Keeping Pedestrians Out of Harm’s Way

The recent report of a 51% increase in the number of pedestrians killed on Los Angeles streets last year sends a chilling message.

Despite scattered attempts to make California more pedestrian-friendly, the automobile remains king of the road here. Heaven help those on foot who think they can always rely on drivers to stop or even slow down, even at clearly marked crosswalks.

Although pedestrian deaths have declined statewide in recent years, the Los Angeles Police Department reported 107 pedestrians killed last year, up from 71 pedestrian deaths in 2000.

The tragedies behind those numbers cannot be ignored. And this year’s death toll has already started.

Three people, including a 12-year-old boy, were killed in Lawndale last month when a pickup truck struck them as they walked on the sidewalk. Two other walkers were seriously injured in the accident.

Prosecutors said the driver of the truck, William Lee Coy, was legally drunk and charged him with three counts of murder. It wasn’t the first time Coy, 41, has faced charges of driving under the influence; the Hawthorne man was convicted twice for misdemeanor DUI, according to the latest criminal complaint.

And in Santa Ana last month, a car hit a 17-year-old girl as she crossed 17th Street. She died of severe head injuries.

What’s the problem?

Some authorities say pedestrian jaywalking accounts for many of the accidents. Certainly, that is the problem in some cases.

But blaming victims who were trying to cross busy streets when they were hit--even if they were outside a crosswalk--is not always fair, said James Corless, California director of the Surface Transportation Policy Project.

The answer is more complicated than jaywalking. We Californians can’t rely on our transportation officials to provide us with enough crosswalks, stop signs or decent speed limits, said Corless, whose nationwide group promotes safe transportation policies.

Indeed, the trend in California in the last few years has been to reduce the number of crosswalks on busy streets, according to the group’s 2000 report on pedestrian safety.

“It’s a vicious cycle. When crosswalks are removed on heavily traveled streets, people end up jaywalking,” Corless said.

The rationale for removing crosswalks strikes him as ridiculous, he said.

Some engineers believe that crosswalks give pedestrians a false sense of security.

As Corless put it, “That’s like removing a traffic signal at an intersection because you think it will scare drivers and make them more cautious.”

Liability also has been an issue, according to the Surface Transportation Policy Project report.

“Cities were saying they’d been sued by people injured in the crosswalks,” Corless said. But if people are hit while crossing where there is no crosswalk, there is no liability, he says.

That makes about as much sense as the justification many traffic engineers use for increasing speed limits on streets already plagued by too many accidents and dangerous conditions for pedestrians.

In California, speed limits can be increased to accommodate the flow of traffic. But who’s accommodating the safety of the pedestrians?

An analysis of federal transportation funding in the Surface Transportation Policy Project’s 2000 report showed that although California had the second-highest share of pedestrian deaths compared with all traffic-related fatalities, it ranked last among the 50 states in spending on improving pedestrian safety.

Too often, pleas for tougher speed-limit enforcement, more crosswalks and more stop signs are ignored, the report said. That means many--especially those who live in poorer neighborhoods or are unlucky enough to have to cross busy six-lane streets--are left to fend for themselves.

Pedestrian collisions cost California at least $1.3 billion in lost economic productivity in 1999 alone, according to an analysis by the Children’s Safety Network Economics and Insurance Resource Center.

Medical bills alone from pedestrian accidents cost Californians and insurers more than $200million that year, according to the report.

Sure, there has been some progress in cities where flashing lights have been installed in the pavement at dangerous intersections or where traffic signals have been changed to give pedestrians more time to cross busy streets.

Police sting operations have caught drivers failing to yield to pedestrians, and video cameras have even been used near schools to cite parents for illegally double-parking and dropping off children who then have to run across the street.

But more needs to be done, Corless insists.

The emphasis has always been on improving traffic flow. The law that allows right turns on red lights, for example, benefits drivers but contributes to pedestrian accidents, Corless said. And not long ago, traffic engineers defined pedestrians as “traffic flow interruptions,” he said.

Safer street designs to force vehicles to slow down, more visible crosswalks and a commitment by drivers and pedestrians to be more responsible are what it’s going to take to make streets safer.

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Jeanne Wright cannot answer mail personally but responds in this column to questions of general interest. Write to Your Wheels, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. E-mail: jeanrite@aol.com.