Pedestrians Beware

There have been recent incidents of pedestrians being fatally injured on our roads. The pedestrian council becomes vocal every time this happens. After the most recent incidents their first reaction was to apparently call for fences along the footpath on main roads. What we need are smarter, more aware pedestrians. The pedestrian council does have education initiatives with the aim of changing current attitudes. It would be good if they could focus on these methods rather than trying to protect the public from their own stupidity (as is most often the case in these incidents). Perhaps they are resigned to people continually doing stupid things, no matter how educated they might be. Let’s face it, we live in a sinful world that holds a long history of human stupidity.

With my own eyes I have seen pedestrians step onto a road at an assigned crossing, blissfully unaware of the traffic. All of one metre was the difference between life and severe injury or death on one incident where I was a bystander. So fences might be good around pubs and clubs but at crossings they would be rather impractical.

Is there a permanent solution? Well the pedestrian council seems to be trying hard with it’s limited resources. What it would take would be a dramatic cultural shift. A turn away from our self-obsession and ‘everything now’ mentality. People need to take responsibility for their actions as pedestrians, as their decisions can affect many others, not just themselves. There shouldn’t have to be a pedestrian council to keep you safe.