Scree - May 29, 2011 - Pedestrians Again and Animals
Pedestrians Again
Friday's Journal was Crosswalking. In the article I listed reasons why drivers do not know the pedestrian rules. One that I perhaps left out was that 20% of drivers nationwide can not pass a driver's rules of the road test. The percentage equates to over 35 million people who do not know the rules.
For Tennesseans, we were slightly worse than average, with about 22% failing the test.
"Eighty-five percent could not identify the correct action to take when approaching a steady yellow traffic light, and only a quarter were aware of safe following distances." GMAC Press Release
I took the test and scored a 95%; but I will admit that I missed the approaching yellow light question myself. I thought it was badly worded.
So take a second and take the test. (They ask you to select a location, I didn't and they still allowed me to take the test. Then to submit the test I had to give my name and email. to see the results.) Our results do not get added to the poll; but it is still a good refresher. By the way the first question (in the test I took) was about pedestrians crossing the road.
As a driver you must know and follow the rules of the road. Watch out for those not driving a vehicle.
Animals
Not only do we need to look out for pedestrians; but we also need to watch for animals near or crossing the roads.
In Grand Teton National Park last year there were over 160 animals killed by vehicles. when the Park mentions "animals" they do not mean prairie dogs, rabbits, or squirrels - they mean big animals.
"Included in the 2010 data were 48 elk, 41 deer, 17 bison, 6 pronghorn, 5 moose, 5 bears, and 2 wolves." NPS
Now, there are some big animals in that list. When we were in the Park last summer there was a serious accident when a truck hit an elk one night. The collision was bad for the elk but also the truck driver.
To prevent accidents with animals, slow down. When you see animals adjacent to the road slow down even more and when you see animals in the road it is time to stop.
The animals do not know the rules of the road, we have to watch for them.