About 10% of all pedestrian accidents occur off roadways and highways, leaving hundreds dead and thousands injured says Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne.

‍Pedestrian accidents often involve people walking across streets and into the path of negligent drivers, but not always. Many pedestrians walking along the side of the road are struck by vehicles driven by those who are distracted, intoxicated, fatigued or simply not paying attention. Unfortunately, Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne says, just because you’re not in the road doesn’t mean you’re out of danger from a negligent driver.

One example is what happened in Englewood last month, according to WWSB. Maria Blanco-Taha was walking her dog in the grass along the side of Headley Road, facing oncoming traffic, when she was struck by a car driven by Kyle Dilley. He was reaching into the back seat of his car when he lost control of it, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Blanco-Taha was taken to a hospital where she later died of her injuries. Dilley’s been charged with careless driving.

About 10% of all accidents involving vehicles and pedestrians happen off streets and highways, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA). The agency estimates that in 2013 4,735 pedestrians were killed in accidents involving vehicles on or near a public roadway (not counting in parking lots and driveways) and another estimated 66,000 pedestrians were injured in traffic crashes across the country.

On average that year a pedestrian was killed every two hours and injured every eight minutes in vehicle accidents. If NHTSA estimates are correct that means about 470 pedestrians were killed and 6,600 injured in accidents that didn’t occur on a roadway.

Florida is an especially bad state when it comes to pedestrian accidents. In 2013 NHTSA states that,

• In Florida there were a total of 2,407 fatal accidents, 501 of them involving pedestrians. Florida was second only to California in number of pedestrian accidents. It was also second behind Delaware in the pedestrian fatality rate per 100,000 residents.
• State percentages of pedestrian fatalities compared to total traffic fatalities ranged from a low of 0.7% (North Dakota) to a high of 45% (District of Columbia) while the national average was 14.5%. Florida was 20.8%.

Nearly three-quarters of all pedestrian accident fatalities occurred in urban areas in 2013. In NHTSA’s list of cities with a population greater than 500,000 people Jacksonville ranked as the biggest Florida city at number 13 with a population of 835,508. It had a total of 33 pedestrian fatalities.

• Slightly smaller San Francisco had 18 and slightly larger Indianapolis had 20.
• Philadelphia is nearly twice the size of Jacksonville but had only three more pedestrian fatalities.
• Chicago, more than three times the size of Jacksonville, had less pedestrian fatalities with 27.

If you’re walking you need to be vigilant of the traffic that’s near you. Face oncoming traffic so if it appears a vehicle may leave the roadway and towards you, you may have a chance to try to avoid it. Be especially careful when walking across driveways, entrances and exits to parking lots. Drivers may be more focused on reaching their destination than noticing pedestrians in their way.

If you or a loved one suffered an injury as a pedestrian in an accident caused by a vehicle, contact Boca car accident lawyer Joe Osborne at (561) 293-2600 or fill out this online contact form. You can discuss your case, how the law may apply and your best legal options to protect your rights and obtain compensation for your injuries.