Campus Corner

Campus Corner

Winter Pedestrian Safety Tips

Try to cross the street at crosswalks. Crossing the street is the single most dangerous thing a pedestrian can do. However, crossing at crosswalks - and better yet, at signalized crosswalks with a "WALK" phase - increases your chances of being seen and usually causes vehicles to stop and let you cross. Be extremely wary of oncoming vehicles and get across as quickly as you can. DON'T assume that traffic will slow or stop for you unless it already has! Which leads to #2...

Always distrust moving vehicles when crossing the road. If you have any doubt about whether they will stop, don't step out. Maine State Law requires vehicles to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks.. You may be in the right, but you don't want to be dead right.. Make eye contact as you step off the curb and watch for clear signals that the driver will stop for you: return of eye contact, slowing speed, invitational hand gestures (NOT the rude kind!). On multi-lane roads, watch carefully as you step in front of a stopped vehicle to make sure that the rest of the traffic from both directions sees you and stops for you. Again, try to make eye contact before crossing.

Long shadows = poor visibility. Some accidents occur because a driver fails to see a pedestrian in the road - especially during winter months. Stay off the street, out of the crosswalk, until you are sure the driver sees you and is prepared to stop, and always pay attention to the lighting around you in relation to the roadway.

If you must walk on the roadway at night, take pains to make yourself visible. Make it a point to wear light colored clothing and consider adding strips of reflective tape (available in hardware stores and bike shops) front and back. Motorists do not expect to see pedestrians out after dark, and many motorists have some degree of vision impairment in low light. So if you cross the road after dark, illuminate yourself.

If you must walk in a roadway, always walk facing traffic. Actually, you should always walk on the sidewalk if you can - in fact, it's illegal in Maine to walk on the street if a sidewalk is provided. If a sidewalk is unavailable, always walk facing traffic so you can see oncoming vehicles and have a chance to get out of the way.

A common accident type is getting struck from behind while walking with traffic. Needless to say, this is especially critical in snow or ice conditions where vehicles may lose traction and skid along the roadway (with reduced visibility as well). Unfortunately, these are the same conditions which block off sidewalks and force pedestrians out onto the street. But if you're set on going out, then at least walk facing traffic.

Crossing streets as a pedestrian requires common sense and constant awareness of one's surroundings. By observing these basic safety principles you can take full advantage of the many wonderful opportunities for walking around our campus and the surrounding downtown area.