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Pedestrian hits finally getting notice
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by anarkissed | July 28, 2009 at 12:26 pm
192 views | 4 Recommendations | 3 comments
Last autumn I wrote an article, http://my.nowpublic.com/health/dont-go-take-walk-saskatoon in which I listed the many pedestrians injured or killed by motorists that summer in Saskatoon. This spring the carnage resumed. Finally an article in our local newspaper, the Star Phoenix, declares that our local officials are taking notice and making an effort to curb the slaughter.
I cannot paste the article here, as it's copywrite of The Star-Phoenix newspaper, so I hope that the news article is available without login. It appears to be.
In the article local ambulance operators are quoted as saying the incidence of vehicle-pedestrian collisions is averaging as one every four days. The police chief points out that this is a higher rate than any criminal activity injuries.
The plan aims to increase public awareness of driving safety, pedestrian safety, and general public education using traditional advertising venues. I hope it works.
Just yesterday my husband waited in growling rush-hour traffic at a green light while a whole troupe of related persons ambled casually across in front of him and the other 3 lanes of hot and flustered commuters, defying the red light or any sense of responsibility or community in so doing, children in tow. Certainly it is not only the drivers to blame.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (3)
at 13:00 on July 28th, 2009
Well said.
It is an absolute massacre out there on a daily basis.
If traffic lights are very slow, and a pedestrian has to wait for twenty-five cars to go through, and in a rush too, it can be very tempting to try and cross the road. The traffic lights I have to wait at take ages. Slow traffic lights encourage pedestrians to take the risk. Sometimes they aren't paying attention and cross the road chatting on their mobiles. Another thing, is that there may not be enough crossings, so pedestrians yes another risk again.
Drivers are still not getting the message that they aren't supposed to drive while chatting on a mobile phone. How many times do we see that every day? I've seen them doing this just before zebra crossings and other awkward places like junctions. They are just asking for trouble as they meet a pedestrian who is also chatting on a mobile and crossing the road. Then of course, they are Tweeting on Twitter using their phones and texting. Then they are munching at the wheel and smoking, chatting to their passengers, and being distracted by all sorts of things. They aren't paying attention.
I think more public transport should be good, such as the tram system which is a whole lot safer and more people out on bicycles.
at 15:45 on July 28th, 2009
The I want to get their first syndrome is increasing every where it needs to address by good adverts and staggering work hours. Getting to work on time and getting home on time are the reason for people to suffer from this syndrome.
at 17:48 on July 28th, 2009
I think part of the trouble with traffic aggression stems from using lineups for privileges. Line up all the kids in order of their arrival for icecream, then run out before they're all through. Line up for tickets to a concert and the last in line miss out. before long people get the idea that being ahead of the line is preferable, and indicates success. Now you line up the traffic, as it does travel in lines, and you have the same psychology affecting the drivers. They jockey for first position. Racing sports only increases this sense of competition among drivers. No longer do they think of themselves as transporting from here to there together, but rather we're all competing to get somewhere first.