Pedestrian hurt weekly with third at fault

Inspector Tina Davies, Commander of Georges River Traffic and Highway Patrol, said pedestrians and motorists both needed to take extra care.
She said there were more than 50 incidents where a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle and while the majority were survivable, ranging from broken legs, broken ribs, lacerations and soft tissue injuries, two resulted in deaths.
The latest statistics for the Bankstown Police Command, show that in 20 incidents (38 per cent) the pedestrian was at fault, having run onto the roadway without being aware of traffic or were jaywalking, while 10 occurred at zebra or pedestrian crossings at intersections.
Many of the accidents were due to environmental factors such as the sun on the horizon, foggy conditions, but the majority were due to inattention of drivers who claimed they did not see the pedestrian.
Insp Davies said there were nine incidents (17 per cent) in which an unsupervised young child under six-years-old, ran onto the roadway and was hit by an oncoming car but there was an over-representation of elderly pedestrians being hit by vehicles, with those aged 60 to 91-years-old comprising 30 per cent of pedestrian accidents.
Shopping centre carparks are also a concern with six incidents where a pedestrian was struck by a car as it was being reversed from or turning into a car space.
Hotspots for pedestrian accidents include Bankstown, Greenacre, Padstow, Hume Highway in Yagoona and Waterloo Road in Greenacre (around the shopping precinct).