Letter: A walker's rules of the road
A man crosses busy Hempstead Turnpike in Franklin Square (Jan. 10, 2012). Credit: Newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
The best way to make Hempstead Turnpike, or any road, safer for pedestrians is to reteach the public how to cross safely ["16 Deadly Miles: The Road to Safety, News, Feb. 13].
As the old commercial used to say: "Cross at the green, not in between."
My parents always told me when I was little that: 1) A car is bigger than you, so never expect the driver to see you; make sure you see the car. 2) Make sure the driver sees you, slows down and stops before you cross. 3) Never assume a driver will stop for a red light or stop sign. 4) Never do anything when crossing the street except pay attention to traffic (no talking on the cellphone or with friends, no texting, no reading, no whatever else).
It's time for us to retake responsibility for safety and stop expecting everyone to responsible for us. It does not matter who has the right of way, a car will always win over a person in a collision.
Mace H. Greenfield, Jericho
In Paris, pedestrian crosswalks are inset about 30 feet from the intersection. This lets turning motorists straighten their vehicles and not have pedestrians partially or totally eclipsed by the corner post of their windshields.
In some cities, all intersection traffic halts to give pedestrians exclusive crossing time. Some are permitted to cross diagonally, resulting in less time in the intersection.
It seems that the New York State Department of Transportation suffers more from a lack of imagination than a lack of options.
Paul Caparatta, Oceanside
