There’s been one too many viral videos recently of motorists blatantly disrespecting the pedestrian lanes. On one hand, there was a driver who pissed off a pedestrian after he honked at him for supposedly crossing ‘too slowly.’ On the other, there was the grim incident of the big bike rider crashing into a few individuals.
In the first incident, the driver realized his mistake and that he was at fault, and he issued an apology online thereafter. Luckily, nobody got hurt. As for the second, it resulted in fatalities and severe injuries for some of those involved. This brings to light a long-standing problem among Filipino drivers: We don’t respect pedestrian lanes enough, if at all.
Now, if you have to ask what you should do as a driver when you’re approaching a pedestrian crossing, therein lies the problem. You shouldn’t even have to ask—it’s something you should already know. It’s not even rocket science. The most basic answer to that is to slow down.
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Regardless of whether or not there are stop lights for cars or pedestrians, motorists should slow down when approaching a pedestrian lane. Obviously, if you have the green light, you have the right of way, but as drivers, we should still be extra careful in case some pedestrian decides to illegally cross the road anyway. What the heck are you going to do if they disregard the red lights? Run them over? Of course not.
As you slowly approach the crosswalk, look left and right to make sure it’s clear before passing through—drive as if you’re the pedestrian so you’re obliged to look both ways. Be on the lookout for anyone who might suddenly run towards the middle of the road. If you’re coming from a stop, follow the same practice.
If, for example, you’re coming from a turn and you’re passing a crosswalk with a green light, let everyone through before you pass. Don’t mind the impatient motorists behind you who might blow their horns at you for stopping—what should always be of utmost importance is the safety of the people crossing the street. They’re the vulnerable ones in these situations.
I myself recently learned a few things after driving around Japan for about a week. Over there, pedestrians really have priority on the road. If people are crossing, cars have to give way, even if it means they’ll have to sit through another red light. As long as the pedestrians have the go signal and there’s someone just approaching the crosswalk—they don’t have to be in the act of crossing yet—motorists shouldn’t pass. And they don’t, not because they can’t or they’ll get caught, but because they value pedestrian safety and that it’s the right thing to do.
That’s something we can bring with us on our roads, too. In fact, in Bonifacio Global City, authorities have already put up signage to remind motorists about pedestrian priority. It’s also a warning that violators will get ticketed. Perhaps those who drive there often enough have gotten used to it. The rest of us should learn to do that as well—if other local government units need to implement the same ordinance, then so be it.
It’s high time we all learn what pedestrian safety is truly about. It’s more than just knowing where the crosswalks are and what to do around them—it’s also about prioritizing the people who use them.
