PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC FATALITIES

In 2017 19% of all auto fatalities included a pedestrian. Imagine 5,977 pedestrians were killed in auto accidents, a 45% increase, says a recent news report. The auto industry answer? A new pre collision braking system technology, currently being tested. That is one good suggestion but not the only one.

Although the average weight of a car has dropped from over 4,000 pounds to slightly more than 3200 pounds due to more advanced materials, I think the average still exceeds the weight of the average human, who reports in at 137 pounds, (certainly not here in the USA), but still far less than the average automobile on the road.


Why are so many more of these type of accidents and deaths happening now? The quick answer is distractions. The driver is talking or texting on his phone. The average car today has more on-board electronics at the finger tips of the driver than most television sets and the attraction to using them can be overwhelming.  The walker is doing the same thing. More and more "both" are equally distracted. The result? More accidents and more pedestrian deaths.

I know if I am going to step out into a street, even when there is a well lit, painted cross walk I am going to look out for something that is traveling far faster than me and weighs more than 29 times as much as I do. I don't stand a chance in such a scenario.

But there is a different way at looking at this statistic and one that goes beyond the pedestrian involved accidents. That is, we have lost, or never fully understood, the social contract we accept every time we step out of our house.

Our house is our castle. Inside, alone, there are  no rules.  We can do pretty much whatever we want.
Once we walk outside of the house we join countless others in the public arena where the rules of engagement are vastly different from what they were when we were inside. The goal for all of us is to get back inside, safely and alive. I'll bet the 5,977 above pedestrian statistics  had the exact same goal in mind, when they left their house.

When we leave our house,  we join countless others;  walkers, drivers, shoppers, joggers, bikers and virtually every other known mode of transportation.  We also are subject to every other conceivable distraction that has begun to command more and more of our attention. Phones, friend notifications, retail text messages,  news alerts, all demanding immediacy are the new constant.

We have to come to grips with the fact that we are no longer in total control of the environment or of anyone or anything else we encounter, when we enter the public. Every person out there has their own reasons for being there. Add to the escalating chaos and distractions, the weather, the traffic, the time of day, our location, the rules of the road and numerous other unforeseen variables, it is clear no one has the attention span to take it all in. One could not possibly imagine the number of unpredictable encounters we are subject to every time we leave our house.

How does this relate to the pedestrian fatalities in cross walks? Simple. At every intersection there are two people, a driver  and a walker. The above mentioned pre collision braking system is one answer for the driver. What about the walker? As a walker we must accept responsibility, that when crossing a well lit, lined, cross walk we can be entering a potential danger zone. As walkers we cannot change how drivers act. But we can take responsibility for how we act. True, the law says we are entitled to cross a street, where properly marked, without being hit by a motor vehicle. That is a privilege.  But if we believe that is our right and we are entitled to that right the very moment we step off the curb, we may end making that argument in the morgue.

Have we checked the cars on the road, estimated their speed, looked into the drivers eyes to see if they are even there, taken an inventory of how many cars are yet to come, can we wait another 10-15 seconds. Once we begin the crossing are we actually crossing or are we still on the phone, is this a cross walk or a stroll down a country path, am I alone out here, are others crossing? The questions we should be asking are numerous and they are all intended to keep us safe. Our safety, is our responsiblity.

The world has gotten faster, our attention span has gotten shorter.  That combination alone should be ample evidence that when in public we have to take a much greater share of responsibility, for our own safety.

That is one way we can lower the rate of pedestrian deaths. Take responsibility.