lights and crosswalks galore to help prevent these accidents. But people on both sides have problems following the rules (often because they don’t know them, but more often because they are distracted). But even then, once a pedestrian is in the roadway, drivers have a duty to yield, even if the pedestrian shouldn’t have been there. This is quite reasonable when you think about it because we’re just allowed to kill people simply because they’ve made poor decisions. But this can look very different in different situations. We are all under a “reasonable person” standard – drivers AND pedestrians (see my work on Contributory Negligence) – so we have to do what a reasonably prudent person would do in similar circumstances. So should someone walk across I40 at night wearing dark clothes? Probably a bad idea. Conversely, if someone jay walks on Franklin Street, can I run them over without fear of consequence just because they were breaking the law? Nope.
As with many aspects of the law, things can be nuanced and you’d probably be best served to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney if you have a pedestrian v. auto accident claim.
Call me for help with any injury claim. 919-929-2992.
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