Police warn drivers to watch for pedestrians

Sunday, February 20, 2011

It's that time of year again when more and more people are walking and even riding bikes in the community, and that has caused the city police to advise drivers to be cautious.

"The traffic in and around Mountain Home continues to increase (and) while pedestrians cannot impede flowing traffic or dart out in front of a vehicle, the chance that this may happen still exists," noted Sgt. Rick Viola of the Mountain Home Police Department.

In Idaho, the latest statistics show that crashes involving pedestrians decreased by 5 percent in 2009 and the number of pedestrians killed in motor vehicle crashes decreased by 9 percent. But of all pedestrians involved in crashes in 2009, 97 percent received some degree of injury. Of those injured or killed in pedestrian crashes, 21 percent were between the ages of 4 and 14.

The number of bicycle crashes increased in 2009 by 6 percent, one of the few areas that crashes have increased the past couple of years, Viola said. "This may be a result of people using alternate forms of transportation due to the high price of fuel and the poor economy." Of the bicyclists involved in crashes in 2009, 99 percent received some degree of injury. Of all bicyclists involved in crashes in 2009, 19 percent were between the ages of 4 and 14.

Viola noted that while crosswalk safety is both the responsibility of the pedestrian and the motorist, there are some things that people need to know and do.

A vehicle traveling at 20 mph requires a minimum of 40 feet to stop. Five percent of the pedestrians hit by cars at that speed were fatally injured. When the speed increased to 30 mph, the motorist needed 75 feet to stop and 45 percent of pedestrians involved in those crashes were killed. Increasing speed to 40 mph, the motorist needed 120 feet to stop and 85 percent of the pedestrians involved in those crashes died.

"If you travel the speed limit or slow down for conditions and are cautious and courteous, these tragedies can be avoided," Viola said. "Much of the threat to walking safely comes from motorists' speed. The faster a motorist drives, the more likely he or she is to be involved in a crash and the more likely injuries to a person on foot will be serious, if not fatal."

According to Idaho Code, at a marked crosswalk, when traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle must yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian, slowing down, or stopping if need be, to yield to a pedestrian crossing the highway within a crosswalk.

The code also says that no pedestrian "shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard."

Whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the highway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear cannot overtake and pass the stopped vehicle.

Except where otherwise indicated by a crosswalk or other traffic-control devices, pedestrians must cross the highway at right angles to the curb or by the shortest route to the opposite curb.

When pedestrians cross a street or highway at other than a crosswalk, they must yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the highway, and any pedestrian crossing a highway at a point where a pedestrian tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing has been provided must yield the right-of-way to all vehicles upon the highway.

Between adjacent intersections at which traffic-control signals are in operation, pedestrians must not cross at any place except in a marked crosswalk.

Pedestrians must not cross a highway intersection diagonally unless authorized by traffic-control devices. When authorized to cross diagonally, pedestrians can cross only in accordance with the traffic-control devices pertaining to crossing movements.

Crosswalks exist on all four corners of most intersections, whether or not they are marked by painted lines.

Furthermore, Viola said, "Do not stop in the crosswalk. Instead, stop behind the stop bar so that pedestrians can cross the street safely.

"When approaching a car in another lane that has stopped at a crosswalk, stop. A pedestrian is probably crossing the street in front of that car."

In addition, he reminded drivers that before pulling out of a driveway, parking lot or garage, stop behind the sidewalk and check for pedestrians who might be using the sidewalk.

In addition, vehicles should stay off of sidewalks and avoid blocking the sidewalk area of driveways.

Viola also reminded motorists that, "Kids see and hear the world differently than adults. Kids have trouble judging traffic speed, gaps in traffic, or whether a car is coming, going or standing still. Kids have trouble understanding that a car can't stop as quickly as they can.

"Kids often think that if they can see a car, then the driver can see them, even if they are standing behind a shrub or parked car.

"Kids don't realize that drivers are paying attention to many things and aren't focused on just them."

Viola noted that most children are short, so being able to see in and around cars is more difficult for them, and they have limited ability to detect traffic in their side vision.

"Kids focus on one thing at a time. When they're concentrating on a ball game in their yard, they're not thinking about nearby traffic," so motorists must be careful.

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