Reader's Response Draft 4

EDITS ARE IN BOLD

In the article “Floor lights help 'smartphone-zombies' keep eye on the road”, Tan (2017) reports that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) has installed LED strips embedded in pavements to help pedestrians keep an eye on the road. This initiative could be useful in encouraging pedestrians who are using mobile devices to be more aware of their surroundings. Tan highlights statistics provided by the Traffic Police showing that there was a 5.4% increase in traffic accidents involving pedestrians as compared to 2015. Tan also states that the LED strips are placed on trial at areas with high pedestrian activity to determine its effectiveness of keeping pedestrians alert of their surroundings. The LED strips will light up similarly to traditional traffic lights, providing a sense of familiarity to the pedestrians. In the article, Tan implies that "smartphone-zombies" are causing the rise in accidents involving pedestrians. However, there are other factors that have a greater impact on the rate of accidents involving pedestrians.

Some other factors influencing the rise in traffic accidents involving pedestrians include age, time of the day and the consumption of alcohol. This is according to the publication “Traffic safety facts” (United States of America. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2013). Data in the publication shows that 29% of pedestrian injuries are attributed to the age groups ‘fifteen and under’ and ‘sixty-five and over’. The publication goes on to show that 70% of pedestrian fatalities occur at night, between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. when visibility is at the lowest for both drivers and pedestrians. Another statistic from the publication was that amongst all accidents that involve pedestrian fatalities, 16.8% of the pedestrians had a blood alcohol level high enough to be considered legally impaired. From these statistics, we can infer that there are other variables that can also put pedestrians at risk of getting involved in an accident.

Within the Singapore context, there has been a rise in accidents involving elderly pedestrians and jaywalking. Statistics from the Traffic Police (2016) state that rate of accidents involving elderly pedestrians increased 19.6% from 224 cases in 2015 to 268 cases in 2016. Of these accidents, 30.2% of them was a result of by jaywalking. The number of jaywalking elderly pedestrians went up 42.1% from 57 cases in 2015 to 81 cases in 2016.

Lastly, jaywalking has been on a rise across the board. LTA's LED strips will be redundant if pedestrians continue to jaywalk and not make full use pedestrian crossing infrastructure. Ng (2017) quoted a Traffic Police (TP) spokesman who concurs that jaywalking has been on the rise. There were 248 accidents that involved jaywalking pedestrians last year. This is a 27% increase from three years ago, when there were only 195 cases. Ng interviewed a concerned resident who regularly sees pedestrians jaywalking in her neighbourhood. The resident remarked that pedestrians would rather jaywalk than make use of the overhead bridge a hundred meters away. This has resulted in an unfortunate accident, in which a pregnant woman lost her life. In a separate, more recent article, Seow (2017) reports that jaywalking has been up 21% in the first half of 2017. There were 161 instances of jaywalking in 2017, an increase from 133 in 2016 and 109 in 2015. The trend of jaywalking shows no sign of slowing down. LTA should refocus more of their resources onto reversing that trend.

 From the various articles and reports cited, I am certain that there are more urgent factors, such as jaywalking, to be addressed. LTA should consider focusing their efforts on raising public awareness and promoting good traffic safety practices. While we can agree that using one’s smartphone while crossing the road is dangerous and LTA’s embedded LED strips is a step in the positive direction, I believe that it is not the primary reason behind the rise in traffic accidents involving pedestrians.

 
References
Ng, J. S. (2017, June 22). Pedestrian crossings and the problem of jaywalking. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/crossing-was-once-a-jaywalking-hot-spot

 Seow, B. Y. (2017, October 11). Jaywalking accidents up 21% in first half of year, 30% involving elderly pedestrians. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jaywalking-accidents-up-21-in-first-half-of-year-30-involving-elderly-pedestrians

 Singapore Police Force (2016) Annual road traffic situation. [News release]. Retrieved from https://www.police.gov.sg/news-and-publications/statistics

 Tan, C. (2017, May 10). Floor lights help 'smartphone zombies' keep eye on the road. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/floor-lights-help-smartphone-zombies-keep-eye-on-the-road

 United States of America, Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2013). Traffic safety facts. (DOT HS 811 748).

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