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PEDESTRIANS SAFETY

Pedestrians Safety

The majority of crashes involving pedestrians and motorist have tragic results where the pedestrians have the main responsibility and whom suffers the consequence. More than 60,000 pedestrians have been reported injured in traffic crashes and around 5,000 were killed in 2008; in the most cases the alcohol was involvement too.

Walking is truly important for our personal health and is necessary do it around 30 minutes every day, providing us of physical and mental benefits. However we become in pedestrians potentially exposed to any accident. It is necessary to consider driving safety statistics of deceases caused by car accidents, to prevent injuries and to begin for a mutual respect with motorists and drivers.

Some holidays can turn out to be a deadly trap: In New Year, the most of people drinking and walking on streets without conscience of their acts. You avoid drinking in excess not to expose your life. In Halloween as custom, the children are walking at night in costumes, impeding their vision and risking to mortal dangers.

Some simple rules to avoid incidents:

As pedestrians:

  • Use marked crosswalks, not between parked cars.
  • Cross only at intersections and only when the traffic signal turns on green light.
  • Obey all traffic sings, especially with the traffic lights. Don't cross on a red light.
  • Put attention, when walking in darkness and you see wear bright clothing or reflective strips.
  • Do not be distracted by some electronic device when you are crossing the street. Put away cell phones, PDAs or headsets.
  • Be aware and always facing traffic.
  • Never let to children under 10 cross alone the road. They must to be supervised by an adult.

For children:

To look after your safety as a pedestrian and to teach children how to look after themselves is fairly mandatory nowadays; keep in mind the following rules and make sure your children understand them as well so you will never be involved in a undesirable situation:
  • Check everywhere before crossing, that is, right, left and right.
  • Do not cross from in-between cars as it is hard to see cars coming your way.
  • Do not play in the middle of driveways.
  • If there are no sidewalks where you are walking always walk facing oncoming cars.
  • If you are walking at night wear something colorful, especially if walking roadside.
  • Respect traffic signs, as drivers may obey them.
  • When crossing, always use the intersections.

As a driver:

Remember that pedestrians may be walking or standing in unpredictable places, be always careful when driving and do not take pedestrians for granted.

Whenever you have trouble seeing, due to darkness or bad weather, remember to slow down, there may be a pedestrian near you with the same trouble.

Slow down and stop when a pedestrian is in a crosswalk, this will show other drivers a pedestrian is nearby.

If you see a car has stopped remember there is always a reason so, do not pass that car unless you are sure it is safe to do so.

Do not take pedestrians for granted or assume they have to follow rules even if they are breaking them; remember some people can be handicapped, mentally impaired or simply drunk.

It is important for adults to teach and help children develop appropriate road-crossing behavior, as consequences of bad crossing can be much harder for children than for adults sometimes. Always encourage them to look both ways before crossing and to be aware of the importance of traffic signals.


Pedestrians Safety Pedestrians Safety Pedestrians Safety



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