By Charissa Graves
From the Graves
I was hit by a car this week. Broad daylight, in a crosswalk at Fourth Avenue and Main Street, less than a block away from the Tribune’s office.
The end result was a lot of drama, two ambulance rides, a trip to the Hutchinson Regional Medical Center Emergency Room, an overnight stay at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, two fractured vertebrae, and I’m sure there are other things that I have yet to discover. All things considered, I’m lucky in that I was walking—uncomfortably—within a day, but it could have easily been so much worse.
You could easily blame the driver for negligence, and I do, to an extent. On a larger level, though, I believe that what happened to me is indicative of a major problem with city infrastructure.
There is no reason to allow unprotected left turns at the same time as pedestrian crossings.
Intersections with a yield instead of a designated turn signal were already one of my biggest pet peeves, and I can’t say that this experience has endeared them to me at all. I believe that they create a sense of urgency that simply doesn’t need to exist, and that whatever it would cost to change them is worth it, no question, when measured up against the cost of human life.
Since being hit, I’ve had a little more time on my hands than normal, and I’ve been using that time to think of how this could’ve been avoided.
First, there’s the obvious. The driver could have paid more attention. This is a given, and I hope that the driver involved and any other drivers reading this will be extra careful going forward.
Second, the city could install more actual turn signals. I’m aware that making any changes to public infrastructure, especially when it involves traffic, can be expensive, long and inconvenient. However, going back to my earlier point, I very much believe that it is worth it. And I would pose the question to those in charge: How much is human safety worth?
The third option that I thought of seems more doable in the meantime, although I admit I’m somewhat uneducated in this area. I would recommend that, instead of leaving pedestrians vulnerable to turning cars, traffic lights should be programmed to stop traffic from all directions to allow pedestrians at each side to cross. This is a method that I’ve actually seen in action, to what I would consider great success. One example that comes to mind even had diagonal crossings available, making it even more efficient.
I’m alive, somewhat well and able to plead the case for change, but many people aren’t.
“In fact,” the Federal Highway Administration’s website states, “each year roughly one–quarter of traffic fatalities and about one–half of all traffic injuries in the United States are attributed to intersections.”
As someone who is already disabled, it is already an incredibly vulnerable experience to walk alone outside, and this experience has only made me more aware of that.
Normally, I’m not one to plead, but now it seems necessary. I’m pleading with other pedestrians to be hyper-vigilant, I’m pleading with drivers to pay more attention to their surroundings, and I’m pleading with officials to prioritize the safety of their citizens.
I know that a daily commute can feel more like a chore than anything, but when you get behind the wheel, you take the safety of everyone around you into your hands. Please act accordingly.
As for policy makers, let me remind you that October is Pedestrian Safety Month. Regardless of whether or not any improvements are made to the roads, perhaps now is the time to invest in public education. I know that I’m not the only one who’s been affected by something like this.
It’s easy to disregard what happened to me as a fluke. I did, until I was on the ground with first responders over me. When it happens to you or someone you love, it’s devastating and traumatic.
Barring the physical toll, which is not insignificant, I had to have my mom cross that street with me twice, just so I could make myself do it. Even still, just the thought of doing it alone fills me with anxiety. I’m not a weak person; if I was I wouldn’t be here writing this, but I’ve now been reduced to someone afraid to cross the street.
What happened can’t be undone, but please make every effort to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.