Reckless pedestrians!

THE EDITOR, Sir:

SINCE THE start of the year, numerous persons have been hit down and killed by motor vehicles. Surely, many of our motorists are reckless and must be faulted for these fatalities. However, there are also many pedestrians who are careless and ought to be blamed squarely.

A few months ago, I witnessed two schoolgirls cross a busy roadway when the traffic light was clearly on green. There was even a red hand sign forbidding crossing. Seconds after they stepped into the middle of the road, the oncoming motorist had to halt. Immediately, the driver behind him slammed into his rear end. The girls continued walking and giggling. They only turned around once and glanced at the disfigured bumpers.

There are countless pedestrians who, like these schoolgirls, are wild and unthinking in their behaviour. They seem fearlessly undeterred by motorists’ dangerous swerving and sudden braking. In fact, some will stop in the middle of the road to cuss out the ‘warra-tarra’ of any driver who comes close to hitting them or refuses to yield way.

There are also some pedestrians who repeatedly fail to wear bright and light-colour clothing at night. Some of these very pedestrians will also emerge suddenly from blind spots, misjudge the distance of approaching vehicles, and run across the road.

I have also observed pedestrians wearing deeply plugged earphones while navigating high-traffic thoroughfares. Talk about carelessness!

Pedestrians must exercise greater caution and take responsibility for their safety.