Car accidents between pedestrians and motor vehicles are always traumatic and can sometimes be deadly. When they occur, there is often a lot of finger-pointing regarding who is at fault.
Both the driver of an automobile and a pedestrian have “duty of care” when they are out. The duty of care that pedestrians hold is to exercise reasonable care for his or her bodily safety.
How is the pedestrian’s duty of care defined?
It is far rarer for the courts to accuse a pedestrian of not attending to duty of care as compared to a motorist, but it can and does occur. It is important that pedestrians take a reasonable amount of care for their own safety when they are walking.
Common contributors to pedestrian negligence involve not using crosswalks, not abiding by the walk section at an intersection, or running in front of a vehicle. If a pedestrian is guilty of doing these things, the courts may accuse him or her of pedestrian negligence.
Assessing duty of care can be relatively complex, depending on the nature of the situation. However, both pedestrians and drivers must take responsibility for their own safety, whether they are walking or driving.
Does the court actively prosecute for this?
Yes, it is possible for the courts to prosecute a pedestrian due to not exercising duty of care. Particularly if the pedestrian was trying to purposely cause an accident for some reason, the law may hold him or her accountable for not taking duty of care. This is a form of negligence.
