World Pedestrian Day: how many pedestrians die each year in Chile?

Each August 17 is celebrated on World Pedestrian Day, anniversary commemorating the first fatal road accident when a car hit a person in London, England. He was called Bridget Driscoll and died on the spot.

It happened like this. On that fateful day, Bridget, a 44-year-old woman, I was walking around the Crystal Palace in London. where an exhibition of three vehicles imported by the Anglo-French company Motor Carriage was held.

Of course, the specimens could only be the famous Benz Patent Motorwagen , considered the world’s first combustion engine automobile. At the wheel of one of them, he was going Arthur James Edsall who after losing control ended up crushing Bridget.

Despite the fact that the driver shouted at them several times to move away, at the same time as he rang a bell -which then served as a proximity sound signal-, the woman failed to get out of the way and was crushed violently banging his head, which caused his instant death.

You should know that at that time the so-called “horseless carriage” only reached a top speed of 16 km/h . Despite everything, the organizers had limited the speed to 6 km/h during the exhibition as a precaution.

The case reached the courts which, after witness statements and various investigations, determined that Bridget’s death was an accident . Then the coroner in charge of the body expressed his hope that something like this would never happen again.

Vain hopes therefore, according to the National Commission for Road Safety (Conaset), alone in 2022, 469 pedestrians died in road accidents in Chile, which is equivalent to 26.9% of the total deaths recorded in the country (1,745 deaths in total).

Beyond the commemoration of the sad event that occurred 126 years ago, the World Pedestrian Day aims to make pedestrians and motorists aware of the road. And it is that, just as drivers of vehicles have rules when driving on public roads, pedestrians also have rules what to do to avoid some kind of incident.

Therefore, Conaset provides safety advice in this regard:

• When you come to a bend or crosswalk, remember to look both ways before proceeding. Eye contact between pedestrians and drivers is essential to prevent road accidents.
• Always obey the traffic light, wait for the green light and never cross in a curve or in areas where you cannot see if a vehicle is approaching: it is important that you can estimate the distance and the speed at which the vehicles arrive, before crossing.
• Cross the street at crosswalks or crosswalks. If there is a footbridge, use it and never go under it.

• Don’t get distracted by using your cell phone or headphones at high volume: by isolating yourself from the environment, you won’t be able to hear the sounds of your surroundings and the chances of getting crushed increase.
• If we are pedestrians, we can only travel on the roads along the shoulder or the edge of the road, and always on the left side, facing oncoming vehicles, attentive to any incident.
• As pedestrians, we must not cross the road or the highway in unauthorized places for our safe travel. Always on the existing footbridges and never pass under them.
• At times of low light or when weather conditions require it and visibility is significantly reduced, you should incorporate a reflective and/or luminous element into your clothing to be more visible if you have to drive on the road or on the shoulder. . And during the day, it is recommended to wear light-colored clothing to alert motorists to your presence on the road.
• If there are no walkways or pedestrian bridges and you must cross the road, avoid doing so in curved areas and choose to cross where there is best visibility.
• The risk of dying following a crush is reduced by five if the speed of the impacting vehicle is 30 km/h instead of 50 km/h. Slowing down is essential to save lives in traffic.
• When driving a vehicle, you should pay attention to road signs, especially in school environments and residential areas where there is a greater presence of pedestrians and cyclists.

As part of the celebration of World Pedestrian Day, The municipality of Las Condes intervened 60 traffic light buttons installed in the busiest avenues of the town. In them he arranged the following messages that begin with the phrase: “Wait for the green light”: “And go home safely” “And you can kiss your children”, “Don’t let a few seconds end your life”, “Because crossing with red can change your life forever” and “Cross carefully because your family is waiting for you.”

Also installed the first zebra crossing that lights up as pedestrians pass. This comes to try to solve the problem posed by the current signaling system, in which the pedestrian crossings are painted on the ground and, as a result, they suffer deterioration, making it more complex for drivers to see them on rainy days. or fog.