Not paying attention, on both sides. Yes, you are supposed to always yield as a driver but pedestrians should be watching too.
Distracted driving
Not moving over when possible and someone is walking on the side of the road

Totally agree!^^

Momentum.

A 4000 lb. car does not stop quickly. And if it hits a 200 lb. human, the human is smashed to smithereens.

I worked in retail many years ago, right on the main drag. The beat cop would come in and say hi. We got talking about the 4 lane road out in front which had a single digit US highway number. He had “pinched” three dead pedestrians, each had walked out from between parked cars (not at crosswalk) and walked into traffic. One made contact with passenger side mirror and was then run over by rear wheels.
He “pinched” them jaywalking as it was not the fault of the driver, this was long before cell phone and even cup holders in cars so nobody was modern distracted.

I should add in my opinion, pedestrians think they can easily see the onproaching vehicle say they must be able to me type thing.
I have come on pedestrians in the dead of night, and they don’t even attempt to get over.

Drivers aren’t paying enough attention, who are not driving defensively. They assume incorrectly that accidents always happen to the other guy.
Pedestrians basically do the same thing.

People not paying attention to what they are doing, both drivers and pedestrians.

Where I live pedestrians are often wearing dark clothing at night. It’s hard to see them. If they don’t obey traffic lights they are easy targets. Sure, it’s cool to be edgy but if we can’t see you it’s not our fault.

Stupid people.

@Jonsblond I agree. I drove through my small city last night and the number of people all in black, including a skate boarder, was scary!

The nut behind the wheel.

That is not a fair evaluation @Inspired_2write I have had pedestrians walk right out in from of me had to slam on the brakes, it is a two way street with this issue it isn’t totally the drivers responsibility to watch out for these walking zombies.

Too often pedestrians think the driver needs to yield to pedestrians and doesn’t stop and think if the driver screws up the pedestrian will be seriously harmed or dead!

All it takes is for a driver to look over at the map or down at the radio for a second and someone can wind up hurt.

When I was a young girl my mom taught us not to cross at an intersection unless we knew the driver of the cars saw us. I literally try to look at every driver as I cross to get a sense that they know I’m there.

Moreover, it’s a fallacy that pedestrians simply have the right of way. No they don’t! They need to participate in traffic laws just like cars do to keep everybody safe.

Dark clothing at night was mentioned above, that’s another thing my mom would not let us do. If I am wearing dark clothing I assume I am invisible to drivers and protect myself with extra caution.

If I don’t cross at a corner I take extra caution. If I’m walking in an area where almost no one walks or crosses the street—extra caution.

Sometimes drivers really screw up and drive over sidewalks, swerve, miss red lights, don’t stop fully at a red or stop before turning right, all sorts of mistakes can happen.

Not everyone is 100% here now. So they can’t see what’s here, now.
Some are on their phones on the dimensions of the Internet or somewhere else with someone else.
Some are in the past or the future
Some are trying to gain access to their wife’s head or vice versa.

If everyone was always here now, everything would be cool.

@JLeslie
“It is illegal in the state of Wisconsin to fail to stop for a pedestrian crossing in a crosswalk. A pedestrian in a crosswalk does have the right of way. A crosswalk does not necessarily have to be marked in order to be considered a crosswalk.”

https://www.grothlawfirm.com/crosswalk-laws-in-wisconsin-2/

@Jonsblond Yeah, but plenty of people think pedestrians have the right of way period. That they can just cross anywhere. Lots of states have a crosswalk law.

Plus, from your link: the operator of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian, or to a person who is riding a bicycle or electric personal assistive mobility device in a manner which is consistent with the safe use of the crosswalk by pedestrians, who has started to cross the highway on a green or “Walk” signal and in all other cases pedestrians, bicyclists, and riders of electric personal assistive mobility devices shall yield the right-of-way to vehicles lawfully proceeding directly ahead on a green signal. In other words the pedestrian has an obligation to follow the traffic signals, to cross where designated, and to use judgement regarding traffic patterns just like drivers do for each other.

Plus, it doesn’t change that if the driver doesn’t see the pedestrian or doesn’t know the law, the pedestrian could get seriously harmed if they are hit. The pedestrian has to take responsibility to make sure they are safe, and not rely on what the driver is supposed to do.

At an intersection where there is no traffic light, the drivers are supposed to yield to pedestrians as long as they are there already, or just about to be, correct or not? Most drivers wait to see if the pedestrian is planning to cross or go to the bus stop.

It all boils down to complacency. While I was in the military, someone was run over by their Battalion Commander and his driver because they decided they were going to sleep underneath their truck while on a field exercise. So many things were wrong in that situation. The chock block to prevent the vehicle from shifting while parked wasn’t used by the driver who was ultimately run over. The Battalion Commander’s driver didn’t check for a chock block to remove it and therefore did not see the vehicle’s driver sleeping under it. The Battalion Commander was distracted by a cell phone call or a radio call and did not look around the vehicle before getting into it. Who was wrong there? Everyone. The driver sleeping under his truck. The driver taking his truck without checking under it for the chock blocks and drip pan. The Battalion Commander for not keeping situational awareness enough to realize his driver didn’t check for the chock block and the drip pan. The poor kid was killed. The driver and that BC went on down to Leavenworth for some hard labor after being relieved of duty.

Complacency is the root cause. Most people these days are way too complacent. They are in their own little world in which they think everything else revolves around them. Whether it be the idiots texting while driving, playing pokemon go while driving, pulling out from a stopped lane of traffic into a lane where vehicles are traveling at the 70MPH speed limit and on and on I can go with how stupid everyone has become when it comes to driving these days. Pedestrians don’t get a free pass either. They’re texting while walking down the street or crossing it without looking up, playing pokemon go on the street without looking up, or just being ignorant of the world around them. It is complacency and everyone here needs to take note, especially you Mercedes and BMW drivers: you do NOT own the road!!! Pay attention!!!