Yield to Raleigh pedestrians

Here’s a simple rule of the road: Pedestrians have the right of way, no matter what. They may be crossing against a light; they may be walking with no light at a busy intersection; they may not be looking both ways.

It doesn’t matter. They have the right of way.

Common sense? Of course. It’s also the law. But in Raleigh between 2000 and 2015, there were 244 traffic accidents involving pedestrians, nearly half with a fatality.

So here’s to N.C. State University, once more engaged in a study that will make a difference in people’s lives. NCSU researchers, working with Raleigh police, are studying whether drivers yield to foot traffic at select pedestrian crosswalks in West Raleigh. The encounters are videotaped and become part of a study through N.C. State’s Institute for Transportation Research and Education. When all’s said and done later this summer, the data will be shared with the Governor’s Highway Safety Program.

Some 2,400 pedestrians are hit by cars every year in the state. That’s a disturbing figure, and given the growth in urban areas, a scary one.

This story was originally published June 27, 2016 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Yield to Raleigh pedestrians."