The Crosswalks Essays Examples

Crosswalks are vital places that help to make the process of crossing the street safe. Moreover, they help the drivers to see the pedestrians and reduce the risk of getting into a car accident. Nevertheless, people should not underestimate the danger of crossing the street even if there is a crosswalk. The poor quality facilities have always been the main reason why the pedestrian injuries occur. So in order to change the situation for the better, three issues need to be addressed: responsible behaviour of the pedestrians, better visibility and slower traffic at the crosswalks or in the places where people usually cross the street, and new technologies that will help to make the drivers follow the road traffic rules.
Firstly, the attitude and behaviours of the pedestrians should change. People must be careful and familiar with the road traffic rules in the part that concerns the rights of the pedestrians. Pedestrians often cross the street in the places not designated for crossing. In most cases such attitude is not dangerous at all, especially if a person lives in a small community that has not been affected by the urban sprawl. However, crossing the street at the crosswalk significantly decreases the risk of getting into the accident. The jaywalking is not a legally defined offence, but one should try to follow the rules: cross the street only if the “walk”-signal allows that, continue crossing the street if the signal changes to the “don’t walk”, look at the approaching cars in the left direction and then in the right direction, etc.
Secondly, a crosswalk does not guarantee avoidance of accidents. The visibility of the pedestrians should be increased especially at the unmarked crosswalks. Since most of the casualties occur in the dark, dawn of dusk conditions, the pedestrians should wear retro-reflective clothing and small reflectors or even carry a flashlight. In terms of the streets, there should be more signs and road surface markings that will warn the drivers that they are approaching an unsafe part of the road. Sometimes the adult guards may help to regulate the traffic and increase the visibility of the crosswalks near the schools. In this case, the guards must know the road traffic rules well and act professionally in order not to confuse the students and the drivers.
Finally, the new technologies and innovations may make the crosswalk safer. There are some prototypes of the laser projectors that can work together with the traffic lights in order to regulate the pedestrian and car traffic. Also road humps and special paint for the road marking may reduce the car speed and thus reduce the severity of injuries. Using the new innovative solutions may also help to gather the information about the road traffic and adjust the traffic lights and the road signs based on the collected data. As the result, not only the traffic safety will improve, the people will also benefit from the increased mobility in the community.
In conclusion, the crosswalks are the best place for crossing the street, since the underground walkways are expensive and inconvenient. Therefore in order to reduce the risk of being hit by a car, a person must follow the rules and be careful when crossing the street. In turn, the local communities, state and federal governments should pay more attention to the improvement of safety on the roads. The new technologies may help to make the crosswalks more visible and make the drivers more slowly in accordance with the road traffic rules. Fortunately, now the crosswalks are the very safe places for crossing the street and in general the number of injuries has been declining every year. Though there is always a risk on the road and the people should not take it for granted.