Detroit Pedestrian Accident Lawyers
Detroit Bicycle Accident Lawyers
More people then ever are walking and riding bicycles to work. The increase has many benefits, including a decrease in obesity, risk of heart disease and stress. However there is a bad side effect from this active lifestyle, and that’s the recent increase in pedestrian and bicycle accident deaths.
According to a recent study by the Governmental Accountability Office (GAO), pedestrians accounted for 14% of traffic deaths in 2013. That’s up from 11% in 2004. Cyclists represented 2.2% of deaths, which was an increase from 1.7% in 2004. While the total amount of traffic deaths have dropped dramatically over the past 10 years, pedestrian and cyclist deaths have remained flat.
The main reason for this is simple. People are walking and biking more. Census data has revealed that more than 4 million people now claim they walk to work while 860,000 ride a bike. Those are big increases from a decade ago, when 3.3 million walked to work and close to 500,000 rode a bicycle.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, most of these victims are men and most of the deaths occurred between 3 pm and midnight. Incredibly, a full one-third of traffic related pedestrian deaths had a blood-alcohol content of .08 or greater, which is the legal limit in most states including Michigan.
Pedestrian and bicycle safety needs to be a growing concern for state and government leaders. As Americans continue to demonstrate a preference for urban living, the amount of commuters walking and riding to work will only increase.
The City of Detroit is creating dedicated bike lanes on various city roadways to encourage bike use. Most American cities, including Detroit, have a bike ride-share program that allows citizens to temporarily use a bicycle for a nominal fee.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is spending more than $650 million to promote pedestrian and cyclist safety. This money will trickle down to state and city level programs. I’m hopeful this money will be utilized to not only paint pretty bike lanes in urban locations, but also to create awareness for pedestrian and cyclist safety.
