Safety is a word that gets associated with driving automatically. A safe driving doesn’t only mean safety for the concerned car, its driver, and occupants. It does include the safety of others, that include other cars, things and objects around and especially the pedestrians. Pedestrians are the most vulnerable victim of road accidents, who don’t have any aid to help them out. Thus, safe driving as a phrase undoubtedly hints more at the safety of the pedestrians than anybody else.

Here is a comprehensive discussion we had with the experts of Phoenix Mazda, on what are the aspects that endanger the pedestrian safety and how to defend these aspects. It is a basic fact that it is a responsibility to be fulfilled by both drivers and pedestrians themselves to drive safe and stay safe.

Obeying Speed Limits

Speed limits are set by the road authorities on the basis of several conditions. It could be a two-way crossing, a round-about circle, a city road meeting the highway, the population density and how busy the road is if there is any school or institution nearby if there is a marketplace beside and so on. If every driver makes it a point to maintain these speed limits, chances of colliding or running over a pedestrian would automatically minimize. Tests have shown that a collision impact with the speed of 17 mph, on a pedestrian is only about 10 percent than a vehicle running at 48 mph, with which the risk climbs on to 90 percent.

Attentive Driving and Blowing Horn

Distractive driving is nothing but inviting trouble for everyone around. According to the NHTSA, drivers who get distracted by their cell phones cause 76 percent of all crashes. These involve talking to passengers, daydreaming or applying makeup, searching for some object in the car in a moving condition and listening to loud music.

Make good use of your horns, when you are taking a turn, or see pedestrians crossing in front of you. Make it a habit and remember to blow them only for safety reasons and not to show your impatience on other cars.

Alerts for the Pedestrians

The experts at the Mazda Phoenix say, that the same logic applies to the pedestrians as well. If they are distracted while walking or doesn’t follow the traffic signals for the pedestrians, it won’t be justice to blame the drivers. Research suggests that the pace of walking gets slower as you talk on the phone or while you text. If you ignore the pedestrian signal warning on the driveways and crossings, how can you save yourself and who is to blame? Here is how you should stay safe on roads when you are on your feet.

1. Follow the traffic signal for the pedestrians and cross the roads, only when it shows green for the pedestrians.
2. Do not use headphones when you are not on the sidewalks.
3. Stay alert for your surroundings and respond fast.
4. Do not use the cell phone for talking or texting, unless you place yourself safely on a sidewalk or away from the traffic flow.

The Bottom Line

At the end of this discussion, we aim at making both the drivers and pedestrian realize the value of life above everything else.