Photo: rules for driving through crossings by car (Getty Images) Author: Konstantin Shirokun
A collision with a person is one of the biggest troubles that can happen to a driver. At the same time, the outcome of accidents involving pedestrians often depends on the actions of the driver. Five tips from auto journalists will help to avoid such an accident.
Read about how to avoid hitting a pedestrian where there are many people moving near the road in the RBC-Ukraine article.
Accidents at pedestrian crossings in Ukraine occupy the unimpressive third place in the list of all accidents. And on other sections of highways, pedestrians actively add to the statistics of road accidents. However, often even in cases where an accident is unconditionally provoked by a pedestrian, a careful and experienced driver can save the situation.
Reduce speed
Every time you approach a crossing where there are usually people and cars, reduce your speed so that you can immediately stop completely in the event of an unfavorable development of events. This elementary precaution will give you a head start in time and the opportunity to better examine and consider the situation. And the braking distance from a lower speed will be shorter. This applies to both unregulated and regulated crossings, including those with traffic lights.
Predict events
The fact that there is no one on the crossing itself and on its edges does not mean absolute safety. Nowadays, there are many additional risks of approaching and appearing on the crossing of certain high-speed objects – electric scooters, cyclists, children on various types of equipment such as boards and roller skates. Therefore, the zone that the driver “scans” when approaching the crossing should also include both sectors on the approaches to it – on the left and on the right.
Take everything into account
One of the most serious driving mistakes when crossing a crossing is an attempt to pass a car (car) that has stopped in front of it. The most important thing to understand here is that their drivers had some reason to stop. And even if it seems to you that this or that car was delayed at the crossing in vain, due to the driver's slowness, you cannot pass or overtake someone at the crossing – and especially not right away, without fully understanding the situation.
Danger zones
The crossing is not the only place where pedestrian danger is concentrated. Beware, in particular, of busy city streets with densely parked cars. It is from behind them that a person may suddenly emerge, or even a child may quickly run out. Therefore, here you need to maintain a low speed, if possible, control the space behind the parked cars and be ready for an immediate reaction. This also applies to areas adjacent to schools and other educational institutions, courtyards, driveways and other locations designated by signs 5.34 “Residential area” and 5.36 “Pedestrian area”.
Ready
A proven method for generations of drivers to avoid hitting a pedestrian is not only to move slowly in dangerous areas, but also to keep your foot on the brake pedal. This is especially relevant in our time, when on the one hand many cars have two-pedal automatic transmissions, and on the other hand, there are additional threats in the form of scooter riders, skateboarders, cyclists and other high-speed objects.
Electronic assistants
It should be noted separately that some cars can be equipped with one of the systems that are designed to insure the driver in such cases. That is, the car can automatically brake itself if a person unexpectedly appears in front of the car. Designers configure the algorithms of such a system, including to track threats that are just brewing.
In particular, we are talking about a child (an adult) who is running in the direction of the road, still to the side, on the sidewalk, yard or green area. Often, the cameras and radars of the car can see this child, calculate the trajectory of his movement and predict the probability of his route crossing with the route of the car. Whether to fully trust such an electronic assistant or not is your business, but it will be easier for both him and you to avoid an accident if you maintain a moderate speed.
Short
Statistics show that in most cases of accidents with pedestrians, the pedestrians themselves are to blame. But this should not calm the driver down. Whoever is to blame from the point of view of traffic rules, and whoever the court ultimately finds guilty, being involved in the injury or death of a person is in no way good. This means that in every sense it will be more profitable to avoid an accident than to prove your case later.
In preparing this article, the Traffic Rules of Ukraine, materials from Autocentre and Motor were used.
Let us recall that RBC-Ukraine recently reported why pedestrians are not always right.