Middle
of the road not the place for pedestrians
Lesley Nickus
If you have ever been driving down Interstate 5 from San Diego to Los Angeles
in Camp Pendleton, you may have noticed a large yellow sign with a family running
across the freeway. This is to warn drivers that there may, in fact, be people
running across the freeway where they should
not be running.
Maybe Long Beach should invest in some of those signs. During certain times of
the day, you would be hard pressed to drive down Seventh Street without having
to stop in the middle of the road for some pedestrian jaywalking with a stroller,
endangering his own life and the lives of his children.
Come on people, there are 52 crosswalks between Cal State Long Beach and downtown
Long Beach on Seventh Street—I know, I counted them.
I understand it is tiring to walk two blocks out of the way to cross the street
at a crosswalk, but is it really worth risking your life to cross one of the
larger streets in Long Beach? Are you really that lazy?
Granted, some of the people jaywalking are drug addicts and alcoholics, which
means they probably don’t realize the severe danger they could encounter,
but many should know better.
The major problem is the law gives pedestrians the right of way regardless of
where they choose to cross the street.
This poses a problem for motorists, especially those who conduct other business
in the car like talking on a cell phone or looking
for CDs.
Although we would love to say we pay attention to everything going on around
us at all times, the reality for most drivers is quite the opposite. Drivers
are human, and sometimes get distracted, which can be fatal for a jaywalking
pedestrian.
The California Office of Traffic Safety gave $1.5 million to the city of Long
Beach to increase awareness of traffic safety.
Basically, we got million-dollar signs that will likely have little effect on
the amount of pedestrian-related traffic accidents because the bottom line is,
most of the jaywalkers don’t
care.
Don’t get me wrong, I can understand walking in the middle of the street
alone but when you endanger the lives of the children you are dragging along
with you, it is inexcusable. Not only because you are putting someone else’s
life on the line, but because you are teaching a new generation to jaywalk.
Imagine what would happen if your child were walking home from school alone and
decided to jaywalk. This is dangerous for a number of reasons.
First, drivers don’t always notice pedestrians until the last minute. God
forbid the driver is in an sport utility vehicle or lifted truck. Your 4-foot
child is less likely to be seen running out in front of such a large vehicle.
If the driver isn’t paying attention, it will be too late. Unless your
kid is Jackie Chan, he won’t be able to avoid being hit.
Second, children are less able to determine when it is safe to cross the street
alone. Their ability to determine how much time they have to cross a certain
amount of space before a car comes charging at them is significantly less
developed
than that of an adult.
A word to those who must jaywalk for whatever personal reason: if you are going
to do something dangerous, make sure you understand what the consequences are
if you fail to do so properly.
And drivers, because the law doesn’t protect you in a pedestrian-related
accident, make sure you pay a more attention, especially near the downtown area.
Lesley Nickus is a senior journalism major and the diversions editor for
the
Daily Forty-Niner.
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