MnDOT urges motorist, pedestrian safety

The death of a St. Paul woman in a pedestrian crash last week is a reminder that as the days get shorter and the nights longer, motorists and pedestrians should watch out for one another. The fall months are the deadliest months for pedestrians, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Last year, 17 pedestrians were killed and 837 were injured. This year so far, 23 pedestrians were killed and 655 were injured.

“With more hours of darkness in the fall, pedestrians are more difficult to see,” said Sue Groth, MnDOT state traffic engineer. “Motorists and pedestrians are equally at fault when we look at our crash data. That means that both groups need to know and obey the laws.”

The crosswalk law includes these highlights:

Motorists should stop for crossing pedestrians at marked crosswalks and at all intersections without crosswalks or stop lights.

Pedestrians must obey traffic signs and signals at all intersections that have them.

Vehicles stopped for pedestrians can proceed once the pedestrian has completely crossed the lane in front of the stopped vehicle.

Pedestrians shouldn’t enter a crosswalk if a vehicle is approaching and it is impossible for the driver to stop. There is no defined distance that a pedestrian must abide by before entering the crosswalk; common sense should be used.

For the full crosswalk law, go to www.mndot.gov/sharetheroad/ped/crosswalklaw.html.

Because the sun rises later and sets earlier, there are more pedestrians before and after daylight hours, increasing the risk of crashes. Children are going to or getting out of school or walking to their bus stop and adults are walking to or home from work.

About 30 percent of pedestrian crashes happen during the weekday rush hour driving time, defined as 6 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. One out of every four pedestrian fatal crashes occurred between the hours of 9 p.m. and 3 a.m.

Male pedestrians are more likely than females to be killed or injured. Males accounted for 76 percent of all pedestrian fatalities and 52 percent of all injuries in 2014. The most cited contributing factors to all pedestrian crashes is driver failure to yield and driver distraction or inattention.