Police have safety tips for pedestrians and motorists

August 7, 2013 · 0 Comments

With the summer here, Caledon OPP is promoting pedestrian and motorist safety tips to residents.
They said it’s unfortunate that in collisions involving pedestrians and motorists, it is the pedestrian who suffers the most. It is the responsibility of the both the driver and the pedestrian to ensure each other’s safety.
Pedestrian Safety Tips
• Do not wear anything that reduces your vision or hearing ability; this includes any electronic device or wearing a hood or earmuffs.
• Stop, look, listen and think. Follow these four steps before stepping onto the road.
• Don’t assume the vehicle will be able to stop. In wet and slippery weather conditions, a car might have difficulty stopping or could be experiencing mechanical problems. If you have the right of way, don’t step onto the roadway until the vehicle comes to a complete stop.
• Cross at marked crosswalks or traffic lights, not in the middle of the street or between parked cars.
• If the “Don’t Walk” signal begins to flash or once the light has turned yellow, do not cross.
• Watch for traffic turning at intersections or entering and leaving driveways; scan over your shoulder for turning vehicles.
• Wear bright or light-coloured clothing, or reflective strips, when walking in dusk or darkness.
• Make eye contact with drivers when crossing busy streets and continue to watch out for traffic the entire time you are in the crosswalk.
• Avoid walking in traffic where there are no sidewalks or crosswalks. If you have to walk on a road that has no sidewalks, walk facing traffic.
Motorist Safety Tips
• Obey traffic signals.
• Yield to pedestrians that are on the roadway.
• Be patient, especially with older pedestrians who need more time to cross the road.
• Always look for pedestrians, especially when making left and right turns.
• Expect the unexpected — a vehicle stopping in a lane beside you may be yielding to a pedestrian crossing the road.
• Never operate a motor vehicle while distracted.
• Remember, stay alert and slow down on residential street and through school zones.
Breaking the law can be costly. Fines for offences at pedestrian crossings and at crosswalks where there are traffic signals are $150 and three demerit points. All fines are doubled ($300) in Community Safety Zones near schools and public areas.
Parent or Caregiver Safety Tips
• Teach and reinforce the proper techniques for crossing the road safely with a child.
• Stress the importance of walking on the inside of the sidewalk, or where there are no sidewalks, as far away as possible from the travelled portion of the road.
• Remind children to stop before the edge of a sidewalk, driveways and where there are no curbs.
• Teach kids to look left, right and left again when crossing the road. Remind them to make eye contact with drivers before crossing in front of them and to watch out for cars that are turning or backing up.
• If children need to use an electronic device such as a phone, make sure they stop walking and find a safe area to talk. Teach kids to look up and pay extra attention when using headphones and to remove them when crossing the street.
For more information, check out opp.ca or the Ministry of Transportation website.