By Rachel Wilson, Boston MA
Motorists have a duty to maintain a watchful eye while driving, but they also have a duty to maintain full control of their vehicles to avoid collisions with other cars, telephone poles, buildings, trees, and most important of all, pedestrians. Sadly, the daily news often contains a report of a mishap on the road involving an automobile that has collided with a pedestrian. In some cases, accidents involve many pedestrians at once if a car drives through a crowd of people. These accidents often involve very serious injuries, and in some unfortunate cases, death. Driving schools and licensing tests do stress the importance of safety when driving near pedestrians, yet accidents continue to happen. If drivers can put a few simple practices in to use, the number of accidents involving collisions with pedestrians can be reduced significantly.
One good practice for drivers to use is to take special care near crosswalks, as that is the area most likely to involve accidents with pedestrians. The motorist must understand that a crosswalk is a zone of safety designed for vulnerable pedestrians. A failure to recognize this on the part of a driver is usually considered a moving violation. As a matter of practice, drivers should instantly react when approaching a crosswalk by quickly looking at each end of the crosswalk to determine the risk of a pedestrian walking into traffic. If a pedestrian steps into the crosswalk, the motorist should stop as a pedestrian has the right of way.
Another important consideration when approaching an intersection with crosswalks is to be extra vigilant during a right or left hand turn. Automobiles can get through a turn much faster than a pedestrian can get through a crosswalk, and a common occurrence is a collision between a car and a pedestrian when the car is turning through an intersection and a crosswalk, and the driver is not aware that a pedestrian has entered the crosswalk. To avoid this unfortunate accident, always think well in advance when approaching a right or left hand turn, and look far ahead into the path that your vehicle will take to see if there are any pedestrians moving through the crosswalk. If there are, you must stop to let them pass. For left hand turns, be sure you are not in a position to block traffic in the event of a light change.
Cross walking is a very dangerous practice on the part of pedestrians, and motorists should be especially vigilant when driving down streets with parked cars. Cross walkers that enter the roadway between parked cars are inviting danger, but a wary motorist should be prepared to anticipate the possibility of a pedestrian coming into the roadway. It is very common for young children to accidentally enter a roadway this way. An adult can often be seen over the roofs of cars, but children remain hidden until they are right in front of a driver because of their height, cutting down a driver’s required reaction time considerably. This is why it is so very important to avoid distractions while driving such as cell phones.
Be sure to take special care when entering intersections or any other location where pedestrians are likely to enter the roadway. Accidents involving cars and pedestrians can be avoided if motorists remain watchful, especially in areas where pedestrians can enter the roadway quickly and without notice to a driver. Remember that pedestrians have the right of way, and they are extremely vulnerable when crossing roadways. Remember too that when a car collides with a pedestrian the results are very serious, and could actually result in a fatality.
