As a Roseville personal injury lawyer, I derive a certain amount of pleasure in seeing measures taken to improve safety for pedestrians. Cars rule the road, and sometimes we forget that it’s important to share the streets with people walking.
In New Jersey, especially, accidents involving pedestrians are remarkably high compared to the national average. According to a recent report, 139 pedestrians were killed in that state in 2010. The national average of crash fatalities involving a pedestrian is 11%, but in New Jersey, that numbers climbs dramatically to 25%. Perhaps most eye opening is the fact that in the last five year period studied, more than 27,000 pedestrians suffered injuries in New Jersey car crashes.
Perhaps a result of all this, the federal government has granted the Cranford Police Department of New Jersey $6,000, which will be used for pedestrian safety purposes. The aim of the federal safety grant is to decrease injury rates and fatalities among pedestrians.
Among funding targets for the grant are overtime enforcement of various areas where foot traffic is especially high and safety is a large concern, as well as community outreach to educate people about pedestrian safety.
The campaign is set to take place between February 15 and March 21. The Chief of Police of Cranford, Eric G. Mason, wants to continue to emphasize the importance of pedestrian safety: “This campaign will be comprehensive, focusing on education, enforcement, and engineering.”
It’s important that communities take every necessary precaution to ensure that roads are safe not just for cars, but for pedestrians as well. A person walking along the street doesn’t have the luxury of airbags or antilock brakes or hours upon hours of crash testing to ensure the safest ride possible. As a personal injury lawyer in Roseville, I know how important it is to be aware of those around you who don’t have the inherent defenses of a car, and I’m glad to see efforts made to improve pedestrian safety in various communities across the country.