THE PEDESTRIAN LIFE

As our WSU ALIVE! Summer Resource Fair driver safety awareness booth comes to a successful end--thanks to committed drivers who pledged to drive safely--we also received much valid feedback on what they felt was necessary to improve driver safety in our region, questions including insurance requirements, the Distracted Driving Law passed in July 2017, to, "Where is the DMV?" We met drivers of all ages and sized from Washington state to international countries. Although we talked with quite a few students who would be driving their first year, we also met a more than equal, opposite number who chose not to drive their first year (or whose parents didn't want them to!) and opted for public transportation or to walk.



Interestingly, most individuals were confident that because they would be walking to most of their destinations, that driver safety awareness didn't apply to them. When we pointed out that it actually impacts everyone using streets, highways, roads, paths, and sidewalks! Yes, that would be pedestrians. Why pedestrians?? With the rampant numbers of distracted drivers driving behind the wheel due to cell phone texting, the numbers of youthful drivers, in fatal car crashes alone, reached 31% by 2016 in southeastern Washington state. So, walkers, runners, cyclist, mothers with strollers, pedestrians walking their dogs, anyone really, have become moving targets! We feel pedestrian safety awareness is as crucial as distracted driving awareness, the two go hand-in-hand. Albeit, for whatever reasons, we applauded those drivers who made the choice to utilize alternative transportation or just by walking, an official mode of transportation.

Through our campaign, since 2016, we've been able to slowly lower the number of fatal car crashes, but, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the number of cyclist and pedestrian deaths have steadily increased since 2009:

PEDESTRIANS                                                 CYCLISTS

2009                          4,109                                                                                   628

2018                          6,216                                                                                   861

Regulators also estimated that while overall traffic deaths had decreased in 2018 (1%) compared to 2017, that pedestrian (4%) and cyclist (10%) deaths had increased.

(Citation: USA Today, NHTSA percentage estimates for 2018)

It has become an alarming trend! While driving inside a vehicle with all the new high-tech safety measures installed has become safer, the people outside of the car are now in danger. It has also caught the attention of a handful--20--auto makers who, in the last 3 years, are arduously attempting to make transportation safer for pedestrians which has not always been at the top of their list, by installing automatic emergency braking systems for pedestrians, bicycle safety detection systems, engineering hoods and fenders to become more pliable in the event of an accident. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) will require automakers to install high functioning pedestrian detection systems making them standard equipment on vehicles starting in 2020 as an incentive for top safety ratings. High technology would ultimately allow vehicles to interact with each other to avoid road hazard, accidents and pedestrians!

Until we have developed and perfected such preventative, pedestrian safe advanced technology, and in order to keep the general public safe out on the road, we'll have to continue with campaigns such as ours, that informs and keeps everyone aware, one driver, one pedestrian, one person at a time. So we all arrive home safely.

For more information on safe driving, walking, tips, goto: www.safepalousedrivers.com

or visit us on: FB, IG, TWITTER and SNAP CHAT.

July Begins with Old Traditions and New Faces

July began with old traditions and new faces.

We started the month of July with celebrating our nation's Independence Day on the Palouse and welcoming new WSU students and their families to our community.

The 44th annual Pullman 4th of July Celebration began at Sunnyside Park at 5pm. This event featured live music by the Community Band of the Palouse, Dan Maher, and the Fabulous Kingpins. The event also hosted BBQ and fun activities for the kids. The evening ended with a great fireworks show at 10 p.m. All money spent in the park that night helps to make the event happen each year. Pullman City Transit also offered free transportation from park and ride locations.

In another tradition, July 4th kicked off with a pancake feed and parade in the small community of Johnson, WA just south of Pullman. Both sides of the street that runs through Johnson gets visitors all around the Palouse. Among parade participants were Whitman County's Sheriff's, Whitman County Fire District 12 with the Color Guard leading the parade. Area businesses, sports teams, community groups and more participate in this parade each year.

Next up on the 4th of July festivities is the Albion parade and community lunch. Many of the Johnson Parade participants head directly to Albion march in the parade all over again. Additional events were the sidewalk chalk contest in Endicott, and various other small events held at rural towns of Whitman County. Many of these events have fun activities for kids to participate in, creating wonderful community events on the Palouse.


The week ended with welcoming new WSU students and their families at the WSU Resource Fair held at the CUB. We had many new students and their parents stop by our booth to sign the safe driver pledge. We gained more than 20 new signatures, pledging to be a safe driver. Some of those signatures included those who pledged to be a safe passenger as well by not causing distractions for their driver.

One main topic that parents were interested in discussing was their concern for safe travel on State Route 26 which is the main route for many students. The topic of working to add passing lanes to this highway was a popular one. One parent said he won't even drive that route and takes I-90 to Spokane and down US195 to get to Pullman from Western Washington. Parents were happy about the Passing Lanes Project.

We also spoke with parents whose children have never driven in snow before. They were happy to hear that there are resources such as our website and social media to offer tips and information about our roadways and conditions. We spoke with a mother from Missouri and another mother from California who said knowing that there are resources such as Palouse Driver Safety Campaign helped relieve some of their worries as they know it will be a challenge for their children to drive in new weather conditions.

Sunday marked the first WSU Resource Fair for the month of July, and we had more than 20 students and parents who took the safe driving pledges. There are several more coming up this month and our campaign will keep on working to inform and educate drivers on safe driving behavior.


You can keep up to date on future events on our website, Facebook page, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat. Our social media is a great resource for local road updates such as weather and road conditions, road construction, road closures, driving tips and more. We look forward to more events this July where we can meet more students and community members.