Three People Injured in Pacific Beach Parklet Crash
A runaway vehicle careened into a wooden parklet at a pizza restaurant, seriously injuring three diners and prompting concerns about pandemic-associated parklets.
The outdoor emergency dining spots started during COVID creating ventilated eating areas to prevent the spread of the virus, but now years out from the pandemic, problems are arising from the Ad Hoc decisions to create wooden platforms in parking spots as dining areas.
“You got people eating their meals and enjoying their beer 18 inches from somebody going 35mph. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened more,” one business owner remarked.
Now the big question is what the City of San Diego will decide for the future of parklets moving forward. The parklets were a financial lifeline for many restaurants struggling through the pandemic and now the many cities are weighing their options. San Diego is studying the issue, as is Chula Vista.
What Causes Car Crashes?
Investigators aren’t sure what caused the car crash in the above story. However, the cause was almost certainly driver error. Driving mistakes cause over 98 percent of the car crashes in California. Major categories of driver error include:
- Operator Impairment: Substance impairment, usually alcohol or marijuana, is the leading cause of impairment-related crashes. These drugs cloud judgment and slow motor skills. According to the duty of care, drivers must have tip-top motor skills and judgment skills when they get behind the wheel. Other kinds of driver impairment include a medical condition and severe fatigue.
- Aggressive Driving: Speed is the most common, and most dangerous, form of aggressive driving. Excessive velocity increases the risk of a wreck and the force of a collision. Speed multiples stopping time, which is a combination of reaction time (seeing a hazard) and braking time (safely stopping the vehicle). Velocity also multiplies the force in a collision between two objects, according to Newton’s Second Law of Motion. Other kinds of aggressive driving include ignoring traffic signals and turning unsafely.
We all make mistakes, and we must all accept responsibility for our mistakes. In a car crash case, this responsibility includes paying compensation for damages. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. A Carlsbad car accident lawyer can obtain additional punitive damages as well, in some extreme cases.
How the Pandemic Affected Car Crashes
Pundits assured people that fewer vehicle collisions was one of the “silver linings” of the lockdown cloud. But the number of fatal car crashes increased significantly in 2020 and again in 2021. The number hasn’t dropped much since then.
California had the longest continuous coronavirus lockdown order in the country. Therefore, the bad habits that drivers picked up during the pandemic are more ingrained among Californians. Typically, bad habits are easy to form and hard to break.
During the lockdowns, traffic thinned out and police largely stopped enforcing traffic laws. Therefore, drivers developed bad habits. Two of these habits, driving drunk and speeding, were discussed above.
Decreased seat belt compliance was another effect. Basically, people who once buckled up without even thinking about it must now think about it before they put on their seat belts.
In California, car crash victims who don’t wear their seat belts could be legally responsible for their own injuries, if the insurance company proves that the failure to wear a seat belt, as opposed to driver negligence, substantially caused the victim’s injuries.
Count on a Hard-Working San Diego County Lawyer
Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in San Marcos, contact the Pursley Law Firm. We routinely handle matters throughout SoCal.
Source:
fox5sandiego.com/traffic/car-crash-into-outdoor-dining-parklet-sparks-safety-concerns/
