Teach Your Children

Teach Your Children

Even the best engineers, the best signage, and the best of intentions cannot account for all human behavior, especially when it comes to children. And the large number of unregulated driveways in this stretch of Jermantown Road can’t all be eliminated; traffic lights can’t be installed at every one. Some self-regulation by drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists will be needed, and that can be learned—and taught. Given the two schools on this short stretch of road, with nearly 2,000 students, any corridor improvement plan should include an education component. Our schools can play an important role in improving road safety for both pedestrians and drivers:

I live in a townhouse complex of 100 homes with a single driveway to enter and exit. One day, I was waiting in the northbound left turn lane to turn into our driveway. I waited carefully for the flow of oncoming, southbound traffic to end. I checked for pedestrians in either direction nearing the driveway, All clear. I made my turn into the driveway. Just as I reached the driveway, a young girl on a scooter came racing up on my left at incredible speed. She was nowhere to be seen when I started my turn. She crossed into the driveway at the same moment as I entered and just managed to veer the scooter around the back of my car instead of colliding with it. Relief washed over me. I stopped the car and went to talk to her. Lectured her on crossing any sort of roadway at full speed without looking. Went home and collapsed.

I’ve seen this exact same left hand turning problem occur at large intersections with traffic lights: Green light, no oncoming traffic, no pedestrians crossing or near the intersection. The driver ahead of me began the turn. I watched as a group of children appeared in a townhouse parking lot to the left, and, seeing the green light, ran straight into the intersection, not noticing that the driver had already begun the turn into their crosswalk. Luckily, there was no oncoming traffic and the driver was able to stop and wait for them to cross, but I held my breath until both driver and children had navigated the intersection. Short of making all these intersections left-turn-on-green-arrow only, these near-misses will be a daily occurrence. Parents and schools need to teach and practice safe roadway etiquette with our children.