Yet the number of pedestrian fatalities has been rising.
I used to always blame the driver for hitting pedestrians until I had a couple of incidents with pedestrian texters.
In on case a pedestrian was waking on the sidewalk going in the same direction I was. He came to a perpendicular crosswalk and just turned left into it. He didn't stop or even look. Had I been ten feet forward I would have hit him.
In another instance I was looking for a parking spot and a girl walked out right in front of me from behind a truck. I stopped less than 2 feet from her. I ended up in line behind her at Starbucks and asked her about the incident. She never even knew I was there.
Another time I was travelling on a dark and rainy night. I was approaching a crosswalk and a person in very dark clothing came out from behind a power pole and strode into the street. I barely stopped.
There are too many pedestrians that are engrossed in their phones or iPods and do not look around. A vehicle can only avoid hitting a pedestrian if there is enough time. While the pedestrian may have the right of way it is always advisable to get eye contact with drivers before entering a crosswalk or intersection. You may be right but but you may also be dead right.