Pedestrian Safety: How To Avoid Becoming A Victim In Kern County

The latest nationwide studies list Bakersfield as the No. 2 most dangerous metropolitan area in the United States to be a pedestrian and show a shocking increase in the pedestrian fatality rates over the years. Here are two ways you can avoid pedestrian accidents locally:

1. Avoid walking or running in the evening hours. The latest data shows that the most common time pedestrian accidents occur in Bakersfield any day of the week is between 6 to 9 pm.
2. Be obvious and predictable, crossing at crosswalks or intersections only, walk facing traffic and as far from traffic as possible if there is no sidewalk. 57% of pedestrian accidents in Bakersfield happen because of a pedestrian violation, like crossing where there is not a crosswalk, according to state data.

Follow the above two steps especially if you’re in downtown Bakersfield and on Union Avenue, locations which rank at the top for pedestrian accident rates locally.