Running is certainly good for your health overall, but it can also be very hazardous if you run along roads and city streets. One company called Road ID carried out a study, and they reported that about 122,000 runners get hit by cars and end up in the hospital every year. This doesn’t take into account runners who are hit and escape with minor injuries that don’t require a trip to the hospital.
The company’s own existence is also telling. They make shoe tags and bracelets that runners can wear so they can be identified if they’re hit by vehicles and not carrying other identification — as many runners don’t, opting to run with nothing to keep their weight down. These IDs can be helpful in an emergency, and the fact that they’re needed shows just how big of a problem this is.
Transportation for America backed this up in their own report, saying that around 5,300 pedestrians died in accidents involving vehicles every year. This data was for the years from 2000 to 2009, but it can be extrapolated to get close to the numbers that would be seen today.
Accidents happen in many different ways. Cars veer off of the road and onto the shoulder, where runners are often located. Runners cross roads in front of cars they don’t see. Cars that are speeding around corners hit runners who thought the way was clear. The examples are nearly endless, but the stats make one thing very clear: Runners are going to be injured every year, and those who are need to know how to seek compensation in California.
Source: Competitor, “Street Smarts: Safety Tips For Runners,” Linzay Logan, accessed Aug. 17, 2016