It was a kind of pleasant afternoon in the city in which I work. I was wandering up the sidewalk of a fairly busy street towards my destination. Just another day with the cars and trucks rolling along as always. Then I heard the screech of brakes, a woman scream and the thud of her body as she was thrown to the ground.
A million thoughts rushed through my head as I stood paralyzed in that moment between disbelief and terror. I had witnessed the world change from the humdrum safe place where all things flowed easily to the violent chaos of two lives suddenly entangled in a catastrophic moment of hell, and never to be the same again.
In some ways, it is fortunate that I did not see the accident because of my blindness. My only memory is of that which I heard. Yet to this day, the sound of screeching brakes remind me of an afternoon I would rather forget.
Can this forgetting be enough? Does our skipping over a story in the back of the paper about a pedestrian injured or killed in an accident make it less real? Does an utterance of some glib remark about how there ought to be a law, or how we hope they came out okay or that God should help them; sufficiently resolve things? Certainly not for the woman who was struck, nor for the driver who must now live with the memory, and clearly not for all who have paid the high cost of dying to keep pedestrian safety a laudable social goal, even as it suffers from the neglect of politicians too weak to confront the realities, traffic engineers too distracted by how many vehicles they can move over congested streets in as short a time as possible, and a public feeling too overwhelmed with issues to prioritize it.
Is there anything we can do that will make a difference? Yes. Will it cost us a bundle? No. What is it?
* Support zoning and building codes that require sidewalks and various detectable cues to remind pedestrians of areas where increased attention is indicated. Our benign neglect of these simple precautions, literally place pedestrians in harm's way.
* Support public investment in accessible pedestrian traffic signals. These devices make a different and reinforcing sound to differentiate walk and don't walk cycles for many people, such as blind folks, children, and elders who often must walk to reach their destinations. They also give drivers the added security of knowing that the pedestrian is fully aware of when its okay to walk.
* Avoid laughing at, or making ultimately foolish remarks about getting 2 points for hitting the old person or similar jokes that reinforce the notion that drivers should benefit at the expense of the pedestrian. That old person could well become the victim of a desensitized driver to the consequences of his or her actions.
* Avoid jay walking and giving any credibility to the fantasy that when a pedestrian fails to properly cross the street at a given point, that they somehow become expendable.
* Employ universal design features to new vehicles, such as the electric car to provide advanced warning of their approach, as exemplified by an inoffensive, yet discernable sound.
* Join with groups such as the American Council of the Blind to demand that traffic engineers take fully into account the needs of both drivers and pedestrians. Now is a particularly good time to move this agenda since congress has begun to seriously recognize and economically support pedestrian safety with the passage of the new Transportation Act. Section 1202 of TEA-21 adds audible traffic signals and audible signs at street crossings to the list of projects eligible for a federal match -- from 80 to 95%, depending on proximity to public transportation.
In summary, pedestrian safety is more than an abstract ideal. It is protecting our children, our parents and ourselves against needless harm, injury, and death. We all can make the difference.
A short call to our local traffic engineering department encouraging them to make sure pedestrian safety is a top priority, will save lives. Make your call today. Do it for those who no longer can.
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