Letter to the editor: Be a responsible pedestrian

Distracted driving (texting, cellphone calls, drinking, etc.) is certainly a problem for pedestrians, as the latest death toll statistics indicate. However, pedestrians are a significant part of the problem.

When you walk or run along the road, you are required to face oncoming traffic as far to the left as possible. You should not use headphones, be intoxicated or wear dark clothes at night. Seems like a no-brainer, right? But the vast majority of pedestrians I see are walking or running on the wrong side of the road. So instead of being able to react to a distracted driver coming their way, they are clueless as to the weaving idiot texting in his/her car behind them.

When you walk on the road with traffic, the only eyes on you — or not — are the drivers behind you. When you walk facing oncoming traffic, you, in most circumstances, are now responsible for yourself. You can see that you need to get out of the way.

So teach your children the correct way to be a responsible pedestrian. When someone dies in a car wreck, it is usually reported whether they were wearing a seat belt or not. When a motorcyclist is killed on the road, it is usually reported whether they were wearing a helmet or not. As a public service, when a pedestrian is killed on the road, it should be reported whether they were on the correct side of the road or not. Education and public awareness should help alleviate this problem.

Dave Samuel

Hempfield