Pedestrian Safety

Although you may not think of a chiropractic office when you think about treatment after a car accident, we are certainly equipped to handle a lot of the pain management that you may need. While any car accident can be potentially deadly, it is arguably worse for people who are walking when they are struck. Their bodies take the brunt of the impact instead of another surface with safety mechanisms. These types of accidents are almost always traumatic, especially if the car was doing anything over 25 MPH. Here are a couple of things you can do as a pedestrian to make sure that you are safer when crossing streets.
1. Look Both Ways. We all learned this in school, but it does bear repeating. It is important to always look both ways before crossing a street. It doesn’t matter if it is a one way street or if you have the right of way while crossing. Looking both ways is one of the best ways to help prevent accidents as you should be able to see if someone will stop or not while driving where you are meaning to cross.
2. Don’t Be Distracted. We all lead busy lives, but when you are walking around traffic you should focus your full attention on that. There is already a big enough problem with people being on their phones, especially texting, while driving. If you are trying to cross anything, even a parking lot, keep the phone in your pocket or purse and don’t read that text until you get to some place that is safe.
3. Know The Laws. Knowing the laws in your town and state are extremely important. While many states have laws that say that the pedestrian has the right of way in crosswalks, not all of them do. It is important to know these things not just for safety but to avoid possibly being ticketed.
Here at Wirth Chiropractic, in Greenville NC, we always want to make sure that our patients are safe and healthy. Car accidents with pedestrians are often horrific and we want to make sure that you have done everything you can to prevent yourself from being another statistic. Follow these three rules and always be careful when you are walking around traffic. You never know when someone else isn’t paying attention.