Photo: Fiat
A study has revealed that, in the last year, eight in ten Brits aged 18 to 24 have crossed the street while using their smartphones. In other words, eighty percent of those questioned were looking at the screen of their phone instead of the road to prevent personal injury or even death.
As a result of this behavior, 23 percent of drivers were forced to brake heavily, while 16 percent had to swerve to avoid hitting distracted pedestrians. According to the same survey, commissioned by Fiat, almost one in ten drivers had to call emergency services after they hit a pedestrian who was using their phone while crossing the road.
What is even worse is that some of those pedestrians get angry at drivers when they notice that they were almost hit by a vehicle while crossing the street. Ironically, they were the ones who were being distracted by their phones, not the drivers, but that did not stop 17 percent of them shouting angry words at the drivers, or 14 percent of them manifesting rude gestures. The latter is just unwise conduct anywhere in the world if you ask us.
Fiat is confident that the systems implemented on its all-electric 500 can help the driver in situations like these. While autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection is a nice feature to have on your vehicle, do not rely on it as the last barrier between your driving and a crash.
As you can imagine, crossing the road is one of the most dangerous things you can do while you are a pedestrian. While there are traffic lights and street crossings where drivers are supposed to give way to pedestrians, it is still your responsibility to check if it is safe to cross. Moreover, it is the wise thing to do, as not all drivers on the road may be paying attention.
Be sure to double-check if it is safe to cross during winter, when stopping distances will increase. Look at the vehicles that are approaching the line of vehicles that have already stopped to let you cross the street.
Is one of them going faster than it should? Does it look like the driver has lost control and the car is skidding towards the line of vehicles that are stopped in front of you? If that is the case, you risk getting hit on the crosswalk if one of the stopped vehicles is pushed towards you.
At the same time, be responsible when crossing the road and never run while crossing the street. A brisk pace is fine, but running is dangerous because you risk falling on the crossing, but also face the risk of drivers not noticing you on your way down the crossing. This is one of those cases where spending an extra second or moment could mean the difference between nothing happening and being in the hospital.
What is even worse is that some of those pedestrians get angry at drivers when they notice that they were almost hit by a vehicle while crossing the street. Ironically, they were the ones who were being distracted by their phones, not the drivers, but that did not stop 17 percent of them shouting angry words at the drivers, or 14 percent of them manifesting rude gestures. The latter is just unwise conduct anywhere in the world if you ask us.
Fiat is confident that the systems implemented on its all-electric 500 can help the driver in situations like these. While autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection is a nice feature to have on your vehicle, do not rely on it as the last barrier between your driving and a crash.
As you can imagine, crossing the road is one of the most dangerous things you can do while you are a pedestrian. While there are traffic lights and street crossings where drivers are supposed to give way to pedestrians, it is still your responsibility to check if it is safe to cross. Moreover, it is the wise thing to do, as not all drivers on the road may be paying attention.
Be sure to double-check if it is safe to cross during winter, when stopping distances will increase. Look at the vehicles that are approaching the line of vehicles that have already stopped to let you cross the street.
Is one of them going faster than it should? Does it look like the driver has lost control and the car is skidding towards the line of vehicles that are stopped in front of you? If that is the case, you risk getting hit on the crosswalk if one of the stopped vehicles is pushed towards you.
At the same time, be responsible when crossing the road and never run while crossing the street. A brisk pace is fine, but running is dangerous because you risk falling on the crossing, but also face the risk of drivers not noticing you on your way down the crossing. This is one of those cases where spending an extra second or moment could mean the difference between nothing happening and being in the hospital.
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