This quick presentation was a discussion about what the City of Orlando and Orange County are doing to make streets safer here in town. We also went over the Florida driver-yield laws to make sure everyone in the room understands who has the right-of-way. Some of the questions we received are below:
Why do so many pedestrians walk wherever they want to instead of using the crosswalk?
- This is a hard question to answer, but when we have spoken with people crossing outside of the crosswalk, many say it is due to the extended distance to the crosswalk. Many say it seems ridiculous to walk a quarter mile out of the way to the crosswalk and walk another quarter of a mile back.
- Other reasons which have been cited include reducing the amount of conflict points at intersections. Many choose to cross about 50 ft from the crosswalk so they only have to deal with drivers coming from one direction at a time. How we can urge pedestrians not to do this is to create PLI or Pedestrian Lead intervals which allow the pedestrian the head start to get into the crosswalk and be seen before the right or left turning vehicle has a green light.
Why do they not teach our students this information in schools?
- The WalkSafe curriculum is currently mandatory in OCPS schools for Kindergarten through second grade. It is now part of the BFF mission to get this implemented from K – 5 in all OCPS elementary schools. Children truly are the changemakers in this process.
If I am driving along and a pedestrian just walks out into the street, am I at fault?
- This is questions we hear often. Who is at fault? Well, let us tell you that if this terrible accident actually happened, fault is not the first thing that should come to your mind. If you are driving and there is a pedestrian in the road – no matter what – you should stop. However, if the accident in unavoidable, and your vehicle hits a pedestrian outside of a crosswalk – considering all other traffic laws are being followed- the pedestrian may be issued a $62.50 citation.
