With the milder spring weather the region has recently seen, more people are out and about on foot, which means more people crossing the street among cars. This can create a dangerous situation, especially for pedestrians, if drivers are not paying attention.
“Distraction is probably the No. 1 cause of car collisions in general, and that also applies to pedestrians,” said Capt. Warren Jensen, director of the Traffic Operations Division at the Montgomery County Police Department.
Jensen said cellphones are the main culprit as drivers could be looking down at them instead of paying attention to the road as someone steps into the street at a crosswalk. Or, pedestrians could be looking down at their phones and not looking both ways to see if cars headed in their direction are stopping.
“There’s a very shared responsibility here,” Jensen said.
Jensen said the first rule for keeping everyone safe is stop looking at phones instead of looking up at the road.
“You’ve got to put the phones down, whether you’re walking or whether you’re driving a car,” he said.
For drivers, doing that will allow them to scan for pedestrians, even those who may be trying to cross outside of a crosswalk or who are not following signals.
“Either way, I’m driving a 5,000-pound vehicle, I need to stop,” Jensen said.
He said it isn’t only adults crossing the street; this time of year, there are also children who could run into the road.
For drivers, Jensen recommends making eye contact with the pedestrian, which lets them know they can cross safely.
“If you have your head buried in your phone, you’re down, and you’re just like, ‘Whatever, I’m in a crosswalk. I’m going to cross the street.’ That’s not always going to work out,” he said.
Jensen said it’s important for drivers to know it is the law in Maryland to stop at a crosswalk without a light if someone is waiting to cross.
“At an uncontrolled intersection where it’s just a painted crosswalk, the driver would have to stop to let them cross both lanes and both sides of the road,” Jensen said.
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