PEDS Blog: July, 2010

Blueprint America, a PBS initiative exploring the state of the nation’s infrastructure, is shining the spotlight on Buford Highway, Georgia’s deadliest road for pedestrians.  The segment in which PEDS appears was broadcast as part of a TV news magazine called Need to Know on July 23 at 8:30pm.

Michael Orta, PEDS’ Director of Community Education, worked closely with the Blueprint America film crew, participating in interviews, providing background and crash data and connecting reporters with government officials and people living along Buford Highway.

Watch it here:

You can also see this video on the Need to Know website along with comments from other viewers.

PEDS has asked the Georgia Department of Transportation to address Buford Highway’s lack of safe crossings and high pedestrian fatality rate for over a decade. This film enables us to highlight these issues on a national stage. It also gives the Georgia Department of Transportation an opportunity to explain — after years of inaction — where its safety improvement plans stands.  Don’t miss this revealing show.

Or is the sign just moronic? Research has already shown you can’t really drive safely while using  a cell phone.  Driving while talking on a cell phone distracts the brain from its primary task: driving.  DeKalb County should remove this sign on East Roxboro Road and others like it.  See the sign on Google Maps street view.

It’s oxymoronic to see this sign in DeKalb County, especially since DeKalb passed a law in 2006 that punishes drivers who wreck while using cell phones.  If you cause a crash while talking on your cell phone in DeKalb, you could face prosecution and fines up to $500.  Yet, according to a report by WSB Channel 2 Action News in April 2010, the law is rarely enforced.

Good news: the Georgia DOT is replacing the flashing yellow crosswalk signals in the Chamblee/Doraville area of Buford Highway with HAWK signals. What’s a HAWK signal? It’s basically a pedestrian-activated red light. PEDS has been recommending these to GDOT for years. With 7 lanes of 45 – 55 mph traffic, Buford Highway is Georgia’s most dangerous road for pedestrians. HAWK signals provide a safe way for people to cross. The new signals haven’t been turned on yet, but GDOT’s Calvin Duncan says they’ll be turned on in about two weeks. More to come.