Whether Your Walking or Driving Safety is Up to All of Us

Drive through intersections with care

• Focus on the road. Always leave your phone or any other hand-held electronic device alone while you’re driving.

• Be ready to yield to pedestrians – especially when turning in intersections and near transit stops.

• Look twice for pedestrians crossing the road particularly when visibility is poor.

• Give yourself extra time and space to stop in case a pedestrian suddenly crosses the street; expect the unexpected.

https://youtu.be/LdgtG3L75CE

Pedestrian safety

When drivers fail to yield, it’s pedestrians who pay the price. Busy intersections and shorter days mean that both pedestrians and drivers need to be extra careful during fall and winter.

As the weather changes and daylight hours decrease, pedestrians become increasingly vulnerable. Crashes involving pedestrians rise during the fall and winter, and 69 percent of these crashes occur at intersections. Whether it’s yielding the right of way or taking extra care to be seen, sharing our roads safely is everyone’s responsibility.

Be a safe pedestrian

• Always make eye contact with drivers and never assume that a driver has seen you.

• Remove your headphones and leave your phone alone while crossing the road.

• Be careful at intersections and watch for drivers turning left or right through the crosswalk. Drivers may be focused on oncoming traffic instead of scanning for you.

• Always cross at designated crosswalks. Follow pedestrian signs and traffic signals and never cross once the signal has turned yellow or red.

• Wear reflective clothing or gear and flashlights to make it easier for drivers to see you in wet weather, at dusk and at night.

• On rural roads without sidewalks, make yourself visible and always walk facing traffic so you can see oncoming drivers.