SUVs, Pickup Trucks Cause More Pedestrian Accidents at Intersections
A Las Vegas personal injury lawyer explains why
Pedestrian accidents often occur at intersections due to SUVs, pickup trucks, and other large vehicles turning at intersections and hitting people attempting to cross the street, according to a recent study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
“Improving vehicle design, along with addressing road infrastructure and vehicle speeds, can play an important part in reducing pedestrian crashes and fatalities,” said IIHS Senior Transportation Engineer Wen Hu, who was involved in the study. “Our findings suggest that looking at the problem through the lens of vehicle type could also be productive.”
Why pedestrian accidents happen at intersections
IIHS analyzed pedestrian accident data nationwide between 2014 and 2018. Based on such accident data, researchers found that SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and minivans caused significantly more pedestrian accidents at intersections while making turns.
In particular, pickup trucks were four times more likely to cause a fatal pedestrian accident while turning left at an intersection than drivers in regular passenger cars. As for vans, they were three times more likely to cause a similar accident in a similar situation. SUVs were twice as likely to cause a pedestrian accident in the same situation as well.
As for right-hand turns, pickup trucks caused 89 percent more fatal pedestrian accidents at intersections compared to normal cars turning right, according to accident statistics studied by IIHS researchers. SUVs caused 63 percent more fatal pedestrian accidents when turning right at an intersection compared to normal passenger vehicles.
How common are pedestrian accidents?
Pedestrian fatalities and injuries have increased dramatically nationwide in roughly the past decade, according to pedestrian accident statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Between 2009 and 2020, pedestrian fatalities nationwide increased by 59 percent to a record high of 6,500 fatalities in 2020. An additional 54,700 pedestrians were injured in accidents nationwide in 2020, even though there were fewer cars on the road that year due to the pandemic.
How bad are pedestrian accidents in Nevada?
Like the rest of the country, pedestrian accidents remain a serious problem in Nevada and Las Vegas in particular. Each year on average, more than 69 people have died in pedestrian accidents in Nevada during the past decade, according to NHTSA statistics.
And when it comes to pedestrian accidents in Nevada, most of them happen in Clark County, where Las Vegas is located. Of the 69 pedestrian fatalities statewide in the past decade, 58 pedestrian deaths occurred each year on average in Clark County.
Based on such statistics, Nevada has been named one of the most dangerous states for pedestrians in the country, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Nevada was ranked the fifth most dangerous state for pedestrians with 3.07 pedestrian fatalities per 100,000 residents.
Talk to a personal injury attorney today
You might think you don’t need a personal injury lawyer if a driver hit you with their car. But the reality is pedestrian accident claims often turn out to be complicated legal cases. Sometimes, it’s because the at-fault driver who caused your accident denies doing anything wrong. Other times, it’s the driver’s insurance company that’s to blame. In many cases, insurance companies will do everything they can to reduce or deny pedestrian accident claims. That’s because such cases can often be worth a lot of money.
At Lasso Injury Law, we can help you every step of the way. We know the laws that apply to pedestrian accidents in Nevada and how the legal system works here. We also know what evidence to look for and how to build a strong legal case that gets real results.
Discover what we can do for you. Contact our law firm and schedule a free case evaluation with an experienced Las Vegas pedestrian accident lawyer.
