Pedestrian deaths
are common in Central Florida, but common sense would curtail many of them, Scott Maxwell writes.
Today we have good news about body cameras: Two more police departments are putting them on the streets.
And bad news: One stubborn city is still refusing.
We also have an animalthemed installment of Only-inFlorida headlines — with multiple monkeys!
But first, I wanted to start with a public service announcement: How about we try to kill each other less often this year?
Specifically, it’d be great if we could stop running each other over.
As you may know, metro Orlando is one of the deadliest communities for pedestrians. And that’s in one of the deadliest states.
Last year, more than 900 pedestrians were struck by cars in Central Florida. That’s more than two a day. Of those, 87 were killed.
We can do better. Take it from Adriana Patel, a trauma nurse with Orlando Health who has seen enough smashed brains, fractured pelvises and internal bleeding.
“It’s just all preventable,” she said, “100 percent.”
Patel was standing alongside East Pine Street in downtown Orlando on Wednesday morning where Orlando Police officers were conducting a crosswalk crackdown.
The rules are clear: If a pedestrian has set foot in a crosswalk, drivers are supposed to stop.
Those who don’t face a $164 ticket and three points on their license.
Orlando Police Sgt. Jeff Blye, who has worked with Bike/Walk Central Florida to conduct more than 50 of these stings in recent years, calls the crackdown “education ... with a big stick.”
It seems worthwhile. After all, “pedestrians” are really just people — mothers, daughters, fathers and sons, many of whom were struck for no other reason than they were trying to cross a street.
Some locals like to think the problem is tourist-related. It’s not, said Bike/Walk director Amanda Day. Usually, it’s us running over each other far away from the tourism corridors.
Sure, some accidents happen when pedestrians do stupid things like run into a busy highway at 2 in the morning. But much of the time, it’s just distracted driving. Or a hurried motorist worried about being late to work.
Blye said he reminds drivers: “Hitting a pedestrian or cyclist is going to make you a lot later.”
So let’s be careful out there. A lot of lives depend on it.