Pedestrian Safety
Cars are the most common form of transportation in big cities across the world. However, the fact is that we have to share the road with pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. It can get pretty especially tense in crowed urban cities where streets can be narrow. Here are a few tips to help you drive safely.
When you are driving on the road it is extremely important to be aware of pedestrians. Pedestrians always have the right of way; especially at crossroads. In Los Angeles and other big cities, it’s not uncommon to see pedestrians enter into a crosswalk without a stop light. This means that the driver doesn’t have a red light to alert him or her to stop. You simply have to scan the road at all times and make sure that no one is crossing the road.
It’s also important to drive slow as you are driving by a crosswalk. This will give you ample of time to stop in case someone enters the crosswalk. If you see the car besides you come to a halt near a crosswalk that may be an indicator that someone is walking across. By law, drivers need to stop once someone steps foot into the crosswalk.
Pay extra attention when you are entering the street from a parking lot. This requires even more care in the city where you have lots of pedestrians who may be walking past your car. The best course of action in this scenario is to move up slowly and very carefully.
Another major problem is jay walking; this is when pedestrians run into the middle of the street without a crosswalk in sight. People generally jaywalk because there isn’t a crosswalk nearby or because they want to cross the street as fast as possible. It’s illegal to jaywalk and pedestrians can be cited. Jaywalking is particularly dangerous at night due to reduced visibility.
It’s also imperative to be mindful of bike riders. This is generally easy on streets that are equipped witha bike lane. However, in areas without bike lanes, cyclists will sometimes bike really closely to cars passing them which can be very dangerous. Always check your rearview mirrors and observe if there is a cyclist near your car.
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