Senior Pedestrian Safety

Pedestrian Safety Tips for Seniors

If you are 65 or older, these tips can help you stay safe when crossing the street:

• Avoid routes with wide, complicated intersections.
• Walk with someone if you have impaired mobility, hearing, or eyesight.
• Walk only during daylight hours.
• Cross streets with a group of other pedestrians.
• Wear bright, visible clothing.
• Choose routes with heavy pedestrian traffic and where drivers are used to seeing pedestrians.

Spend time talking to your children about pedestrian safety before you allow them to walk alone. Walk with your child the first few times on a new route to rehearse safe walking habits and identify potential hazards. Teach your child to follow safety rules, such as:

• Cross the street only at a corner, crosswalk, or intersection.
• Cross only at crosswalks when available.
• Stop and check for cars in all directions before crossing, even at crosswalks.
• Listen for cars as well as look.
• Walk across the street quickly.
•  Obey pedestrian traffic signals and the law.
• Walk on sidewalks only.
• Keep your cell phone in your pocket until you reach your destination.
• Remove or turn off headphones when crossing the street.
• Walk with a buddy.

If your child is young, walk with them or designate a trusted adult. Hold hands while crossing the street, and be a model of safe pedestrian behavior.

Other Dangerous Places for Pedestrians

You may not think of yourself as a pedestrian in the locations below, but the same rules apply.

Public Transit Hubs

Safety rules at public transit locations are similar to those around school buses. Stay in designated waiting areas, and avoid running toward the bus or train to catch it. Public transit infrastructure is lacking in many urban areas. Stops may be located too far apart in areas that require riders to walk along busy arterial roads without the assistance of crosswalks. Leave enough time to walk to the transit stop, ensuring you do not have to rush. Avoid crossing the street mid-block to save time.

Parking Lots

Drivers are often more distracted in parking lots than on the roads. Do not assume drivers can see you. Follow the tips below to stay safe in parking lots:

• Watch for drivers pulling out of parking spaces, especially those backing out.
• Do not walk behind vehicles that are backing out.
• Leave plenty of space between yourself and parked vehicles.
• Although drivers are supposed to yield to pedestrians in front of stores, do not assume they will. Wait until they stop before crossing.
• Wait to pull out your cell phone until you reach your car or destination.

Roadsides and Shoulders

If you must walk in an area without a sidewalk, walk facing the traffic so you can be aware of the traffic headed toward you. It is illegal to walk on interstates and expressways in most states. However, if a vehicle breaks down on a major highway, it may be necessary to exit on the roadside or shoulder.

Move-over laws in most states require drivers to slow down or change lanes for emergency vehicles, and these laws often also apply to broken-down vehicles. Still, thousands of people are injured every year near vehicles stopped along roads, often because drivers fail to obey move-over laws. If your vehicle breaks down on a major roadway, watch for speeding cars and stay as far from the traffic as possible. Exit and enter your vehicle through the side farthest from traffic.

Tips for Drivers to Keep Pedestrians Safe

Every driver has a legal duty to use reasonable care to avoid hurting pedestrians and bicyclists, even if they are in the wrong place. Approximately 7,522 pedestrians were killed in 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and 76,000 were injured. Drivers can prevent many of these accidents by following a few important safety rules. For example:

• Watch for pedestrians in crosswalks and prepare to stop.
• Never pass a car that is stopped in front of a crosswalk.
• Scan for pedestrians in low visibility conditions (e.g., foggy weather and at night).
• Drive at or below the speed limit.
• Move over or slow down for disabled and emergency vehicles.
• Obey traffic signals and yield to pedestrians in parking lots and crosswalks.
• Check all of your mirrors and over your shoulder repeatedly when backing.
• Never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Avoid activities that take your focus off the road, especially texting and talking on your cell phone.

Pedestrian Safety Is Everyone’s Responsibility

Drivers and pedestrians must work together to promote pedestrian safety. Many pedestrian accidents and deaths could be prevented if drivers obeyed posted speed limits, paid attention to the roads, and didn’t use their cell phones while driving. Pedestrians can also keep themselves safe by using crosswalks, paying attention when crossing the street, and not assuming drivers can always see them.

Many roadways in the United States were designed to make travel as convenient as possible for motor vehicles, but this convenience often comes at the cost of pedestrian safety. Slower speed limits, narrower roads, speed bumps, and crosswalks save lives. Government agencies throughout the country have taken notice, but it will take many years to see meaningful change.

Thanks to:

Lever & Ecker, PLLC  https://www.leverecker.com/

Attorneys at Law

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