By Jay King, North Shore Village Chair
The streets and roadways of Lake Linganore were not designed to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. They are narrow and winding, designed to calm or slow traffic. There are pathways and trails to facilitate pedestrian traffic, but they do not interconnect all neighborhoods or provide off-road pedestrian accommodations between homes. As a result, as we look at the future of our community we must consider all ways to reasonably provide safe passage for pedestrians, ways that do not create disruption or great cost.
One way is to look at how we, as humans perceive ourselves as pedestrians, or as drivers of vehicles interacting with pedestrians. As individuals we are self-centered. If I see the vehicle approaching me from a short distance,“ I” perceive that the person driving the auto sees me. That is too often not true. The driver may be looking at another place along the roadway( not where I am), be distracted by thoughts, a radio, a phone( think here texting), or merely zoned out. Or, they may be looking where I am but not perceive me because the clothes I am wearing blend into the soup of colors in the background behind me. This is particularly possible in the fall with the colors in our surroundings. We need to distinguish ourselves from the background by wearing a color that does not occur in nature – florescent green or florescent red / pink. Just because I see the oncoming vehicle does not mean that the driver in that vehicle sees me or that he sees me in time to avert a collision.
You Live
Photo by Jack Murphy
The problem compounds at dusk or after dark, for too often we are wearing dark clothing that blends into the dusk or night background. The same principles apply; we perceive that if we see the oncoming vehicle, the driver of that vehicle can see me. However, under these conditions we are much less able to be seen.“ Ah! But if I carry a flashlight I will be able to be seen and be safe.” Sorry, carrying a flashlight improves your nighttime perceivability by only a minor amount. The light shines a beam on the roadway or on the dog we are walking; it does not“ grab” the attention of the vehicle driver. The driver possibly perceives the light as he gets closer; but again, you are competing for the driver’ s attention. He is looking where his car light beams shine which may not be where you are walking. To grab the attention of the driver you need to wear something that is retroreflective, for it reflects back to the perceiver along the light beam and“ grabs” his attention.( Think here of the reflectivity of the highway signs – their brightness and attention grabbing capability.) While some clothing manufacturers are adding reflective stripes or panels to their clothing, most do not. However, you can purchase vests( reflective and florescent) and other articles that one wears on their arm or leg to significantly improve the probability of being seen. Wearing a reflective arm or leg band can draw attention to you by the movement of the leg or arm causing a“ teasing” effect, enhancing the size of the reflective band.
These principles of perception are important for the driver as well. He is not just a passive participant in road safety. He must be aware of his own impediments and opportunities to enhance roadway safety. The average driver above age 50 loses close to 50 % on his night vision as well as increasing his susceptibility to distractions( think here teen drivers as well). Additionally, all drivers are exposed to a myriad of distractions both within the vehicle as well as outside the vehicle. A driver approaching a vehicle accident with police flashing lights will have his attention averted to the flashing lights and miss the policeman directing traffic unless the policeman is wearing florescent( daytime) or reflective( nighttime) apparel. If you have a flat or for another reason pull to the side of the road, you will activate your vehicle’ s flashers. This will draw attention to your vehicle; however, when you step out of the vehicle without either florescent or reflective you may be invisible to the oncoming driver. His attention is drawn to your vehicle.
Do I have your attention? The above provides a few ideas of how to safely traverse the roadways of our community, or wherever you may be. The ideas apply whether a pedestrian, a driver of a vehicle or a cyclist. Utilizing these ideas is particularly important to adults who can accept and act on the principles of perception and reflectivity, but we particularly need to extend our efforts for compliance to our children for whom we have responsibility. We live in a community that was not designed considering the nuances of pedestrian safety in the 21st century. Since it is / will be so difficult to change our physical surroundings( roads without sidewalks), it is we who must adapt in order to traverse safely.
LakeTalk December 2017 19