Pedestrians Use The Road, Too
Michael Babboni
Personal Injury
In most areas of the United States, pedestrians have the right of way even when they aren’t crossing the road at a marked crosswalk. The reason for this is fairly obvious: even if a pedestrian is disobeying the law, the vehicle occupants aren’t the ones in danger. Good driving isn’t necessarily about sticking to the rules of the road, it’s about avoiding an accident no matter whose fault it may be.Defensive Driving And Pedestrians
When it comes to comparing capabilities, your feet have a couple significant advantages over trucks, cars, motorcycles, and even bicycles: it’s far easier to change direction and speed using your feet than it is when you’re using any kind of vehicle.
Unfortunately, this also means that it’s a lot harder to predict exactly what a pedestrian is going to do when you happen to be driving past one. Children in particular are infamous for darting in front of a car without any regard for what might happen, which is why school zones force drivers to slow down when children are present. Even an adult may be too preoccupied or distracted to realize that there’s oncoming traffic before he or she steps into the road, or else there may be a blind corner or a steep hill that prevents you from seeing anything until it’s too late.
Whatever the situation may be, it’s important to keep an eye out for pedestrians both when you can see them and when you merely suspect there may be some around. Even if it isn’t your fault, even if you couldn’t have prevented it, you aren’t likely to get much sympathy if you run someone over. And of course, no matter what else happens, never, ever hit and run.
Staying Alive While Staying On The Road
As important as it is to stay vigilant as a driver, it is far more important to keep your wits about you when you can’t count on the safety of a large metal box moving at high speeds.
Although vehicles must yield the right of way to a pedestrian regardless of where he or she crosses the road, jaywalking is a bad idea not just because it’ll get you a ticket but because you’re far more likely to surprise a driver that way. Crossing before you get to the intersection may get you to your destination faster, but that’s only if you don’t come to a sudden and violent stop before you get there.
One walking tip which not everyone knows about is that, when there is no sidewalk or trail along a road, you should always walk on the left side. This gives you a chance to see traffic coming and react to it faster than you could if it were to approach from behind you.
Pedestrian safety is more important than ever as the rate of pedestrian deaths climbs, at least in proportion to overall road fatalities. Cities are beginning to emphasize pedestrian planning and walkable communities, and as more people take to the sidewalks, more motorists will have to keep their eyes peeled.