Give Pedestrians a Break and a Brake

In 1975, Hollywood released the cult action film Death Race 2000. It was a brutal cross-country race of the future where contestants scored points for speed and the number of innocent pedestrians struck and killed.

Time for a reality check American motorists, Death Race 2000 was a movie!

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 4,92 pedestrian fatalities in 2009 and 59,000 pedestrian reported injuries in the same year. On average, a pedestrian was killed every two hours and injured every nine minutes in traffic crashes.

41% of all children under the age of 10 who were killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians. Pedestrians age 65+ accounted for 19% of all pedestrian fatalities in 2009. In Minnesota, 10% of all traffic fatalities were pedestrians (2009).

We are long overdue to give pedestrians a break and a brake. This is not a movie!

5 Simple Pedestrian Life and Injury Saving Driving Do's

1. Make eye contact with the pedestrian. Let them know you see them and then expect the unexpected. A horn and brake lights are not standard options on a pedestrian.
2. When coming to a stop at a controlled intersection, stop before the crosswalk, not on it and not through it. You are stopping because you have a red light. This means kids entering the crosswalk to your left and/or on your right have a green light. GIVE THEM THE CROSSWALK!
3. Threading the needle is a sewing term not a driving strategy. Just because there is space in between pedestrians crossing the street, does not mean you shoot through it. Make absolutely sure the crosswalk is clear. The gap can and does fill in quickly when one is trying to catch their bus.
4. When approaching a street from an alley, STOP BEFORE the SIDEWALK. Make sure the sidewalk is clear before you cross the walk and enter the street. Not only is it the law, but picture yourself telling mom who is pushing her child in the stroller how sorry you are for the accident!
5. Right turn on Red scares we pedestrians to death. First, the driver has more than likely already blocked the crosswalk, Secondly, driver totally focused on traffic to his/her right, because, God forbid, the driver pulls out too soon and gets hit by a vehicle with the green light. Thirdly, how long has it been since the "right turn on red" driver bothered to look to the right and see if anyone is entering the crosswalk? Finally, there appears to be a small window to make the turn on red however one needs to give it more gas to make the turn. Scary scenario: pedestrian in crosswalk hit by an accelerating "right turn on red" vehicle.

We all have obligation to bring our "A" game when operating a vehicle around pedestrians.