Denver Auto Accidents Involving Pedestrians on the Rise.

Officials are nervous about how many pedestrian and vehicle related incidents 2013 has racked up, only 3 months in. Last year, Denver, Colorado tallied thirteen hit-and-run deadly car accidents (more than the last three years combined, according to The Post), and during just the first several weeks of 2013, pedestrian and vehicle involved accidents jumped up by 46%.

Police Chief Robert White is alarmed at the increase. The Post reported Police Statistics total of approximately 31 pedestrian and auto related incidents per month since 2011. In January and February of this year, that average has escalated to a whopping 44 per month.

Chief White claims that this is not just a traffic-related problem, this is a city-related problem and a solution must be found quickly to protect against such preventable and deadly occurrences. Experts are attributing a large part of the spike in accidents to smart phones. People (drivers and pedestrians alike) are increasingly funneling their awareness to the cell phones at their fingertips, while completely neglecting dangers around them. Texting and driving or texting and walking are what are known as “sober distractions”. It becomes a whole other ball game when alcohol and drugs are taken into consideration.

What is the best way to approach solving this incredible increase? The Post states Traffic Safety Officials three E’s: “engineering, education, and enforcement”. Officials admit that no one of these E’s is up to ideal standards. As far as engineering is concerned, intersections that are hot zones for collisions would need to be revamped, and that costs money. A surefire fix would be walk over bridges, but again, money is in question, as such bridges carry a hefty price (approximately $1 million per). Lieutenant Robert Rock (Denver’s head traffic investigator) thinks that education can be impactful with children, but believes that adults “tune it out”, citing the example that yes, children can be taught and made to “sit and watch for the light”, but adults will cut across “at mid-block all day long”. Enforcement seems like it would be an applicable solution, but Rock stresses the impracticality of having to write thousands of jay walking tickets, in attempts to keep up with rule breaking citizens.

Even despite legislators’ actions increasing the punishment for hit and run drivers (doubling to 6 years in jail – the same as a drunk driver involved in a pedestrian and auto accident), the significant spike in pedestrian-auto incidents has occurred. The solutions aren’t coming easily, but lawmakers know something has to be done, the sooner the better.

Bunch, Joey. “Spike in Denver’s Auto-Pedestrian Cases Has Officials Seeking Answers”. The Denver Post. 20 March, 2013. <http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_22827857/spike-denvers-auto-pedestrian-cases-has-officials-seeking>