Identify Unsafe Behaviors
Unsafe motorist behaviors
Unsafe motorist behaviors may include the following:
- Speeding through residential streets and school zones (speed is directly related to crash frequency and severity)
- Failing to yield to pedestrians, especially in crosswalks (the law requires drivers to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks — it's a law that is often ignored)
- Running red lights or STOP signs
- Turning right or left at intersections without yielding to pedestrians
- Exiting or entering driveways or alleys without yielding to pedestrians
- Passing stopped cars (especially ones stopped at crosswalks) and school buses
- Parking or stopping in crosswalks
- Driving while distracted (e.g., by cell phones, radios, other people, eating food, etc.)
- Driving while intoxicated
Some drivers don't think about the risks they create. A driver may not think going 10 mph over the speed limit will be noticeably less safe, but just a 10 mph difference in speed can be critical to whether motorist can stop to avoid a pedestrian, or whether a pedestrian lives or dies when struck by a car. This is especially true for children and older pedestrians. At 20 mph, a pedestrian has about a 5 percent chance of dying if he is hit by a car. At 30 mph, the chance of dying increases to roughly 45 percent. If a pedestrian is hit by a motor vehicle traveling 40 mph, the risk of dying increases to 85 percent.
Unsafe pedestrian behaviors
A critical component of enforcement activities is ensuring that pedestrians know and follow the safety rules. Some unsafe pedestrian behaviors include:
- Crossing a street at an undesirable location.
- Not looking left, right, and left again before crossing the street.
- Darting out between parked cars into the path of oncoming cars.
- Wearing dark clothes when there is poor lighting.
- Not following the directions of traffic signals or crossing guards.
- Entering a stream of traffic and disrupting the flow.
- Walking while intoxicated, wearing headphones, or while talking on a cell phone.
