Drivers: Please don't hit pedestrians
Meghan Blalock
Issue date: 9/1/06 Section: Opinion
|
That's right. As reported in Monday's edition of The Daily Mississippian, a pedestrian has already been hit by a car. While he suffered only minor injuries, and the driver said he was blinded by the sun and did not see the pedestrian, we all know that even on an overcast day, walking around this campus is in itself risky behavior.
I can't count the number of times I have been nearly hit by a macho man driving a ridiculously enormous SUV or a glamour girl driving a shiny new BMW. Usually the driver who nearly hits me, in addition to thinking he or she is supreme ruler of the universe, is also talking on a cell phone or browsing through an iPod or listening to music entirely too loud. Apparently the combination of their egos and numerous other distractions keeps them from seeing the blinding white paint of the crosswalk on the road in front of them.
With enrollment here at the university at a record high, the dangers of reckless driving are increasing more and more. With more students, there are (logically) more drivers and more pedestrians, which can be a formula for disaster. Considering that someone already has been hit not even a full week after classes started - regardless of the circumstances - it is clear that the high enrollment numbers have increased the dangers associated with reckless driving.
However, accidents such as the one that recently occurred can be prevented easily. First, student drivers need to get off their high horses. I hope the readers can relate to me when I say that numerous times I have been shot nasty and condescending glances by drivers of various luxury vehicles when attempting to - God forbid! - cross the crosswalk in front of their cars. If people would just be more pleasant and practice defensive - not aggressive - driving, the risk of hitting a pedestrian would be reduced rather significantly.
Secondly, distractions while driving on campus should be kept to a minimum. Granted, some exterior distractions cannot be helped; after all, what is that fool in the cowgirl outfit doing in the middle of the Grove? But distractions inside the vehicle - cell phones, text messaging, MP3 players, loud radios - are in the absolute control of the driver. Keeping one's eyes on the road is a must in order to avoid hitting pedestrians.
User comments that include profanity, personal attacks, solicitations, or other inappropriate material will be removed from the site. If you feel a comment is inappropriate, please notify the Online Editor.
We encourage you to leave at least your first name and the first letter of your last name on the comment; however, using only your first name, your initials, or a nick name is acceptable. E-mail addresses are required by our content management system to post, but the address does not have to be valid.
Employees of The Daily Mississippian and the S. Gale Denley Student Media Center are not permitted to post comments.
Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions by clicking here.
Frequent commenter? Click here to create a user account for The DM Online.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
John Schuster
posted 9/01/06 @ 8:46 AM CST
Seems like I put this in every year, in response to a similar column, but here I go again.
The one part of the equation that this column fails to address is the responsibility of the pedestrian. (Continued…)
Post a Comment