It has not been a banner year for pedestrians in Oregon. As of Tuesday, 55 Oregon pedestrians have been killed. That is an 86% increase since last year! An editorial published in Wednesday's Oregonian discusses these facts and pointedly reminds us that we are ALL pedestrians at some point in our day.
I spend at least 20 minutes of every defensive driving class going over pedestrian issues. When you leave my class you know that there is a crosswalk at every intersection, even if it is not marked by painted lines (for a good reminder of that, see the second video below); but what difference does that knowledge make if you let distractions take your focus away from safe driving, or if you don't vigilantly remind yourself to not only look for pedestrians, but to see them?
(Here's a good example of "inattentional blindness" or the "looked but didn't see" phenomenon)
Here is the link to the video.
The editorial reminds us that pedestrians have responsibility as well. Look at the coat hanging on the back of your chair. What color is it? Black? Dark blue? Isn't it kind of counter-intuitive to wear dark outerwear as we go into the darkest part of the year? Tom Vanderbilt, in his fascinating book Traffic: Why we Drive the Way We Do (and What it Says About Us), says this:
"Studies have shown that pedestrians think drivers can see them up to twice as far away as drivers do. According to one expert, if we were to drive at night in a way that ensured we could see every potential hazard in time to stop---what is legally called the 'assured clear distance'---we would have to drive 20 miles per hour."
I spend at least 20 minutes of every defensive driving class going over pedestrian issues. When you leave my class you know that there is a crosswalk at every intersection, even if it is not marked by painted lines (for a good reminder of that, see the second video below); but what difference does that knowledge make if you let distractions take your focus away from safe driving, or if you don't vigilantly remind yourself to not only look for pedestrians, but to see them?
(Here's a good example of "inattentional blindness" or the "looked but didn't see" phenomenon)
Here is the link to the video.
The editorial reminds us that pedestrians have responsibility as well. Look at the coat hanging on the back of your chair. What color is it? Black? Dark blue? Isn't it kind of counter-intuitive to wear dark outerwear as we go into the darkest part of the year? Tom Vanderbilt, in his fascinating book Traffic: Why we Drive the Way We Do (and What it Says About Us), says this:
"Studies have shown that pedestrians think drivers can see them up to twice as far away as drivers do. According to one expert, if we were to drive at night in a way that ensured we could see every potential hazard in time to stop---what is legally called the 'assured clear distance'---we would have to drive 20 miles per hour."
Of course we all have responsibilities to share the road. However, when you are the one who is hurtling a deadly weapon down the street at 35 miles per hour or more, you have the greater responsibility to ensure you are doing everything you can to protect vulnerable road users. Remind yourself that you can't see what you're not looking for, and then consciously ask yourself over and over if there are any pedestrians (or cyclists) around.
(By the way, here's a crosswalk reminder, in case it's been a while since you brushed up: )
No comments:
Post a Comment