Commuting, crossing near campus dangerous
Recent accidents reinforce need increased pedestrian safety
Bruce Cummings
Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: Campus
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Over the past year, there have been several near misses and a few accidents that have involved vehicles hitting pedestrians as they were making there way to the college.
Westminster professors Scott Gust and Elree Harris are both faculty members who were recently struck by moving vehicles near campus.
"I was walking to school and crossed the street at 1700 South and 1100 East," Gust said. "Suddenly I was hit by a car making a left hand turn." Gust said the driver that hit him was a 95-year-old woman that said didn't see him until it was too late.
Gust was hit on his left side, leaving deep lacerations and abrasions to his lower leg. Gust said that the college did an excellent job in handling his 10-week leave of absence for recovery.
"The thing people don't get is that this is a busy neighborhood with lots of people around and the risk of something like this happing is much greater," Gust said.
Carolyn Connell, math department faculty, commented about her near misses on her journeys to the college on a bicycle. "I've had several close calls," Connell said, "especially around the intersection at 1700 South and 1300 East." Connell said it is hard to get the attention of drivers around the area and that makes it difficult for pedestrians to stay safe.
Over time, Connell said she had improvised some safety measures to decrease the chance of an accident. "The best thing I've found is to attach a rear view mirror to my glasses to see vehicles behind me, this enable me to see if I can turn safety." Connell also said, "I also make eye contact with people before I cross the street." She said this makes a big difference and has had saved her from many accidents.
The Utah Traffic Safety Digest said that in an average year in Utah, automobiles kill 40 pedestrians and injure 1,080 others. School age youth are at most risk for being struck by an automobile as a pedestrian. In Utah, pedestrians ages 19 and under account for over one-half of the pedestrians struck by an automobile and over one-third of the pedestrian deaths in Utah.
Here are some safety tips for pedestrians from the Utah Pedestrian Safety Program. Walk on sidewalks. If sidewalks are not available, walk on the edge of the road or on the left shoulder of the road, facing the traffic flow. The program also said to cross at marked crosswalks or intersections.
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