What is a pedestrian’s responsibility on the road?
That’s our question for the latest edition of ‘Ask a Cop’. Halton Police Constable and Media Relations Officer Ryan Anderson says that residents need to understand they won’t win in a collision with a vehicle.
Recently, we received a message from a listener working as a school bus driver saying they constantly see people who don’t look both ways while crossing the street. Often times, people will step off the curb with their heads down expecting cars to immediately stop. Constable Anderson says that even if you’re at a crosswalk, you should always wait for a driver to give you the right away. He recommends making eye contact with the driver so that you know they see you.
In regards to jaywalking, Constable Anderson says it’s not actually as common of a charge as you likely believe it to be, adding that he’s never issued it himself. Typically, it’s an issue with younger children and officers won’t issue tickets to children. He also understands that most adults are able to safely gauge traffic when crossing a street. That said, it does get issued from time to time, and it’s always safer to cross at an intersection where traffic is controlled.
In the popular local Facebook group ‘Milton Talk’, a resident described an incident this week that occurred on Laurier Avenue. In the post, she said that children had been jumping in front of traffic. She added that they would jump back in time to not be hit by vehicles, but expressed her frustrations with the whole situation. Had a driver not been paying complete attention, the kids could have been hit by a car going 40-60 km/h. Constable Anderson says parents need to teach their kids about the dangers of the road.
He adds that these lessons come from things like walking them to school or taking them out on summertime walks. He stresses that kids will follow what their parents do, so they need to set a good example.
‘Ask a Cop’ will return next week with more of your questions being answered. Reach out if you have any questions that you’d like answered by a local police officer.
Hey, things are changing for us here at MiltonNow.ca! If you have a news tip or story idea, you can now send us a heads up via email at News1013@LocalRadio.ca. If you’d like to get ahold of me personally, shoot me a message at Cameron.Wilkinson@LocalRadio.ca. We’re in the business of content creation, so no idea is a bad idea.
