Pedestrian Roadway Accidents
Published .
The general concept
A pedestrian struck by a vehicle may have a negligence claim against the driver, but the outcome depends on what each person could see, how each acted, and whether that conduct caused the collision. Drivers and pedestrians both must use reasonable care. Crosswalks, traffic signals, lighting, speed, visibility, and the time available to react often shape the analysis. Other potentially responsible parties can include an employer, vehicle owner, or a public entity responsible for a road condition, depending on the facts and separate legal rules.
How Maryland applies it
Maryland requires drivers to use due care to avoid hitting pedestrians and to take proper precaution on seeing a child or an obviously confused or incapacitated person. At a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, a driver generally must stop when the pedestrian is on the vehicle’s half of the roadway or approaching from an adjacent lane on the other half; the rule has exceptions where a traffic signal or pedestrian tunnel or overhead crossing is provided. A pedestrian may not suddenly leave a place of safety and enter the path of a vehicle too close to stop. A pedestrian crossing elsewhere generally must yield to approaching vehicles. Still, being outside a crosswalk does not by itself decide negligence: the full circumstances matter. Maryland’s contributory-negligence rule makes the pedestrian’s conduct especially important, because proven contributory negligence can bar recovery even when the driver was also negligent. Maryland also prohibits a driver from passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross. Evidence may include signal timing, surveillance and dash-camera footage, vehicle data, scene measurements, lighting and sight lines, skid marks, witness accounts, and phone or medical records. A government road-maintenance claim may carry special notice deadlines and immunity defenses, so identifying the correct road owner and promptly preserving evidence can matter.
Related Maryland Cases and Authorities
Md. Code, Transportation §§ 21-202, 21-502, 21-503, 21-504, 21-801.; Nizer v. Phelps, 252 Md. 185, 249 A.2d 112 (1969).; Dix v. Spampinato, 278 Md. 34, 358 A.2d 237 (1976).; Brown v. Rogers, 19 Md. App. 562, 313 A.2d 547 (1974).; Cohen v. Rubin, 55 Md. App. 83, 460 A.2d 1046 (1983).