When a pedestrian is struck by a car or truck the resulting injuries can be horrific. When several tons of steel and glass (a vehicle) moving down a street with some speed strikes a walking person - catastrophic injuries are highly likely.
In a city like Atlanta (hardly a pedestrian-friendly environment) we all would do well to take a few minutes to educate ourselves about the rules of the road that relate to pedestrians and how we should drive in areas frequented by pedestrians.
I have culled a few excerpts from Georgia laws that relate to pedestrians and am going to share them here, along with a little of my own commentary.
Here is a good place to start - with definitions under Georgia law:
Pedestrian
40-1-1(42) ‘Pedestrian" means any person afoot.
Traffic
40-1-1(66) "Traffic" means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, and other conveyances either singly or together while using any highway for purposes of travel.
I love the reference to "ridden or herded animals" - not how I get around, but quaint.
Right of Way
40-1-1(52) "Right of way" means the right of one vehicle or pedestrian to proceed in a lawful manner in preference to another vehicle or pedestrian approaching under such circumstances of direction, speed, and proximity as to give rise to danger of collision unless one grants precedence to the other.
OK - on behalf of my profession I apologize for the legalese in this definition. But it is an important definition! If you skipped over it, shame on you! The short version is this - in civilized society and among people of good will we yield to the person with the right of way.
How do we know when to yield? I'll tell you tomorrow on my blog.
