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ROAD SAFETY WEEK
. . . 7-13 JANUARY 2002
PRESIDENT: JC SANDEEP HEBLE
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THE PEDESTRIAN.
The poor
pedestrian on our roads has to face the brunt of this anarchy
on our roads. He has no one to look forward to for help and
always is at the receiving end. He has to be on the lookout
for his own safety on the road.
If you use a road as a
pedestrian keep in mind the following precautions so that you
are safe as long as you are on the road.
Always use the footpath to walk on the
road, keep away from the carriageway.
On roads without footpaths, walk in a
single file along the edge of road, facing the traffic
coming towards you.
Lookout for potholes, fruit skins, and
other garbage, which can hinder your movement and also
injure you.
Roads are not playgrounds, so don't play or
run either on the footpaths or on the roads.
Less frequented roads are even dangerous, a
stray vehicle could come speeding up and injure children.
Never walk barefoot on the roads,
especially in the rainy season.
Use a light coloured raincoat rather than
an umbrella to protect your self from the rain.
Wear bright and light coloured clothes
during nights and when it is dark, it improves your
visibility.
Roads and footpaths are not gossiping so
don't engage in conversation when you are walking.
Watch out for careless drivers.
If you are with a young child hold 0them
tight to prevent them from running on the road.
Once you have
understood the safe way of walking on the road, know the right
and safe way to cross the roads.
Some of the prominent
ones are Zebra Crossing, Pedestrian over bridges, pedestrian
subways, and pelican crossings. At times even a traffic
constable may be around to help you in crossing a
road.
You have a right of way on the pedestrian
crossings but exercise responsibility and commonsense when
using them because claiming your rights could cost you your
life.
The most common
way to cross a road is to follow the ' kerb-drill ', as you
may not have the above facilities everywhere.
Kerb
Drill: Choose a safe place to cross the road when there is
no traffic light, zebra crossing, a subway or a traffic
constable to help you.
Choose a stretch of road where
you can see both up and down traffic clearly; avoid crossing
the road near a bend.
Stand on the kerb, look to your
right, look to your left and than again to your right- if the
road is clear, walk quickly across, never run. But when you
have other means of crossing a road use them.
Have you
ever noticed the traffic signals on the roads? They also help
to regulate the traffic on the roads and to help you cross the
roads safely. You can see two types of traffic signals on the
city roads; one is a set of three coloured lights (red, amber
and green). This is for the vehicles.
The other is a
set of two lights (red and green with human figures painted on
them; the front view of a man standing still on the red light
and the side view of a man walking on the green light) and it
is meant for pedestrians. In case you want to cross the road
and you see this signal always obey it.
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