What to do if you are hit by a car while walking

At a crosswalk where traffic signals are not working or absent, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina each say the driver must yield, slowing or stopping if need be, to a pedestrian crossing in the crosswalk [1] [4]. Each also bars a pedestrian from suddenly stepping into the path of a vehicle too close to yield [7]. If you were hit, call 911 first.

Tennessee's rule is below, then the Shelby County figures from the same federal file.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-8-134, as reproduced by FindLaw (current as of January 2, 2024; not yet re-read on the official code site):

• Drivers and crosswalks. Where traffic signals are absent or not working, a driver "shall yield the right-of-way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield" to a pedestrian in a crosswalk [1].
• School zones. With flashers operating in a marked school zone, drivers must stop for pedestrians in a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, and stay stopped until the pedestrian has crossed.
• Pedestrian duty. A pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb or safe place into the path of a vehicle that cannot yield in time [1].
• Passing. A driver approaching from behind a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian may not overtake and pass it.

Tennessee also looks at each side's share of fault. See Is Tennessee a comparative fault state?. This page cannot tell you how those rules apply to your crash. The Memphis numbers follow. In the District of Columbia, a pedestrian or bicyclist hit by a motor vehicle is not barred by their own negligence unless it is greater than the defendants' combined; see the fault table.

Counts show where crashes were recorded, which reflects traffic and road design as much as anything. They say nothing about who was at fault in any crash. See the most dangerous roads in Memphis for all road users.

Read on the Alabama Legislature's Code of Alabama site:

• Crosswalks (§ 32-5A-211). When traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver must yield to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk on the driver's half of the roadway, or approaching closely enough from the other half to be in danger [4]. A pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb into the path of a vehicle too close to yield [4]. A driver may not overtake and pass a vehicle stopped to let a pedestrian cross [4].
• Outside crosswalks (§ 32-5A-212). A pedestrian crossing at any point other than a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection must yield to vehicles [5].
• Drivers' care (§ 32-5A-213). Every driver must exercise due care to avoid colliding with any pedestrian or first responder and take precaution around a child or an obviously confused, incapacitated or intoxicated person [6].

Alabama's contributory negligence rule affects how fault matters: see contributory negligence in Alabama.

Read on the South Carolina Legislature's code site:

• Crosswalks (§ 56-5-3130). When traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver must yield to a pedestrian crossing within a crosswalk [10]. A pedestrian may not suddenly leave a curb into the path of a vehicle so close as to constitute an immediate hazard, and a driver may not pass a vehicle stopped for a pedestrian [10].
• Outside crosswalks (§ 56-5-3150). A pedestrian crossing at any point other than a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection must yield to vehicles, and may not cross diagonally unless authorized [10].

See fault rules in South Carolina.

Each state sets its own deadline for a personal injury lawsuit, with exceptions: Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma and South Carolina. If the driver had no insurance or fled, see hit by an uninsured driver and hit and run: what to do. Bicycle crash? See bicycle accident.