of late, there have been at least two cases of pedestrians being seriously or fatally injured at zebra crossings.
report in the straits times on jan 21
a nine-year-old boy died on monday when he was hit by a tipper truck while using a zebra crossing
on jan 22
while they were crossing the zebra crossing on the slip road along clementi avenue 4, li yun was knocked down by a lorry.
he was walking a few metres ahead of his grandmother and had almost reached the end of the zebra crossing when the accident happened.
parliamentary report on accidents involving pedestrians
pedestrians remain the second most vulnerable group of road users last year, after motorcyclists. the number of pedestrians killed accounted for 22% of total fatalities. traffic police has introduced several measures and initiatives to reach out to pedestrians, in particular vulnerable groups like the elderly and young children.
sometimes i fear for the safety of those who cross the road at pedestrian crossings. i have seen motorists who do not slow down at all when approaching the pedestrian crossing. these drivers tend to assume that with nobody in sight, they could just speed through. should someone suddenly step onto the road at the crossing, i dread to think of the consequences.
the other assumption is made by some pedestrians. i have observed some who are so nonchalant that they do not bother to look to their right or left to check for on-coming vehicle; they just assume that there is no vehicle coming their way or if there is any vehicle, it will automatically stop for them.
another group of people who cross the road without much care are those engaged in conversation on their cell phones. these pedestrians seem more intent on carrying on their telephone conversation than on looking out for oncoming traffic. they also have the assumption that all motorists will see them and stop for them.
