Watch Out For That Pedestrian!

Summer has definitely come to an end and the dark, winter nights are here. During the shorter daylight months (October – March), it has been statistically proven that considerably more incidents involving pedestrians and vulnerable road users have occurred in comparison to other months. With the majority of the incidents occurring between 3pm – 7pm; we can use these statistics to make sure we are extra vigilant around these times for vulnerable pedestrians in the dark. 
This week’s tips for keeping pedestrians safe are from IAM RoadSmart’s head of driving and riding standards, Richard Gladman.

• Keep an eye on your speed, remember you are twice as likely to kill a pedestrian driving at 35 as you are if driving at 30mph. Be especially aware near schools, the only predictable thing about children is how unpredictable they can be. Remember 20 in these areas really is plenty.
• Children can be harder to see and may run out between parked vehicles, remember to ‘LOOK OUT’ (over, under and through) vehicles, you might just spot someone before they step out.
• Some pedestrians give a tell-tale sign of what they are about to do – look out for people who keep looking over their shoulder, they might be looking to cross the road. If you have a generous space in front of you and vehicles behind you they may well run across rather than wait for all the traffic to come past. You also need to watch for mobile phone ‘zombies’, if you see someone concentrating on their phone they are not concentrating on the traffic, be ready for them to just step out.
• When passing stationary vehicles keep at least a door’s width whenever possible, not just for the car door that might open into your path; also for someone or something coming out into your path from between the vehicles.
• Be considerate where you park, parking too close to a junction can obstruct someone’s view and make it harder to see, also be aware of not obstructing pavements and dropped kerbs.
• When it’s raining and blowing a gale, pedestrians are more likely to dash about and road safety often falls lower on their list of priorities than trying to keep dry.
• With the clocks just gone back, it can take children on bikes a bit of time to get used to the fact they need lights and can often get caught out being out without lights – make sure your children are aware of the need for lights on their bikes.

Just taking that extra bit of care during the darker winter months can make a big difference to overall road safety!