Recently a South Carolina man was killed on I-85 in Greenville County. The victim was struck and killed by the driver of a Toyota SUV when the victim was walking with his back to traffic in the southbound lane of the interstate. The victim's vehicle was found in the center lane of traffic of I-385 near Roper Mountain Road, though it is unclear to authorities whether or not his car had broken down or why he was not with his vehicle at the time of the accident. The pedestrian accident and resulting cleanup slowed morning traffic significantly. The driver of the SUV was wearing a seat belt and was not significantly injured.

Car accidents do not always involve other vehicles. Many times auto crashes include pedestrians who are hit by a car. Pedestrians are particularly vulnerable to severe injuries when involved in an accident. If a vehicle strikes a person, the size and weight of a car can have a tremendous impact because a person is merely a fraction of the size of the car. Unfortunately, pedestrians do not come equipped with seat belts or airbags to protect them from injury like the passengers of a car.

Both pedestrians and drivers alike need to take proper precautions to avoid accidents. The problem of pedestrian accidents is shared amongst both parties, but in most instances tragedy can be avoided by following safe driving practices and rules that govern pedestrians. That is the best way to avoid being a statistic or the focus of another sad story in the news.

Source: Independent Mail, "Fatal crash stops traffic on I-85 in Greenville County," Noelle Kachinsky, Feb. 1, 2012