PMC sees spike in pedestrian accidents

The Portneuf Medical Center’s trauma unit is seeing an increase in the number of pedestrians struck by cars this month, and doctors are trying to get the word out for both drivers and pedestrians to be cautious as these warmer months start rolling in.

PMC’s trauma director Dr. Drew McRoberts said he normally sees a spike in pedestrian accidents in the spring heading into the summer.

“The weather is getting warmer, so more people get out and drive more so I think we see this spike because we see more of both drivers and pedestrians out when the weather gets nicer,” McRoberts said.

In colder months, McRoberts said they normally treat one pedestrian each month who was struck by a vehicle, but in April that number climbed to five.

“It’s not even the end of the month yet, but in May we have already seen six,” McRoberts added.

The Pocatello Police Department’s Lt. Paul Manning said the one-way streets tend to see more of these problems since they tend to have more view obstructions than most other streets.

“If there is a car right next to you, that might create a partial vision obstruction to where you may not see someone entering the crosswalk,” Manning said. “Then they stop for the pedestrian and you might not know why they are stopping, or you might not even know if they are turning. Then the next thing you know, they walk into your lane and we have the accident.”

Manning agrees with McRoberts, it’s not that we are seeing a spike in the number of accidents as a general statistic, it’s more of a seasonal increase we see every year.

So, as vacationers take this weekend to head out to celebrate Memorial Day, keep in mind both pedestrians and drivers need to both be cautious of each other.