With various stay-at-home and social-distancing measures in place because of COVID-19, many of our neighbors have been spending more time outdoors. Taking an evening or early morning stroll, biking, or running have been popular activities during this time. Of course, more people outdoors also means that motorists need to be…
A record-breaking number of Maine pedestrian accidents in recent years is vexing traffic safety officials. Maine Public Radio reported pedestrian accident deaths nationally last year were the highest they had been in 30 years. In Maine, officials recorded a 24-year high in 2017. This year is not shaping up to…
Hit-and-run accidents in Maine (and nationwide) are a rapidly rising concern, highlighted by an alarming new report indicating hit-and-run deaths have a record-high nationally. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety revealed that in a single recent year, there were 737,000 total hit-and-run crashes tallied with 2,049 deaths. Both of these…
The death of a 13-year-old boy, struck and killed in a crosswalk on his way to school in Lewiston, has devastated a community and raised important questions about the lack of pedestrian safety in Maine. Police say the eighth grader was crossing Main Street at Frye Street – in the crosswalk –…
A driver was recently critically injured following a three-car crash that ended with one vehicle slamming into the front of the Gothic building in downtown Belfast, an hour south of Bangor. According to The Bangor Daily News, officers believe an older man in a Sedan with Massachusetts plates was speeding…
It was shortly after 5:30 p.m. when a 74-year-old Bangor man was struck by a tractor-trailer as he crossed the street, headed to an early evening Sunday service in Brewer. The man suffered critical injuries as a result of the impact, which rendered him unconscious, though he continued to breathe…
As the winter thaw gives way to spring, more pedestrians will be out on the roads in Maine this summer. This means that drivers of cars and other motor vehicles need to start keeping their eyes open for walkers and joggers in order to avoid a potentially disastrous accident. Our…
Over the last 10 years, the number of pedestrian deaths across the country has been decreasing ever so slightly, according to The Washington Post. But the increase in 2010 shows that pedestrian accidents remain a stubborn constant, even as the overall number of traffic fatalities has continued to decrease.In 2010,…
As all of the zombies, ghosts, goblins and mummies head out for some neighborhood trick-or-treating adventures, there’s another scary monster lurking in the dark — child injury in Portland, Maine. It’s true. Halloween is one of the most dangerous times for children to be out and about. Their risks for…
The International Walk to School Day started back in 1997 and since then millions of people across the globe have come together to help reduce the risks of pedestrian accidents in Maine and elsewhere each October. In 2002, the largest number of participants was recorded at approximately 3 million for…