Study Reveals The Danger Behind Wyoming Crosswalks

Over the past few years, there have been fatal accidents in Wyoming towns like Gillette and Cheyenne that have caused city officials to change the way their intersections and road crossings function.

Those pedestrian deaths were not blamed on the pedestrian or the driver, but on the system that had been set up to manage traffic.

A new study by a team at Ohio State University shows that the environment, particularly road types and the availability of marked crosswalks, plays a crucial role in these accidents.

“Our findings suggest that while the tendency is to blame individuals, the built environment where the crash occurs plays an important role,” says study author Jonathan Stiles, who led the study.

In most cases, drivers and pedestrians are watching the lights and the signs rather than paying attention to what is happening around them. Drivers do the same.

If a light tells someone to go, they go because the light or sign says that it is okay to do so.

All parties involved need to keep their eyes and ears turning, aware of what is going on around them, and they should never just trust the system.

The study’s findings emphasize the need to rethink our road design and urban planning to enhance pedestrian safety.

As strange as it might sound, too many directions from lines, arrows, signs, and lights keep people from watching their environment. They are more focused on the directions being given to them.

The best advice is for both drivers and pedestrians to always pay attention to everything and everyone, instead of simply trusting the system.