Los Angeles closed several miles of streets to motor vehicles on Sunday, December 10. And while the number of car accidents in the city, where over 150 car crashes normally take place every day, was low, it didn’t make the city any less dangerous.
LA closed down parts of the city for the celebration of the CicLAvia, a car-free tradition, and a festival that came from Colombia. The lanes were opened to cyclists, skaters, and pedestrians.
And while closing down lanes to motor vehicles in Los Angeles certainly contributed to the drop in car accidents that day, there was still a plethora of other potential hazards for festival-goers and pedestrians to injure themselves.
Fact: Car accidents in California account for nearly 10% of all deaths and injuries in the U.S.
The city’s affected streets included downtown Los Angeles, MacArthur Park, and Koreatown.
Instead of countless cars stuck in traffic jams, honking and shouting vulgar language, Los Angeles residents saw food trucks and musical performers set up along the closed streets. The streets remained closed to cars until 3 pm.
While the event certainly helped save the lives of quite a few Los Angeles residents, who could have been injured or killed in motor vehicle collisions, it created numerous other threats.
WHAT INJURIES CAN OCCUR WITHOUT CARS?
Any musical festival alone can be a rich source of personal injury lawsuits stemming from:
- Human stampedes (festivals are considered the deadliest venues where dozens or hundreds of people may get injured)
- Heavy equipment falling on people.
- Running into other people, especially dancers and drunk people with their dangerously jerky moves
- Getting into a fight with drunk or drug-impaired festival-goers
- Being hit by glass bottles flying around, or stepping on broken glass
- Dog bites (many people attend festivals with their dogs)
- Slip and fall accidents that occur on slippery or uneven surfaces (beware of objects that create a tripping hazard)
- Since festival venues are usually full of lights, you may get burnt as a result of one of the lights catching fire.
While this is already a convincing list that makes you want to think twice before attending any music festival – and choose to stay at home, where the risk of getting injured is much lower – even riding a bicycle or skating on the streets close to cars can be dangerous.
While it’s not uncommon for cyclists or skaters to get injured in a single bicycle or skate accident, there is a high risk of colliding with other cyclists or skaters (especially when the venue is packed with people).
Also, no matter how many security personnel or surveillance cameras organizers put up at festival venues, people will always find ways to consume drugs and alcohol at festivals.
This is dangerous considering that there are many underage people among festival-goers, and the risk of overdose at the festival is extremely high, our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys at Law Offices of Howard Craig Kornberg warn.
Considering the high risk of getting injured at festivals, it’s advised to always have the number of an experienced personal injury attorney in your phonebook. Write down Howard Craig Kornberg’s number – 310-997-0904 – and complete this contact form to get a free initial consultation.
