I just noticed while walking into work yesterday (NE Sandy Blvd near NE 28th Ave) that the walk signal now has a time limit. It runs down at 15 to zero seconds to allow a walker to cross the marked pedestrian crosswalk.

Timed cross walk signals will give the walker more assurance in terms of the time they need to cross from one side of the road to the other.

Timed crosswalks, if they spread throughout the greater Portland Oregon area, will create a new atmosphere in which the walker versus the car gets an upper hand.

In previous injury blogs, I have written about the dangerous reality to people trying to cross the road at marked or unmarked crosswalks. There is one other aspect of danger one faces at crosswalks and that is the presence of a semi truck such as a milk truck, semi delivery truck, or an oil tanker semi truck, all of which require much greater care to operate and drive.

Truck drivers in the state of Oregon and Washington will cause more accidents and injure more people if they elect to make turns and not realize who or whom is in their blind spots. Given that trucks are so much bigger than pedestrians the injuries you see maybe much greater than if one were driving or a passenger in a car. Commercial drivers in the state of Oregon and Washington also has a much higher safety requirement because they have a commercial license, which makes the driver take special courses that non truck drivers are not required to take.

Getting injured by a car when trying to cross the street at an intersection may mean that you have gotten a serious injury like a broken leg or arm. From my statistics in handling pedestrian/car crashes for the last 16 years the injured person may face many troubling issues and questions such as who pays the bills. Most of the PIP companies (Personal Injury Protection) will pay out any where up to $15,000.00 for injuries. This PIP policy will pay your medical bills.

Pain and suffering award money is also available and the amount you get really depends upon a lot of factors, which may include the kinds of injuries you received, the amount of bills and whether you have a permanent injury. Its best to talk to a injury lawyer in Oregon and/or Washington because experience counts especially when you are the victim.