MnDOT Launches Pedestrian Safety Campaign

MnDOT Office of Communications
9/25/2012

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Department of Transportation and several partners are launching a new statewide pedestrian safety campaign with crosswalk events in five Minnesota cities Tuesday, Sept. 25, from 3 – 6 p.m.  

Crosswalk locations:

Duluth – Lake Avenue/Superior Street
Minneapolis – Hennepin Avenue South/West Lake Street
Minneapolis – Chicago Avenue South/East Lake Street
St. Cloud – Fifth Avenue South/Second Street South (Highway 23)
St. Paul  – West Seventh Street/Kellogg Boulevard West
Rochester – Second Street South/Broadway (Highway 63)

Share the Road crossing ambassadors will raise awareness for pedestrian safety by holding a banner that provides safety tips for pedestrians and motorists while crossing in marked crosswalks and following the crosswalk law.

“The number of pedestrian fatalities remains at about 40 per year, even though total fatalities on Minnesota roads have been steadily decreasing” said Sue Groth, MnDOT state traffic engineer. “This is an important area to focus on because pedestrians are more vulnerable than motorists who are protected by the vehicle, seatbelts and air bags during a crash.”

The campaign aims to increase the percentage of motorists and pedestrians who follow the Minnesota crosswalk law and exhibit safe walking and driving behaviors. This includes pedestrians making eye contact with drivers before proceeding into the crosswalk and motorists always being prepared to stop for crossing pedestrians at every corner. Every corner is a crosswalk. These behaviors will help reduce pedestrian-vehicle crashes on Minnesota roadways.

This fall’s launch also includes bus advertising, restaurant/bar bathroom advertising and billboards across the state, as well as radio messages on Minnesota Public Radio and 93X-FM. It is an extension of the existing Share the Road campaign for bicyclists and motorists.

The launch is happening in the fall because October is traditionally the deadliest month for pedestrians.

About Share the Road        

The Share the Road pedestrian safety campaign provides materials, information and resources for anyone looking to improve pedestrian safety.

After the launch, the campaign heavily relies on local partners, community groups and schools to spread pedestrian safety messages. All materials, information and campaign resources including crash facts and safety tips are available at www.sharetheroadmn.org.

Department of Public Safety pedestrian crash facts

• To date, there have been 23 pedestrian deaths in Minnesota in 2012. There were 16 at this time in 2011.

• October is traditionally the deadliest month for pedestrians, followed by November and December.

• Annual pedestrian deaths in the last five years: 2011 - 40; 2010 - 36; 2009 - 41;
  2008 - 25; 2007 - 33.

Toward Zero Deaths

The Share the Road pedestrian safety campaign supports Minnesota’s Toward Zero Death efforts.

TZD is the state’s cornerstone traffic safety program that is a partnership between the departments of Public Safety, Transportation and Health, the Minnesota Emergency Medical Services Board and other traffic safety partners.

A primary vision of the TZD program is to create a traffic safety culture in Minnesota, in which everyone supports a goal of zero road fatalities by practicing and promoting safe and smart behaviors. TZD focuses on the application of four strategic areas to reduce crashes — education, enforcement, engineering and emergency trauma response.

Additional from Minnesota Public Radio

"The laws are harder to enforce, and it involves both motorist and pedestrian behavior," Groth said. "A lot of this could be solved just with pedestrians and motorists looking for each other, making eye contact and following the laws."

Groth said many motorists don't yield to pedestrians who are in the crosswalk, and many pedestrians either don't pay attention or cross the street against the light or away from the crosswalk.

The numbers bear that out. Because motorists and pedestrians are equally at fault, transportation officials are targeting both groups with the safety campaign.
Fall is a good time to get people's attention, Minnesota State Patrol spokesman Lt. Eric Roeske said.

23 MN Pedestrians Already Killed in 2012...

Last year, 857 Minnesota pedestrians were killed or injured, up by nearly 50 from the year before. In 35 percent of those cases, drivers failed to yield to pedestrians.

Already the deadliest of the last five years --

23 MN pedestrians have been killed so far in 2012



The Pedestrian Death Toll this Time Last Year

14

This Is Not A Movie

As reported in the Star Tribune by Kelly Smith:

Cléo Thiberge seemed to do everything right.

Before crossing Hamline Avenue in St. Paul, the 19-year-old waited. She watched traffic. And when the walk sign blinked on, she stepped off the curb.

That's when a vehicle rounding the corner struck the exchange student from France. She died on Sept. 2, a day after a couple was struck and killed in Ramsey.

"We owe it to ourselves, because we are all pedestrians, to talk about it and focus on it," said Gordy Pehrson of the Department of Public Safety. "There needs to be more awareness and enforcement."

Across the metro, police are ratcheting up crosswalk crackdowns, cities are installing more neon yellow crossing signs and engineers are shifting street design to consider pedestrians as well as motorists. The state is this month also launching its first pedestrian safety campaign in nearly 15 years
"I don't think people really understand what they're supposed to do" near a crosswalk, said Minnetonka Police Chief Mark Raquet. "... Common sense would tell you if you see someone in the curb, you should stop -- if you're paying attention."
Concerns over inattentive drivers have spurred police metro-wide to step up crosswalk patrols.

Last month, Robbinsdale police cited 80 drivers over two days in a first-ever crosswalk sting. Edina boosted their crosswalk enforcement in July, starting a new annual crosswalk campaign around such popular areas as Southdale Center. In Minneapolis, the city has increased crosswalk times and is experimenting with a new pedestrian-friendly signal pattern in Uptown, giving pedestrians a four-second head start to enter the crosswalk so drivers can see them before turning. Complete Article

From the Minnesota Safety Council

The Minnesota Crosswalk Law: Key Elements

• Where traffic control signals are not in place or in operation, a driver must stop for a pedestrian crossing within a marked crosswalk or at an intersection with no marked crosswalk. A vehicle that is stopped at a crosswalk can proceed once the pedestrian has completely crossed the lane in front of the stopped vehicle.
• A pedestrian must not enter a crosswalk if a vehicle is approaching. There is no defined distance that a pedestrian must abide by before entering the crosswalk, but common sense should prevail. The law states: "No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield."
• When a vehicle is stopped at an intersection to allow pedestrians to cross the roadway, drivers of other vehicles approaching from the rear must not pass the other vehicle.
• It's unlawful for the driver of a motor vehicle to proceed through a group of school children crossing a street or highway, or past a member of a school safety patrol or adult crossing guard who is directing children across the roadway and who is holding an official signal in the stop position.
• Failure to obey the law is a misdemeanor. A second violation within one year is a gross misdemeanor.