Death of pedestrian on motorway: legal position

Where does the driver of the car stand in this incident if the pedestrian had gone there to commit suicide? A pedestrian was killed in a multi-vehicle road crash, which blocked the M4 in both directions near Cardiff. South Wales Police said the 53-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident happened eastbound between junctions 33 and 32 at Coryton. It is believed the man was walking on the motorway when he was struck by a silver Volkswagen. Police have appealed for witnesses to the incident at 0700 GMT on Sunday to call 01656 655555. The motorway was closed for four hours, with the westbound carriageway affected by debris. The dead man has not been named.

As it is illegal for a pedestrian to walk on or cross a motorway except in very limited circumstances, given the nature of this particular incident, a criminal case against the driver would be unlikely to be brought and any injury claim against the motorist would be unlikely to succeed.

The motorist may indeed have a claim against the pedestrian for damages to vehicle and any injuries which resulted but of course unlike motorists, pedestrians are not insured so a claim is unlikely.

Although clearly not applicable in this case Criminal injury claim by biker against death-crash boy playing chicken might be of interest.

Of course it is perfectly reasonable to be a pedestrian on the motorway, but only in limited circumstances -- such as walking from his vehicle to the emergency telephone. Should someone be injured on such a journey (presumably on the hard shoulder) then the individual circumstances leading up to the accident would need to be more closely examined.

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