It’s 6 p.m. and I’m walking on the bridge my best friend and I usually take near and around Highway 4. We get to the first out of two crosswalks and we hesitate, worried about our safety. It’s that time when people are getting off of work, which means traffic and careless drivers. When the light indicated it was our turn to cross the street we were met with inconsiderate drivers who sped past us despite the red light.

When drivers are in a rush and trying to turn when you’re on signal as a pedestrian to cross the street, it makes one wonder if all drivers in the city are that careless.

According to an article from the New York Times, researchers from Purdue University found after surveying 1000 motorists “many drivers are cynical about the safety benefits of driving within speed limits.” I suppose this means most drivers don’t trust the laws that have been put in place to ensure the safety of both drivers and pedestrians, so they break the rules by speeding and running red lights, thinking that the rules of the road are insignificant.

But why take that risk? I get it, you’re getting off work but if you see the white signal for a pedestrian to walk, you must stop and be patient.

Whenever I hear about hit-and-run accidents it’s usually elderly people and some of these accidents could have possibly been avoided by slowing down. According to an article on healthcommunities.com, “older walkers are twice as likely to die from motor vehicle injuries than people ages 34 and younger.” I’m only 20 years old and my life could flash before my eyes because of careless drivers.

“Older adults may account for the higher fatality rate because they’re less likely to recover from their injuries.” It is twice as bad if your ages 34 and up. I am a generally cautious when walking, especially when it comes to crossing other areas. Sometimes I have to glare at a driver to make sure I have their attention and that they see me.

Drivers tend to fly with their cars unnecessarily and there are barely any highway patrolmen out to catch them, so they get away with speeding. According to an article from The New York Times, “notably getting stopped for speeding doesn’t seem to have an effect on whether or not a person speeds again.”

A ticket won’t stop a driver from learning to watch the speed limit. Sadly, reckless drivers make me wonder if I should resume my driving lessons with my mom. Even if I’m in a vehicle myself I get paranoid and I’m usually the passenger.

Pedestrians might resort to jaywalking to keep from getting hit by a car but it could make things worse.

Yes pedestrians can be just as impatient or inattentive as some drivers. The streets could be clear but that could quickly change and suddenly you could be injured. The hand red signal is stop, the white signal of a figure is walk and the countdown to how many seconds you have to walk starts but its understandable if pedestrians don’t know the signals well. “Many pedestrians assume-wrongly it turns out that the countdown is designed to tell you how much time you have to clear the intersection, so you can make an informed decision on whether to cross the street or wait.”

Sometimes the way a crosswalk is built could confuse pedestrians and could mistake it as the right way to cross. But overall, drivers should be considerate to pedestrians and pedestrians should be considerate to drivers. It’s a two way street with circumstances, both sides could be in danger.