Cars and Pedestrians: Rights & Duties of Care

A driver is responsible for making sure that his car does not injure anyone. And pedestrians are responsible for looking out for themselves, to avoid injuries. However, the level of responsibility is different. The California jury instruction on this topic makes clear that drivers have a greater responsibility than pedestrians:

The duty to use reasonable care does not require the same amount of caution from drivers and pedestrians. While both drivers and pedestrians must be aware that motor vehicles can cause serious injuries, drivers must use more care than pedestrians.

(CACI 710 - Duties of Care for Pedestrians and Drivers)

This is the case because of the amount of damage a car can do when it hits a pedestrian. In other words, the more dangerous your activity, the more careful you need to be when doing it. An analogy often used by attorneys to describe this goes as follows:

A man carrying a dead rattlesnake does not need to be very carfeul when walking through a crowded room. But if that rattlesnake is alive, he has to be very, very careful when going through that crowded room. This is because a dead rattlesnake is not a danger, whereas a living rattlesnake can be downright deadly.

Pete Clancy is a personal injury attorney in Oakland, California.