Hensley: As new school year nears, it's a good time to slow down

In a couple of weeks, the city’s streets will grow busier as the back-to-school portion of the yearly community routine resumes. Consider this an early plea to pay attention whether you are a driver or pedestrian in the days and weeks ahead.

As lives continue to return to some pre-pandemic sense of normalcy, an even greater premium seems to have been put on speed. Not just driving, but life in general. There seems to be an accelerated collective impatience at work, and it’s showing up everywhere.

My early-morning running days are behind me now, a casualty of altered routines and diminished confidence in my pre-sunrise eyesight, but I was fortunate for years never to have never had a serious brush with disaster as a slow-moving jogger. Most of my time was spent in residential areas from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m., and the only hazard I had to worry about for the most part was the rolling stop perfected by many a West Texas driver.

The calls have been more frequent and closer walking across the Texas Tech campus from my spot in the commuter parking lot hinterlands, where the pedestrian having the right of way in a crosswalk is often a mere myth. Too many drivers are moving well above the posted speed limit or in too much of a hurry, and with the sheer volume of pedestrians, tragedy is often nearer than one might realize.

Throw in distracted driving, and getting across a street even with the signal, can be a proposition fraught with risk. It is amazing to see people operating vehicles at high speeds while also casually using their cell phone for interests other than making or receiving a call. Driving is not meant to be part of a multitasking endeavor.

All of this is worth consideration after seeing a report earlier this week that drivers struck and killed approximately 7,500 pedestrians across the country during 2021. The number represents the most pedestrian deaths in 40 years, according to information from the Governors Highway Safety Association. The thrust of the report is “pedestrian deaths increased dramatically as speeding, impaired and distracted driving, and other dangerous driving behaviors proliferated.”

Compared to the previous year, the number of pedestrian deaths is up about 12%, and it should be pointed out some of the difference can be attributed to less driving in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. Within the 2020 statistics, though, was one number that should get everyone’s attention: the percentage of speeding-related pedestrian crashes involving children age 15 and younger more than doubled in the previous three years (from 5.8% in 2018 to 11.9% in 2020). The riddle here is finding why this occurred in a year when schools were primarily relying on remote instruction. School zones weren’t, for the most part, as busy as they had been.

Locally, according to the Amarillo Police Department, there was one pedestrian fatality and one bicyclist fatality last year. The numbers are down compared to previous years with four pedestrian deaths in 2020 and eight in 2019. In 2018, the city had three pedestrian fatalities and one bicyclist fatality. Regardless, every such death is a tragedy, and virtually every one can be avoided by simply being aware of speed and driving to conditions.

Pedestrians should also be careful and avoid distractions. There’s been more than one local driver surprised by someone walking across the street, not a care in the world, eyes focused intently on cell phone screen and headphones in place. Then they look shocked that someone might use their horn to get their attention and warn them of their near demise.

The road, after all, is meant to be shared. Driving is a privilege, and being courteous to others on the road (pedestrians and drivers alike) should be pretty basic. At the risk of offending some, I’d be quick to add the overwhelming majority of drivers are courteous. The challenge is so many things compete for a driver’s attention now, it is tempting to use commute times as an opportunity to handle other mundane chores.

The truth is we may get away with distracted driving often, which emboldens us to think we can get away with it all the time … until that one time we don’t get away it and tragedy occurs.

“This is heartbreaking and unacceptable,” Jonathan Adkins, executive director of the GSHA, said in a news release. “The pandemic has caused so much death and damage, it’s frustrating to see even more lives needlessly taken due to dangerous driving.”

Within the next few weeks, local schools will spring to life with drop-off and pick-up activity. Some youngsters will be walking or riding bicycles to school. School zone speed limits are in place for a reason. They force drivers to slow way down and check their surroundings. Whether the school zone warning lights are flashing or not, it doesn’t hurt to drive a little slower, even if it means arriving a minute or two later than originally planned.

Everyone gets in a hurry from time to time when they’re driving. Just about everyone is distracted by something (or someone) while driving. Be that as it may, it’s easy and well worth the effort for drivers to be aware of their speed and adjust accordingly in the presence of pedestrians.

Because all it takes is one moment of inattention to alter a handful of lives forever. As Sgt. Phil Esterhaus used to say every week on “Hill Street Blues,” “Let’s be careful out there.”

Doug Hensley is associate regional editor and director of commentary for the Globe-News He can be reached at dhensley@amarillo.com

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Doug Hensley new school year a good reason to slow down