Devlin Horton: DOT can do more to keep pedestrians safe

The attorneys with the personal injury firm Horton & Mendez Injury Attorneys applaud the NCDOT’s recent announcement intended to improve pedestrian safety by adding a leading pedestrian interval to pedestrian signals.

This head start into the crosswalk, with a minimum of three and maximum of seven seconds, will help pedestrians more safely move through crosswalks when drivers turning left see a green arrow permitting them to turn across a crosswalk.

The leading pedestrian interval is intended to help pedestrians be more visible, establish themselves in the crosswalk, and trigger a response by drivers to yield to pedestrians.

However, this is a half measure to address pedestrian safety. First, the sequence should be at least five seconds before the green light signals to the driver to begin their turn.

Second, there are many crosswalks that are not governed traffic lights that halt automobiles or indicate to drivers that a pedestrian is entering the roadway.

One such crosswalk, located in Greenville, was the scene of an unfortunate automobile crash on Sept. 15, 2021. A driver paused to allow a pedestrian enter a crosswalk and proceed across Charles Boulevard between 14th Street and Greenville Boulevard near East Carolina University.

A second driver did not recognize that the car had stopped and rear-ended the vehicle. This caused a serious collision that left the first driver severely injured and paralyzed. A lawsuit was filed against the NCDOT for the negligent design of the crosswalk.

Nearby, a second crosswalk on the same street was outfitted with rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs). Activated by a pedestrian pushing a button, this beacon triggers flashing lights to alert drivers they are approaching a crosswalk and should watch for a pedestrian in the crosswalk.

The Federal Highway Administration has released studies that show these RRFBs dramatically enhance driver yield behavior. The NCDOT knows about these studies and has blanket authority from the U.S. DOT to install RRFBs throughout North Carolina.

At trial, NCDOT denied responsibility and contended the crosswalk at issue met the minimum requirements. The jury disagreed and awarded more than $38.2 million dollars to our firm’s client. Clearly, the bare minimum, or something close, is not good enough.

When NCDOT wishes to make pedestrians more visible to drivers, it will enhance pedestrian warning signals at all crosswalks, those governed by traffic lights and those without them.

We urge NCDOT to provide appropriate leading pedestrian interval signals or flashing beacons at each crosswalk, thereby ensuring the safety of pedestrians. Until then, the NCDOT is not doing enough to keep pedestrians safe.