Design for a safer & better world
An 81-year-old Honolulu woman died yesterday after she was hit by a sport utility vehicle as she crossed Pali Highway in a marked crosswalk. I often saw this little old lady crossing the street as I drove into work. It is so sad.
But, really isn’t a surprise. Every Pali driver has experienced the confusion of traffic stopping because of bumper-to-bumper traffic. It just took ONE driver NOT seeing her in the crosswalk.
This type of tragedy is avoidable through an already existing creative design solution:
In pavement lighting. In this case the solution is already created and should NOW be implemented.
The challenge for all designers should be to find solutions to all sorts of problems BEFORE they are needed. That is what it means to be a creative problem solver. But unfortunatly it seems like it takes an accident and a shock to put action into motion.
A call to all creatives: Let’s find problems; find creative solutions. And make things happen.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
They have one of those crosswalks [with lights installed on the crosswalk] on my campus for our Engineering Library. I think it really seems to help the cars notice students, or at the minimum- slow down.
Here’s an interesting way I found that might make drivers more aware of their surroundings:
http://www.theadmad.com/2009/08/05/elm-grove-police/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMV2is6oy_U&feature=player_embedded
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:15 pm
Just killing some time on Digg and I found your article . Not normally what I prefer to read about, but it was certainly worth my time. Thanks.
March 16th, 2010 at 9:48 am
After several pedestrian accidents on Pali highway a few years ago, one of these systems was installed as a test at one crosswalk. I don’t know the outcome. But I have a call in, and when I find out, “I’ll be back.”