MSNBC reports that there have been a rash of pedestrian accidents in Snohomish County over the last few weeks.  Since mid-February, at least five (5) teenagers have been hit by trucks or cars while walking along Snohomish County roads.

“I’m not even sure why this is happening,” says Kristen Thortenson, a spokesperson for the Marysville Fire District and Snohomish County SafeKIDS. “Kids are paying less attention, and so are drivers.”

Although none of the young people were killed, most of them were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, the top trauma center in the Northwest region.  One boy suffered what has been described a “life-changing” injury, but no other details were given.

Experts believe there may be several factors at play, which may explain the rash of pedestrian accidents involving teens.  Teenagers are still growing and they may not be used to these changes, and may make risky decisions (like darting across the street at night). 

The switch to daylight savings may also play a factor.  Typical a time change will bring an increase in accidents because people are not used to the time change. 

Drivers today may also be failing to pay enough attention, especially when more and more people are using cell phones and other technological devices while driving.

All of us, pedestrians and drivers, need to take greater precautions, especially at night.  I would also advise teens to avoid walking along county or rural roads at night, without other traffic control measures present (like lights, sidewalks, etc.). 

I’ve also written in previous posts that Washington law imposes a duty of care on BOTH drivers AND pedestrians.  This means each person has to act carefully in consideration of the circumstances that are present.  Determining fault in auto-pedestrian cases can be challenging and complex.  Often times the determination of who caused or contributed to the accident is heavily dependent on the facts.  A change in one fact can lead to a different conclusion when it comes to deciding who should be charged for causing the accident.

On February 1, 2009, it was reported by the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office that a 3-year-old child was killed while the child’s mother was backing up a truck.  Reports were that the mother went outside to the truck, and the child followed without the mother’s knowledge.  The toddler climbed into the bed of the truck before it sped off.  Then the child fell off the back and was severely injured.  The child later died.

This is just a horrible, horrible accident.  I have a 4 year-old child, and I just can’t imagine this happening.  I really feel bad for the child’s mother.  I know she must be devastated.  I know I would be.  My heart goes out to this grieving family, and I pray that they have the strength to overcome this terrible tragedy.

A serious car accident occurred today in the Interbay area, just south of Ballard in Seattle.  The accident involved a two-car, head-on collision which caused life-threatening injuries to both drivers.  Another passenger was taken to Harborview Medical Center by ambulance.

Negligent driving is the failure to exercise ordinary care, or the failure to act as a prudent motorist.  In head-on collisions, the most common cause is when one driver fails to pay attention and then crosses the center line.  There were no indications today from the police on which vehicle caused this collision.  But sources report that traffic was backed up for quite a while, forcing at least 3 metrol buses to try alternate routes and also causing significant delays to other motorists.

Sometimes in crashes like these an accident reconstruction expert should be immediately consulted, especially if there is a dispute about which driver caused this crash.  Skid marks should be measured, and other evidence preserved, like photos of the damage to both vehicles.  Damage photos may also be critical to help determine which car first crossed the center line.

This information is being brought to you by the attorneys at Davis Law Group in Seattle, a boutique personal injury law firm that specializes in car accidents, catastrophic injuries, wrongful death and medical negligence. You may also check out the firm founder, Seattle attorney Christopher M. Davis, on the Avvo attorney referral site.

The magazine also relied on a study by the University of Buffalo which found that sitting in the middle back seat area was 16% safer than any other seat in the vehicle.  Overall, riding in the back seat is 59% to 86% safer than riding in the front.  Riding on the back seat “hump” is 25% safer than sitting in a rear passenger seat.  Too bad they didn’t report on different vehicle types like sedan vs. compact vs. truck vs. SUV vs. wagon, etc.  Would have been interesting to compare all of the different models.

Makes you question about riding shotgun anymore — especially if it’s a black colored car.