October is designated as Pedestrian Safety Month in the Alberta Traffic Calendar.

As such, local RCMP and municipal enforcement are reminding residents how to keep each other safe on the road.

That goes for both drivers and pedestrians.

Part of Okotoks peace officer Jesse Steele’s job is watching interactions between drivers and pedestrians, and sometimes he’ll see some troubling driving habits.

Oftentimes, close calls occur during right-hand turns.

“Today I stopped a gentleman who didn’t notice the pedestrians right in front of him. They were about halfway across the road walking towards his line of travel and they were halfway through and coming right toward him and he didn’t even see them."

Other times, drivers will make a turn while pedestrians are crossing, thinking they’re far enough down the crosswalk.

“At any time when pedestrians are on a roadway, even if it’s on the other side of the road and they’re in the crosswalk, it doesn’t matter how long you have to wait, you’ve got to yield to them. As long as they’re walking in your direction across the road, you’ve got to yield. People will say ‘oh, they’re far enough away, there’s no way something bad could happen,’ but there needs to be good practice of yielding to pedestrians taken into account.”

Pedestrian collisions also commonly occur when drivers don’t take notice that other cars are stopped at a crosswalk.

“There’s very specific legislation for being a secondary vehicle and not yielding when a lead vehicle is stopped. There should be no thought to overtake and pass when around crosswalks. There’s a reason a vehicle is stopped like that, hopefully, a driver is taking their due diligence into account and observing why that is,” says Steele.

He also sees some questionable practices from pedestrians from time to time.

Knowing when to cross is obviously an important skill to have as a pedestrian.

Some municipalities have their own ‘jaywalking” bylaws, though Steele says pedestrians are permitted to cross the road even outside a crosswalk as long as they aren’t impeding traffic.

“If a person decides, as a pedestrian, they want to cross a roadway that is not in a crosswalk, they must yield to the right of way to all vehicles. If someone decides they do not want to walk to a crosswalk, which is sometimes 100 metres away but they’re impatient, they’ll utilize taking a shortcut but they must yield to vehicles at all times. You shouldn’t be crossing a roadway when it’s impractical for a vehicle to yield to you.”

Showing your intention to cross is important, and Steele recommends using your arm to indicate your intention to cross.

Failing that, eye contact with drivers is also recommended.

Bicycles are a strange case, as they’re technically classed as vehicles, though people often ride them through crosswalks.

Steele recommends dismounting and walking bikes through crosswalks, and even doing the same with e-scooters, as both vehicles often move too fast to give drivers a chance to stop in time.

More information on pedestrian safety can be found on the provincial government's website.

 

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