IF the little red and green men in the traffic lights could talk about the pedestrian injuries they had witnessed, people would be more careful about crossing the road, according to Andrea Hamilton Vaughan.
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The Cross with Care social media campaign imagines what would happen if the men could communicate with pedestrians who crossed against the lights.
Orange and Cabonne road safety officer Ms Hamilton Vaughan said there had been 42 collisions between cars and pedestrians in the past five years causing some degree of injury.
“Over the past 10 years, our motor vehicle crashes have gone down, but pedestrian crashes have gone up,” she said.
“It’s a great concern because a pedestrian doesn’t have an airbag and a seatbelt and the injuries, if not fatal, are life-changing.”
She said shopper impatience and mobile phone use combined with driver reliance on traffic lights were a dangerous combination.
“Drivers don’t expect shoppers to start walking out in front of them,” she said.
Danielle Cetinski
Danielle started at the Kiama Independent in 2010 before moving to the Central Western Daily in 2014. She covers council, court, politics, general news and business, and elections are her favourite time of the year. Got a tip? Email danielle.cetinski@centralwesterndaily.com.au
Danielle started at the Kiama Independent in 2010 before moving to the Central Western Daily in 2014. She covers council, court, politics, general news and business, and elections are her favourite time of the year. Got a tip? Email danielle.cetinski@centralwesterndaily.com.au
