Pedestrian Safety By Brenda Williams At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Pedestrians can be the bane of existence for many drivers- especially those pedestrians who don't pay attention and feel that they can do whatever they want to while they are outside. However, pedestrians need to remember that they must share the roads with drivers in order to maintain overall safety for everyone and avoid costly accidents.

There have been many times that I have been driving down the road early in the mornings and have seen children waiting for the bus by sitting on the curb of a busy road with their feet just begging to be run over by an unsuspecting driver. I remember being a child on the school bus when my bus driver saw this very same incident play out, and to this day I remember what she did. She stopped the bus, got off the bus and told the child who was sitting on the curb that it was not safe to be sitting down on the curb so close to the road. Her reason for this was that by having a child sit down like that, it made it more difficult for other drivers to see the child in the morning when it was still somewhat dark out. And you know what? She was right.

People who like to ride their bicycles during the day need to remember the importance of safety as well. Depending on where you live, there may be different rules from the ones that I am about to give. But normal, a cyclist needs to ride in the roadway (not on the sidewalk) and must have a helmet on. Additionally, the cyclist must ride with traffic (not against traffic) and obey any and all rules for the road as if they were a vehicle. This means no running red lights and indicating when you are about to make a turn onto a different roadway. If you are a pedestrian cyclist, you should still wear a helmet at all times despite the fact that you are riding your bicycle on the sidewalk. In the case of a pedestrian cyclist, pedestrian cyclists always need to yield the right of way to other pedestrians who are jogging or walking. If you are coming up on a jogger or someone walking, wait until you are a certain closeness away (typically within earshot) and alert the jogger or person walking as to which side you are coming up on, this way they can move to the opposite side. When you are preparing to cross the street, you are supposed to get off of your bike and walk your bike across the roadway.

For those of us who love to run outside, it can sometimes be a pain to do so if you are trying to fit a run in in the middle of the day or in the afternoon when traffic is heavier. If you can, try to do your runs earlier in the morning when there isn't as much traffic and when you can breathe a little easier. The same rules apply to runners as do pedestrian cyclists when it comes to slower pedestrians. Always make your presence known by telling others what side you are coming up on. For instance, when you are approaching another pedestrian from behind, it would be appropriate to say, “Coming up on your left”. This is especially true if the other pedestrian is walking a dog or is elderly.

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