News Releases

Police Remind Pedestrians to be Careful

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, March 12, 2013

On March 12, three separate incidents involving motor vehicles striking pedestrians occurred in Montgomery County.

• At 7:19 a.m., a Watkins Mill High School student was struck while in a crosswalk in the 10300 block of Apple Ridge Road.
• At 7:47 a.m., a pedestrian was struck crossing Wisconsin Avenue at Chelsea Lane.
• At 8:55 a.m., a mother with two elementary school aged children were struck while on the sidewalk crossing the driveway access to a parking lot in the 100 block of North Summit Avenue.

All the incidents remain under investigation at this time.  All pedestrians involved were transported to local emergency rooms with non-life threatening injuries.

As a friendly reminder, the Montgomery County Police are offering a few tips that will help make the roads a safer place.

Drivers

• Look for pedestrians before you enter or exit a driveway. This is when you cross the sidewalk where pedestrians walk. Since they are on the sidewalk, they might be less alert than when crossing streets.
• Look all around your vehicle, all the time.  Keep your eyes moving.
• With the spring coming, be on the look out for increased pedestrian traffic, increased bicycle traffic, and an increase in children playing at parks, in school yards, and in residential areas.  Look for pedestrians stepping out from between parked cars. Where there are a lot of parked cars, there will likely be pedestrians

Pedestrians

• Stay alert while crossing roadways.  Refrain from phone use, texting, and wearing ear buds.
• Be seen.  Wear clothing with bright visible colors or even reflective cloth.  If your clothing is dark, it is more difficult to be seen in any adverse light conditions.
• Be proactive by watching traffic when crossing. Always cross at a controlled intersection. At the signal, cross only when the "walk" signal is displayed.
• Before crossing, first look left, then right, then left again to check for any traffic.
• Parents are the most important models of proper pedestrian behavior for children.

Remember, be an engaged pedestrian.  It may save your life.

 

RDL

# # #

Release ID: 13-074
Media Contact: mcpnews 
Categories: press-releases