Can pedestrians be at fault if they’re hit by a motorist? Yes, they can, in whole or in part.
When an accident occurs, there can be two sides of the story– the driver and the pedestrian can both tell the police who they think was at fault. This information in the police report, coupled with applicable laws of the area and sometimes expert testimony can convince jurors or an insurance adjuster who was/is at fault, with a judge ultimately deciding the case.
Some of the instances where a pedestrian could be considered at fault include times they’re intoxicated, walking where they’re not supposed to be (such as along highways where pedestrians are prohibited), jaywalking, and/or crossing a street when the “Do Not Walk” command is illuminated.
4N6XPRT Systems® has come up with a Ped & Bike Calcs® program which calculates the probable speed of a vehicle at impact with a pedestrian, bicyclist, or rollerskater/skateboarder based upon the throw distance of the lighter object. This impact speed is calculated using 13 of the most commonly accepted formulas. The software program also includes routines for calculating specific sub-items of interest such as the length of an arc given a radius, AIS (Abbreviated Injury Scale) prediction for a pedestrian at impact, avoidance conditions for either the vehicle or “pedestrian” given parameters for the other, and many other calculations of interest in pedestrian and cyclist accidents.
If you think 4N6XPRT Systems’ Ped & Bike Calcs® program could assist your case for who is at fault in a vehicle-pedestrian accident, call 1-619-464-3478 or email 4n6@4n6xprt.com today to take advantage of this helpful program.