Drive defensively, walk defensively

Over the past month or so there has been a rash of pedestrian vs. car accidents on and around the Gonzaga campus. Thankfully, none of the accidents has been fatal.

It is obvious that there is a huge problem that needs to be addressed. The University is actively looking to add more pedestrian safety measures, as can be evidenced in President Thayne McCulloh's recent e-mail address and  a lecture in the Transportation Engineering class by adjunct professor and City of Spokane Traffic Engineer Bob Turner.

The facts of the matter are, however, that these safety measures will take time to implement and there is no guarantee that they will help. I believe that there is an alternative and potentially more effective measure for safeguarding pedestrians. This alternative is changing the mindset of the pedestrian.

When I learned to drive I was taught to drive defensively in order to protect myself from the other idiots on the road (to put it bluntly). I enjoy living and consequently do not want to allow myself to be injured or killed by one of the aforementioned idiots. Therefore, I extend my defensive driving skills to my walking commute.

When I moved to Spokane from Southern California to attend Gonzaga, I was utterly confused by the mindset of drivers and pedestrians alike. Drivers actually stopped to allow pedestrians to cross the street and pedestrians openly and often exercised their right of way by stepping in front of moving cars. Coming from the land of road rage and the rolling stop, I was shocked. At first I thought this was great. People were so nice and polite. However, after living here for almost four years, walking from my house off campus for the last two, and hearing about the recent accidents, I think that this mindset is dangerous and needs to change.

In an ideal world, the polite mindset of drivers and the confident air of pedestrians is legal and even desirable. Unfortunately, as witnessed recently, we do not live in an ideal world. There are bad drivers on the road. There are those who are oblivious to the rules; there are those who just plain ignore the rules; there are drunks; there are people too old to drive safely; and there are those who just aren't paying enough attention. It is not safe to assume that your right of way as a pedestrian will protect you. Yes, you as a pedestrian technically do have the right of way, but how much good will this right do you when you are severely injured or quite possibly dead?

Unless you are trying to have your parents cash in on your life insurance or win a posthumous wrongful death settlement, I recommend that you start walking defensively. Look both ways before you cross the street, cross only between street corners, check that cars in both lanes of traffic are stopped before crossing (on four-lane roads), wait in the median if necessary, make eye contact with drivers before crossing, and if you are set on preserving the politeness that seems to set Spokane drivers apart, wave a thank you to cars for allowing you to cross. Do not allow Spokane to be set apart from the dog-eat-dog urban and suburban empires of the world by an outrageously high pedestrian accident per capita ratio in addition to the politeness of its citizens.

This article is in no way meant as an affront to those who have recently been injured. My sympathies go out to these individuals. I do not know all of the circumstances surrounding the recent events. However, I do believe that with a little bit of attention we can all protect ourselves as well as, if not better than, the expensive footbridges and other means of pedestrian safety that are being considered.

Stay safe, walk smart and GO ZAGS!

Nolan Cannon is a senior.