CATONSVILLE, Md. — The ‘walk’ sign may not save you if you try to cross on foot at Baltimore National Pike and St. Agnes Lane.
“The drivers---they don’t care,” said Eric Gaither who lives near the intersection, “If you’re walking across the street even though they have a red, green light, they will not slow down.”
Watch as costumed signal people at dangerous intersections
And sometimes, even when the motorists are cautious, the pedestrians are not.
“She said the woman that was going to make the turn, she saw the lady and blew the horn and then stopped,” Gaither said, recalling an accident this week, “and then she thought the woman wasn’t going to do nothing so she came out and then the woman walked out in front of her car.”
More pedestrian crashes happen in October than any other month, and that’s why ‘signal people’ clad in white are hitting intersections like this one with safety messages also carried on the airwaves.
“We know that pedestrians are incredibly vulnerable,” said Chrissy Nizer of the MDOT Motor Vehicle Administration, “They don’t have that protection around them of a vehicle so we want to make sure that everybody looks out for each other to keep everybody safe especially this time of year when temperatures are cooler. It’s starting to get dark earlier.”
Street teams like this one are offering up safety tips, whether you’re walking, biking or driving---all in an effort to save lives.
It’s an initiative of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council.
“Always, always, always stop for people in crosswalks and when making turns, look twice,” said Mike Kelly, the council’s executive director, “Be sure to yield to people walking or biking. Pedestrians also have a role to play. If you are walking, make sure to use crosswalks or cross at intersections.”
It’s an awareness campaign that calls on the walkers to better protect themselves and on drivers to resist calling, texting or speeding to avoid hitting them in the process.
“You should be mindful,” said Gaither, “You’ve got a two-thousand-pound vehicle. That’s a human being. Flesh and bone. Come on now. Slow down.”
