Irresponsible pedestrians put everyone at risk

Crossing the street is something we do very often, and it is not only wise to do so at a designated point, like a zebra crossing, but safe too. These points were constructed to assist pedestrians wishing to cross a road and serve as a reminder to motorists that they must stop for or yield to pedestrians.

However, good safety practices break down with the realities of everyday life.

People take risks because they perceive the risk as being low or something they can handle without incident. Unfortunately, as with many areas of road safety, too many find out the hard way what could happen to them.

In the Naif Road area, opposite the Al Futtaim Mosque, it is not uncommon to see people running across the busy road.

These people are not only willing to risk their lives, but they also put the vehicles travelling down the road in jeopardy. Even uncaring, irresponsible parents lug their children frantically across this busy three-lane motorway, where the cars drive at no less than 80km/h.

This practice is both dangerous and illegal, made worse by the growing number of distracted drivers who text or talk on the phone while driving.

The bottom line is that pedestrians will always lose in a collision with a vehicle, no matter which party is to blame. That simple fact and the severity of an injury a pedestrian is likely to suffer, even in a relative low-speed collision, underscores the steps one must take to prevent such incidents.

One death is too many. We do not want to see it happen.

The reader is a sales manager based in Dubai.

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