Pedestrian safety or What are all those white lines that go across the street for?
By Gary Becker
In my hometown of Treasure Island, Florida, there is one about every twelve feet all along the main coastal drag, Gulf Boulevard. The State of Florida has spent millions of dollars installing these havens of safety but like so many other good ideas, nobody seems to be using them. They flash, they shake your car, they even have flags that people can wave or more often than not, steal.
If you don't know what I'm talking about then the town or city you live in has not been bitten by the latest "safety bee" craze. In yet another attempt by those who know what's better for us then we do our roads are being taken over by the new, modern version of the pedestrian crosswalk.
They look like little red brick walkways leading across road with large railroad crossing sized yellow lights that begin to flash at the push of a button. They are designed to prevent you from becoming embedded into the grill of a minivan occupied by a family coming from a soccer field that are too busy looking for the entrance of a fast food restaurant to notice you trying to cross the street. As long as you don't trust anyone behind wheel of a car and take nothing for granted while you use a crosswalk, they can actually help you get across the road in one piece.
On the other hand, it never seems to fail that every time I’m either walking or driving along a road covered with crosswalks I see someone scampering across the street dodging Buicks with a cup of coffee in one hand and a screaming, terrified small child under the other arm and not using a marked pedestrian crosswalk. Instead of walking a few feet in either direction to take advantage of the additional safety a fully marked and functioning pedestrian crosswalk offers, these future hood ornaments would rather rest their fate in the hands of a driver who might be in the middle of text messaging his bookie.
This is not the only time the government has spent huge piles of cash to protect us from each other. Take the lowly automobile seat belt for instance. The government dictated that car manufacturers put seat belts in every vehicle and people like me who have walked away unharmed from several nasty accidents can attest they work but nearly half the drivers on our roads don’t use their seat belts. Drivers complain the belts are uncomfortable or theorize that if they drive off the bridge and into a fast flowing rain swollen river it will be easier to get out of a sinking car when you are not buckled in. Unfortunately sailing through the front windshield after your car has been run into by someone who has been swimming in a sea of tequila all day is far more uncomfortable and far more likely.
The bottom line is that no matter how much money the government, which is you and me, throws at a problem, unless you and I take some measure of responsibility, that money is being wasted. The next time you cross a busy street, use a crosswalk and the next time you get into a car or truck, buckle up.
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