Town’s ‘Safe Step’ Campaign Targets Pedestrian, Driver Awareness

We’d like to give a thumbs-up to the Coweta County town of Newnan for its “Safe Step” pedestrian and driver safety campaign. The program encourages drivers and pedestrians to pay closer attention when approaching or using the city’s crosswalks.

There have been too many close calls between drivers and cars, according to Chief of Police Douglas “Buster” Meadows.  He’s worried that lack of attention on someone’s part could result in an injury or death in a pedestrian-vehicle accident.

We wrote about a pedestrian death last week, and we return to the topic again today because it is no small concern. The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS) says that from 2000 through 2008, 9.4 percent of the people killed in motor vehicle crashes in Georgia were pedestrians. In 2008, when 146 pedestrians were killed in car wrecks, pedestrian fatalities accounted for 10 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities in the state.

The Atlanta Metro Area is the most dangerous region of the state for pedestrians. The GOHS says 42 percent of all pedestrian fatalities from 2004-2008 were within Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, Gwinnett and Bibb counties. The Centers for Disease Control called the Atlanta metropolitan statistical area (MSA) the country’s third most dangerous large metropolitan area for walking, behind Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida.

Chief Meadows says that he too often sees a lack of awareness when people walk through a crosswalk or when motorists drive through an intersection.

“I think a lot of them take for granted that the other one sees the other. And each one thinks the other one is going to do what they are supposed to,” Meadows told CBS Atlanta.

The town will distribute a brochure that lists safety tips for motorists and pedestrians, as well as some myths and corresponding facts, the Times-Herald of Newnan says. The brochure points out that motorists are legally required to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians crossing at intersections, regardless of whether there is a painted crosswalk. It also states that just because a pedestrian sees a vehicle, that doesn’t mean the driver sees the pedestrian, particularly when pedestrians try to cross in the middle of a street or walk between cars.

Here at Millar & Mixon, where we’ve investigated personal injury and wrongful death cases involving pedestrians injured or killed in incidents involving cars, trucks or other vehicles, we know all too well that the slightest negligence on the part of a driver or pedestrian can have tragic consequences.

Millar & Mixon has helped hundreds of Georgians in the Atlanta area and across the state who were injured because of driver negligence or recklessness.We will always stand up for the rights of those who are harmed by another person’s actions, including when a pedestrian-vehicle accident results in personal injury or wrongful death. 

If you have been injured on a public street or highway, or if a loved one of yours has been killed in a pedestrian-car accident, let Millar & Mixon’s personal injury lawyers review the circumstances of your loss. You may have a right to compensation. 

All initial consultations are free, so you have nothing to lose by having your questions answered. Call Millar & Mixon today at 770-477-6360, e-mail us at info@millarandmixon.com or contact us through our websites – www.millarandmixon.com or www.theGeorgialawyer.com.