Editorial: Key words on crosswalk law: Educate, enforce
Raise your hand if you know anything about the law the state passed five years ago to strengthen protections for pedestrians.
The Must Stop for Pedestrians law requires drivers to stop - not just slow down - whenever a pedestrian has entered the crosswalk.
Ring any bells? We didn't think so.
The Active Transportation Alliance came to the same conclusion last week when it released a survey showing only 18 percent of drivers in the region stop for pedestrians in painted crosswalks.
For anyone trying to cross streets in unmarked crosswalks, drivers stop a frighteningly low 5 percent of the time.
Alliance found compliance was highest at painted crosswalks with other safety features, such as signs or flashing beacons.
What seems clear is the law is a mystery to most drivers, or worse, one that is frequently ignored.
"Pedestrian injuries and fatalities are all too common in Chicagoland," said Ron Burke, executive director of the Active Transportation Alliance. "Better compliance with the Must Stop for Pedestrians law not only would save lives, but would make people feel more inclined to walk in their communities."
There were more than 4,700 reported pedestrian crashes, with 130 fatalities, in Illinois in 2012, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. Most of the crashes and pedestrian fatalities were in the Chicago metro area.
Those are significant numbers. How many accidents might have been prevented by the law is unknown because it's such a nonfactor on the roads.
We see the law in action - or is it inaction? - every day outside of our office in Libertyville, where it's rare for a driver to stop for pedestrians using the painted crosswalk on Butterfield Road. In a story we did in 2011 - a full year after the law was on the books - several police departments we polled said they had issued only a handful of tickets for violations. One official said it was tough to justify strict enforcement on a traffic law he believed few drivers knew about.
Alliance's survey results indicate little has changed.
What will it take to improve compliance?
We agree with the Alliance that the answer is in greater driver education and better enforcement.
That means IDOT and individual communities must get behind a large education push.
The precedent is there. Statewide safety campaigns against drunken driving - "You Drink You Drive You Lose" - and to promote seat belt use - "Click it or Ticket" - feature billboards, print and TV ads.
Adding signs at crosswalks, an explanation about the law in community newsletters and an emphasis in driver education classes and the message gets out.
And, yes, police must write tickets to enforce it.
Is it worth the effort?
Pedestrians who have to brave speeding traffic to cross a street will tell you it is.