On October 27, 2023, the Unified Road Safety Day "Stop car, slow down! Pedestrian on the road!" will be held.
October 23, 2023
Unfortunately, pedestrian crossings are places where both drivers and pedestrians violate traffic rules.
The traffic police department of Glubokoe District Department of Internal Affairs is holding on October 27, 2023
A Unified Road Safety Day
"Stop Car, Slow Down! Pedestrian on the Road!", aimed at preventing road traffic accidents at pedestrian crossings.
Unfortunately, pedestrian crossings are places where both drivers and pedestrians violate traffic rules.
For 9 months of 2023, 67 traffic accidents involving pedestrians occurred (85 in 2022), in which 12 people died (16 in 2022), and 57 were injured (71 in 2022).
Remember:
Drivers must consider the behavior of pedestrians and react appropriately to their actions. It is almost always possible to determine the intention to enter the road in a place not intended for it by various signs. A pedestrian already on the roadway, upon seeing a rapidly approaching car, usually gets confused and most often tries to return. If they have covered half the way, you should drive around them from behind, and if they have just stepped onto the roadway, reduce speed and be prepared to brake.
Not every pedestrian can determine the speed of an approaching vehicle. Elderly people, children, and many adults have a poor understanding of vehicle capabilities. They react more to their external appearance. They will likely let a truck or a large vehicle pass. A car moving much faster does not cause them such a sense of alarm. Pedestrians in groups are even bolder, especially after waiting for a break in continuous traffic.
Special attention should be paid to the fact that children may appear on the roadway. They are usually impatient, often misjudge the direction and speed of a vehicle. Children may start crossing the roadway directly in front of a vehicle and without looking back. Sometimes, after letting one or two cars pass and waiting a bit, they lose patience and run out onto the road in front of the next one. Parents need to discuss such situations with their children and remember to set a proper example.
A pedestrian is a full participant in traffic; they have rights and obligations on par with drivers. One of their main rights is the priority crossing of the roadway at an unregulated pedestrian crossing, as well as at a regulated pedestrian crossing when the signal from a traffic controller or traffic light is permissive.
Let's break down some important concepts together.
1. Who is a pedestrian?
A pedestrian is a natural person participating in road traffic outside a vehicle, including those moving in wheelchairs, on scooters, roller skates, skis, other sports equipment, leading a bicycle, moped, or motorcycle, pulling a sled or stroller (cart), and not performing repair work on the road in the prescribed manner. A person moving using personal mobility devices is equated to a pedestrian.
2. What is a pedestrian crossing?
A pedestrian crossing is a section of the roadway intended for pedestrians to cross the roadway of the road.
3. How to properly cross the roadway?
There are ground-level, underground, and overhead crossings for crossing the roadway. These are the safest ways for people.
It is also important to ensure your own safety at a pedestrian crossing. Before crossing the road, you must make sure that it is safe to do so and that there are no approaching vehicles. This is because, despite the driver's obligation to yield to a pedestrian, they may simply not have enough time to brake.
3. Pedestrian rights.
A pedestrian has the right to priority crossing of the roadway at an unregulated pedestrian crossing, bicycle crossing (when moving on personal mobility devices), as well as at a regulated pedestrian crossing, bicycle crossing (when moving on personal mobility devices) when the signal from a traffic controller or traffic light is permissive.
As a pedestrian is a person who, in one way or another, participates in road traffic, they have certain rights established by law. Firstly, they can be involved in a road traffic accident, either as the perpetrator or the victim. Secondly, the legislation provides for the rules of movement for pedestrian road users in various conditions.
However, in practice, drivers, who operate a source of increased danger, often find that pedestrians have greater priority on the road. Although it is the pedestrian who is the more vulnerable road user and, in essence, is forced to take care of their own safety. But practice shows that pedestrian road users are very careless about their lives and health. Pedestrians assume that they are in a priority position at a pedestrian crossing and are therefore protected. But this is not the case! A pedestrian is obliged not only to observe the traffic rules but also to be vigilant and cautious on the road, to sense danger, and to understand that there is no point in competing with the power of "iron machines." This must be understood and taught to children from an early age, instilling the habit of sensing danger on the road so that it becomes the norm.
For violating traffic rules, a pedestrian is held administratively liable.
Ignorance of the law does not exempt citizens from responsibility, therefore, the absence of a personal vehicle is not an indication that road safety rules are not mandatory.
Senior Inspector of the State Road Safety Inspectorate of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Glubokoe District Department of Internal Affairs, Police Captain E.A. Sivitckiy