Going out for a jog in the morning or after a long day at work is important for your physical fitness and possibly for your mental health. Adequate exercise can help you feel strong and confident. However, those health benefits come with some risks.
Specifically, while you go out for a jog, you have to worry about the possibility of a pedestrian crash caused by an unsafe driver. While you may wear appropriate gear to draw the attention of drivers and may always follow the rules of the road, you could potentially end up hurt if you cross paths with someone who drives while distracted or drunk.
Although you cannot control what individual motorists do, you can make choices about where you jog that could potentially reduce your risk. The route you travel when out for a run could directly influence your likelihood of severe injury or death.
You are safest on roads with lower speed limits
People sometimes choose roads based on the proximity to their office or the scenery. Such factors may influence the convenience of squeezing in your daily run or your enjoyment during your workout. However, your safety should always be your biggest consideration when making decisions.
For runners, joggers and other pedestrians, the speed of traffic near them while they are on public roads is one of the most important factors for their overall safety. As you may already be able to guess, the higher the speed of the nearby vehicles, the greater your risk of injury or death.
Researchers have found a strong correlation between the speed of the vehicle and the likelihood of a pedestrian dying in a crash. When the vehicle travels at 23 miles per hour (mph), the pedestrian’s chances of dying in the crash are roughly 10%. That increases to 50% at 42 mph and a staggering 90% fatality rate when the vehicle’s speed reaches 58 mph. Choosing routes with lower speed limits will potentially reduce your risk of a serious or fatal injury.
What protects you after a pedestrian crash?
If you get hurt because someone texting at the wheel fails to spot you in time and clips you when they swerve onto the shoulder of the road, you can potentially make a claim against their car insurance. If the injuries you suffer are quite severe or the driver at fault does not have adequate insurance, you may need to take the driver who hit you to civil court. Personal injury lawsuits are an option when injured pedestrians can show that either illegal behavior or negligence caused their injuries.
Minimizing your risk of a pedestrian collision will also help strengthen your claim for compensation if you ever do get hurt while out exercising.