Crossing the street by foot may seem easy for adults because it involves taking stock of the traffic and determining whether or not you can make it to the other side of the road safely without being struck. However, it is anything but basic and simple for a child. A new study conducted by the University of Iowa shows that children below a certain age lack the motor skills and the perceptual judgment to cross a busy road regularly without putting themselves in harm’s way.
The study looked at children between the ages of 6 and 14 in a simulated realistic environment and asked them to cross one lane of a busy road over several different times. Children in their early teenage years had trouble crossing the street safely and accidents were as high as 8% for 6 year olds. It was only at age 14 when children began to be able to safely cross the street without an incident.
Many people may assume that younger children are able to perform basic skills like crossing the street without significant incident but you may be putting your child at risk for a serious injury if you are not careful enough to teach them how to cross the street. Even imparting safety lessons about crossing the street could still mean that your child lacks the ability to cross the road safely and could become significantly injured.
If you or your child has already been injured in a pedestrian accident on the busy streets of San Francisco, you may be entitled to recover compensation if the driver at fault was negligent or reckless. Find an experienced San Francisco personal injury lawyer to assist you with this process as soon as possible.