When driving a motor vehicle, whether the motor vehicle is a car, lorry, truck, motorbike etc – you owe a duty of care to other drivers and also to pedestrians. Equally, pedestrians owe a duty of care to motorists, albeit to a lesser extent. The standard of care is that of a reasonable, competent and experienced driver. Even a learner driver is subject to the same standard of care as a driver with a full license and experience.
Giving a lower standard of care would have been a risky move by the Courts, as we have to think about other areas, such as trainee doctors etc. The standard of care is to a competent and experienced driver (or a competent and experienced doctor). However with learners and trainees other measures are of course taken such as monitoring and in the case of learner drivers, the driving instructor ordinarily has foot controls so that he or she can intervene if absolutely necessary.
There are many different scenarios and cases in respect of road traffic accidents and regarding fault. Say for example that a driver collides into a pedestrian who is crossing the road but not at a designated crossing. Say the designated crossing is 50 or 100 yards down the road but the pedestrian chose not to use it and attempted to cross without a crossing. If a collision occurs and the driver is driving within the speed limit, with due care and attention, then the driver may not be at fault and the pedestrian may be found to be at fault. It would all depend on the circumstances of the case.
If a pedestrian stepped out right in front of a car, or attempted to run across the road in front of an oncoming vehicle and not at a crossing, the pedestrian is likely to be fully or largely at fault. Some fault could still be attached to the driver if the driver was driving too fast or not paying attention. This is why many cases of this kind have a split liability decision (i.e. the pedestrian could be 75% at fault and the driver 25% at fault). This has an effect on the amount of compensation an injured party of a road traffic accident is entitled to recover.
Drivers should stop to let pedestrians cross at designated crossings. Of course not all vehicles will stop for pedestrians and this does cause outrage for pedestrians – it is something all of us have probably witnessed or had happened to us. If a car collides into a pedestrian on a crossing then it would be difficult to envisage the car driver escaping fault. There could only be partial fault attached to the pedestrian if he or she ran across the crossing or crossed before the driver had stopped etc. With these types of cases, every case is unique and decided on its own unique facts.
If you have sustained injury in an accident that was not your fault, do not hesitate to contact The Injury Lawyers today. We can assess your claim for free – and with most pedestrian claims, you have a good enough shot at making a successful case.
