Walking in New York

New Yorkers routinely jaywalk when they see no oncoming traffic. Years ago, when I was visiting from Jerusalem, I stopped at a crossing when the pedestrian light turned red. “Dad,” said my daughter, who was with me at the time, “you’re in New York now.”I laughed because after all I lived in New York as an adult longer than she had. But she was right. I had forgotten the rules.

New York City is the safest big city in the country for walkers, with only half the rate of pedestrian fatalities as the next 10 largest American cities. Even so, streets are dangerous. According to the Tri-State Campaign, 440 pedestrians were killed on New York City streets in the three-year period 2007-2009. Of the five boroughs, Brooklyn had the highest number of fatalities, 152. So was that young man taking his life in his hands when he walked across Brooklyn's Adams Street against the light? Was I safer than he was by waiting for the light to change?

According to the Bloomberg administration’s study of pedestrian safety, released last year, the answer to both questions is “no.”The study was based on more than 7,000 traffic accidents between 2002 and 2006 that resulted in the death or the serious injury of at least one pedestrian. The study found that jaywalkers were less likely to be involved in a crash than law-abiding folks who wait for the light to change. Perhaps this surprising finding can be explained in part by accidents involving turns onto a pedestrian crosswalk. Walkers need to look in both directions and over their shoulder before stepping onto the crosswalk. According to the report, left-hand turns are three times as likely to result in an accident involving a pedestrian than right-hand turns, so we are advised to cross the street from the right-hand side of the sidewalk.

Of particular interest to this old man was the finding that seniors, who comprise only 12% of the city’s population, account for 38% of the city’s pedestrian fatalities. Our vision and hearing are less acute now than they once were, and we can no longer move so fast to avoid the onrushing traffic. So, fellow oldsters, try to cross the street from the right-hand side of the sidewalk and look in both directions and over your shoulder before you step onto the crosswalk.