Reading in last week’s Auburn Reporter about the multiple pedestrian injuries, I realized how amazing it is that there are as few such injuries and deaths as there are.

Having commuted on foot to my office for nearly 28 years now, not a day goes by that my right of way as a pedestrian is not violated multiple times by motorists. Despite the fact that pedestrians have the right of way at marked and unmarked intersections (RCW 46.61.235), I and my fellow pedestrians routinely have to wait for a break in traffic to cross, as long lines of cars, including Auburn Police cars and Valley Regional Fire Authority vehicles, pass by.

The fortunate exception is at school crossings, especially those with flashing lights.

To the very, very few who actually do stop and yield to our right of way, thank you very much. Thankfully, most drivers are more tolerant than the one who recently laid on the horn and flipped me off because, less than a week after a recent knee surgery, I was unable to cross the unmarked intersection quickly enough to avoid forcing him to slow somewhat.

Drivers regularly violate pedestrian right of way in marked intersections controlled by traffic lights as well, turning right or left across occupied crosswalks in front of and behind pedestrians in violation of the law. I guess as long as there’s no body lying in the street, it’s all OK. Yet in my nearly 28 years of commuting on foot in Auburn, not once have I seen a motorist be ticketed for violating a pedestrian’s right of way.

Studies have demonstrated that intersections that prevent motorists from turning left with a red arrow when pedestrians have the walk light, reduce the number of injuries and deaths. Yet at many intersections, Auburn has recently introduced the yellow left turn arrows that follow the green arrow. These are lit at the same time that the walk light is lit.

Yes, yellow means to exercise caution; however, the fact that our state pretends that pedestrians don’t actually have the right of way means drivers have learned to ignore pedestrians. We are invisible. Fortunately, or not, most pedestrians seem to realize that despite the law, they don’t really have the right of way.

So, when I read about all of the hand wringing by authorities about what can be done after a particularly gruesome pedestrian death, usually a child, an elderly person or multiple deaths, “Maybe we should put a flashing light there,” it’s no mystery to me. Maybe we could enforce the law, until drivers realize that yes, pedestrians do have the right of way at all intersections.

Maybe our policy makers should be willing to require motorists to sit at traffic lights a few more seconds, prioritizing pedestrian safety with lights that protect them from motorists that are turning and “just didn’t see them” because they weren’t lit up like a Christmas tree.

Changes like these will need to start at city halls around the state. The laws are already on the books, they’re just ignored by everyone.

Until then, we will all share some of the blame for many of the pedestrian injuries and deaths and for the fact that many of the people who need to walk for their health, especially the elderly, just won’t feel safe doing so.

In closing, if you walk, know anyone who walks or would like to walk, please get in the habit of being aware of the pedestrians out there. Their lives are in your hands.

– Phillip Thompson