Safe Pedestrian

Safe Pedestrian Read WHY you should not step off the curb once the HAND starts blinking, even though light is GREEN 

Los Angeles is all about traffic, movement, getting here to there.  There are lots of cars and many walkers and runners.  And when car meets pedestrian, it's the pedestrian, regardless of fault, who loses!

So here's a primer about those light boxes under the traffic lights.  You know, the ones that blink with a hand, or say DON'T WALK, or count down.

Intersections are regulated by a series of lights and signals to keep people safe and traffic flowing.  Every intersection is different.  You can go to some cities where the whole intersection turns RED and walkers can even cross diagonally.

If you don't follow the signals as a driver or a walker, you can get hurt, hurt someone, or get a ticket.  As a walker, if you just go by the GREEN traffic signal, you may disrupt the traffic flow by crossing when cars have an arrow or need to clear an intersection at the end of a phase.

If you are walking (or running) you must wait your turn at the intersection. It's the box that regulates you, not the traffic signal.  When the box is WHITE, or says WALK in GREEN, you may step off the curb and begin to cross in the crosswalk

When the box changes to RED and starts to blink, or counts down, walkers MUST NOT step off the curb, but if in the crosswalk, may continue to cross.

Yes, at this point the traffic light may still be GREEN for cars, but walkers should not step off the curb anymore.  WHY?

This phase of the signaling procedure is to allow persons in the crosswalk to move across AND for the cars, that have been waiting for the walkers, to be able to proceed through the intersection while the light is still GREEN.

When walkers continue to pour off the curb into the crosswalk after the box starts blinking, there will be no time for cars to clear the intersection before the light turns RED.  This creates gridlock.

Not only that, but drivers become frustrated, and frustration leads to collisions and injuries.

Some might think a ticket for crossing against a blinking box is petty, but sometimes it's necessary to educate, save a life, and keep the traffic moving in LA, especially at a busy intersection where pedestrians have been struck.

One of the busiest intersections in the SFV is Van Nuys Boulevard and Roscoe Boulevard.  The top causes for accidents there is unsafe speed, unsafe left turns, and crossing against a RED or BLINKING pedestrian box.

Please be safe, be patient, and be courteous!