Like many universities across the country, Southeastern has a lot of pedestrian traffic. Pedestrians count on crosswalks to get across the busy streets around campus safely.
However, there are several places on campus where pedestrians stand and watch as cars go by until finally someone stops to let them cross.
For many years one of the worst offenders was the crosswalk going to the new Classroom Building.
The lines of the crosswalk were old and fading, and the placement really didn’t make sense because it didn’t line up with the sidewalks leading to the Classroom Building.
One of the changes made on campus was the repainting of this crosswalk and moving it to line up with the sidewalk.
This has led to more people stopping for pedestrians, improving safety around campus. Now drivers are consistently stopping for pedestrians at the crosswalk here.
Unfortunately that can’t be said for the crosswalks on University Avenue.
University is a busy street with both vehicle and pedestrian traffic. It is a common sight for a pedestrian to be attempting to cross the street in a crosswalk, only to have drivers not stop.
According to the Oklahoma Drivers Manual, drivers are supposed to “yield to people crossing the roadway, whether the crosswalk is marked or unmarked,” adding that drivers must be “especially alert in school zones and high-traffic pedestrian areas.”
Due to the size of our campus, Southeastern qualifies as both a school zone and a high-traffic area.
On University Avenue, many people have to cross the road to get to the bookstore. People also cross the road from the parking lot to get to Hallie McKinney.
Yet it is common to see people waiting to cross while cars drive on by.
There is another high pedestrian traffic area by Paul Laird Field. People are constantly going from either the parking lot or the tennis courts into the gym.
It is up to the Southeastern community as a whole to make sure every member of the community stays safe.
Many students might think they can’t slow down because they will be late for class. First of all, teachers would rather students be a little late than to be in an accident.
Second, it is up to students to make sure they allot enough time to get to class.
Another thing a driver can do to help ensure the safety of members of the Southeastern community and the community at large is to refrain from driving and texting.
According to stoptextsstopwrecks.org, “In a study over 18 months, college students using a sophisticated driving simulator showed an eight times greater crash risk when texting than when not texting.”
Drive-safely.net says, “In a closed course study, most texters kept their eyes off the road for a period of three to five seconds when texting while driving. This is enough to travel 100 yard, or the entire length of a football field.”
One way people can fully understand how much can happen in a short time go down to Paul Laid Field and think back to all the times something has appeared from out of nowhere while you were driving, whether it was a person or an animal.
While driving down the road, let the text wait. If you can’t wait to read or reply to a text, pull over.
Driving is a privilege, not a right. When behind the wheel, make sure you are alert to your surroundings.
And the next time you see someone at the side of the road on campus, stop and let them cross. Pedestrians do have the right, well the right of way at least, to cross the road without fear of getting run over.
November 15, 2012