Sharing the road with pedestrians
Road safety is a responsibility that is shared between pedestrians and drivers. Pedestrians must ensure that drivers have seen them and that drivers are stopped, or are about to stop, before entering the roadway. Drivers need to exercise due diligence in the care and operation of their vehicles, to properly respond to the presence of pedestrians. In most cases, that means yielding to the pedestrian.
Reminder: Eye contact between the pedestrian and driver is one of the keys to pedestrian safety.
Watch for children – Drive slowly and cautiously through school zones, residential areas and any other location where children may be walking or playing. A driver should not rely on a child’s knowledge of traffic laws, so expect the unexpected. A child might dart out from between parked cars or try to cross a street without checking for traffic. Be extra cautious at twilight when children may still be playing outside, but are difficult to see.
Watch for all crosswalks – A crosswalk can be the portion of a roadway that:
- connects sidewalks on opposite sides of the roadway into a continuous path
- has signs, lines or other markings on the roadway for pedestrian crossing Do not pass a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk. A stopped vehicle may be a clue that a pedestrian is crossing.
Reminder: Not all crosswalks are marked, but nearly all intersections have crosswalks.
Watch for school crossings and guards – Drivers, including cyclists, must stop and yield the whole roadway at pedestrian crossovers, school crossings and other locations where there is a crossing guard.
Only when pedestrians and school crossing guards have crossed and are safely on the sidewalk can drivers and cyclists proceed.
Watch for community safety zones – Signs indicate areas where the community has identified that there is a special risk to pedestrians.
Watch for slow pedestrians – Many modern urban roads often do not allow sufficient time to cross for slow pedestrians during the normal traffic cycle. So be patient and allow all pedestrians time to cross.
Seniors or pedestrians with disabilities need extra caution and courtesy from drivers, as they may be slow in crossing the road.
Pedestrians who are blind or with a visual disability may use a white cane or guide dog to help them travel safely along sidewalks and across intersections.
Watch when driving quiet vehicles – Drivers of hybrid or electric vehicles should be aware that vision-impaired people often rely on the sound of an engine before entering an intersection. When you are slowing or stopping, your vehicle makes little or no discernible noise, so extra caution is required.
Watch for wheelchairs and medical scooters – People operating motorized wheelchair and medical scooters are pedestrians too.
Watch for streetcars – Some streetcar stops have a special safety island or zone for passengers getting on and off. Pass these safety islands and zones at a reasonable speed. Always be ready, in case pedestrians make sudden or unexpected moves.
Watch for texters – A no-texting rule isn’t only for drivers. Pedestrians are often distracted while using devices, including cell phones, ear buds, hand-held device, GPS, and music players. People using ear buds/headphones often can`t hear car horn or other traffic noise.
Watch for dark clothing – Pedestrians in dark clothing, especially at night, are difficult to see. Extra care is needed when driving in low-light conditions. Twilight and dark clothing often initiate a collision.
Watch for new transport – New technology allows small motors on skateboards, scooters and even roller blades. These devices may reduce control and even propel users into the roadway. Many modern electric bikes are made to look like motor scooters.
Watch during turns – Safer, signaled crosswalks aren’t immune to vehicle-pedestrian collisions. Many more people get hit by cars turning left than by cars turning right, because both parties are looking elsewhere: The drivers are busy negotiating the intersection while street-crossers are looking straight ahead.