SAFE WALKING
India is the second largest populated country in the world at present. The tremendous growth has huge demand of infrastructure, which is beyond the capability of the government to meet. The unprecedented mismatch between road infrastructure and vehicular population is causing delays, fuel loss, environment pollution, accidents and disregard to traffic authorities. Road transport is increasing day by day. Traffic composition on some major cities & highway roads has changed in favour of high speed automobiles. The average traffic speed has gone up to 25 - 30kmph in cities and 60 – 70kmph on highways. Some recently built expressways are offering higher journey speed therefore they are resulting in increased severity of accidents. India’s share in world vehicular population is around 1.2 percent but the corresponding share in road fatalities has increased to 12 percent. It has given a tag of number one killer to Indian roads.
Roads network having high speed and inadequate facilities for pedestrian has increased numbers and severity of accidents. Development of good roads has cause ribbon development of commercial and residential areas along the carriage ways. In the absence of foot paths, barriers, subways, overhead bridges pedestrians are being force to risk their lives to walk on side of carriage ways making themselves vulnerable to severe road accidents.

Walking is the most common mode of movement. This mode is not restricted to any one class of people. Every person, at some point or the other is a pedestrian. Still, there is little attention given to the specific requirements of pedestrians at certain areas. The most common areas of heavy pedestrian movement are markets, offices, religious places, hospitals, high densely populated commercial and residential areas. Most of the places are not provided with footpaths, crossings, overhead bridge or subways. People are forced to walk on roads, stand for transport and to cross the road wherever they desire.
The vehicle traffic on the roads, increasing day by day, has become dangerous for children & elderly people. To commute safely has become difficult for these most vulnerable road users. We all must know that young children do not have the skills to stay safe in traffic. They often can't see past parked cars and they don't have the experience to judge the speed and distance of an oncoming car. During darkness pedestrians may not be easily visible. They believe they would be seen while crossing the road thereby risking their lives when surrounded by motorised traffic on the road. They are completely invisible during twilight and at night because they don’t usually wear light colour cloths or some reflective strips on jacket & shoes, hand band etc.

Parents and school teachers should inculcate Safe Walking and traffic safety habits, in children, from an early age. At present they are learning bad practices by watching others. Children think they can handle crossing a road themselves. Remember children below the age of 13 years do not have capability to cross as they are smaller and difficult for drivers to see. Children are unable to identify safe places to cross the road. They cannot accurately judge the speed and distances of moving vehicles, and are less predictable than other pedestrians, can not accurately predict the direction sounds. They are unable to manage sudden changes in traffic conditions.
Always carefully supervise your children in traffic. Hold your child's hand when you are near motorised traffic. Explain how to look for potential dangers assessing speed while crossing the road together - this helps your child to understand to decide when it is safe to cross. Explain to them about traffic movement, road rules and road safety to your child. Where there are moving vehicles, it is a potentially dangerous area for children. This includes residential areas, car-parks, at traffic lights, along footpaths, zebra and other crossings, driveways, quiet streets, and busy streets. In the absence of pedestrian crossings, pelican crossing, overhead bridge and subways they try to cross from any where they feel like.

Guidelines While Walking Always walk on the footpath only. On roads without footpath, walk on the extreme right hand side of the roads facing the oncoming traffic, so that you can see what is coming towards you. Do not be impatient on the road. Do not rush or run on the road. Cross only at Zebra crossings, traffic signals, subways, foot over bridges. Where such facilities do not exist, look for a safe place to cross. At the signal lights, cross only on a clear green signal. If an intersection is controlled by a policeman, traffic warden, cross only when he signals you to do so. When crossing between vehicles parked on the side of the road, remember that you are not visible to the moving traffic (because the parked vehicles may be taller than you). Stop as you appear from behind the vehicle and look for a safe gap before crossing. Remember, drivers need plenty of time to see you and to slow down and stop.
While crossing wide roads that have central islands, always cross in two stages. Cross to the central Island, stop, and cross when the next section is clear. While crossing one-way streets, remember that the traffic will usually be moving in a number of lanes and at higher speeds. Do not cross unless all lanes are clear.

Never cross a road at a corner/curve, as the motorist taking the turn, will not be able to see you in time. Ensure your visibility to vehicle drivers, especially at night. Wear light colored clothes such as yellow and white, which are easier to see at night or pin reflectors to your clothes. Follow the steps whenever you have to cross the road:

THINK what is a safe place to cross? STOP at the edge of the road where you have decided to cross. LOOK & LISTEN look both ways, many times, to see if there is any traffic coming. WAIT for all the traffic to pass, and for road to be clear. CROSS walk straight across the road. KEEP LOOKING & LISTENING keep looking in all directions as you cross the road until you get to the other side.
Remember safety of children must be the foremost priority of every parent.

It is the responsibility of school authorities and the teachers to ensure the safety of school children and also to impart the necessary knowledge, skills and attitude to be a safe road user. Teachers should help develop a responsible attitude towards road use in school children, impart essential knowledge about roads and traffic to school children, by making them familiar with the rules of road and their importance. Explain them the causes of accidents involving pedestrians, cyclists and children. Inform them about the cause and extent of pollution due to traffic.

Institute of Road Safety and Fleet Management
M.R. Complex Adj. Radisson Hotel, NH-8, Rangpuri, Mahipalpur, New Delhi-110037
Office: +91-9013215762 Website: www.irsfm.com Email: secy@irsfm.com
(Registered Office: 611, Krishi, D-Block, Vikaspuri, New Delhi-110018, INDIA) Phone:+91-11-28539160
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