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The initiative urges all Texans to know and observe the state’s visitors legal guidelines for safe driving, strolling and biking.
TEXAS, USA — Labor Day means a complete lot of driving: to your family members’ homes, to your Barbeque cookouts or simply driving normally.
With that in thoughts, TxDOT is beginning an initiative to attempt to restrict pedestrian and bicycles accidents from at this time to Sept. 15.
These accidents in Texas proceed to rise yearly. In 2021, 841 individuals died in pedestrian-related visitors crashes, a rise of 15% from 2020. Crashes involving bicyclists claimed the lives of 92 individuals in 2021. These 933 deaths account for 20% of the 4,490 fatalities on Texas roadways final 12 months.
This initiative urges all Texans to know and observe the state’s visitors legal guidelines for safe driving, strolling and biking. This consists of the Lisa Torry Smith Act, which is known as after a Texas mom in Missouri City who was killed in a pedestrian crash in a crosswalk in Oct. 2017 whereas she was strolling her 6 year-old son to high school.
At the time of the crash, hitting a pedestrian or bicyclist in a crosswalk held virtually no penalties for Texas drivers. After her loss of life, Lisa’s household labored laborious to get a brand new legislation handed, known as the Lisa Torry Smith Act (formally Senate Bill 1055 in Texas’ 87th Legislature), which went into impact on September 1st, 2021 and requires that drivers cease and yield the proper of technique to individuals in crosswalks. Texas motorists who fail to cease and yield and trigger critical harm or loss of life to somebody in a crosswalk can face felony penalties starting from a high-quality, a misdemeanor or a felony relying on the severity of the harm.
Here are the Texas legislation states should you’re driving:
• Stop and yield for pedestrians, bicyclists and different susceptible road customers in crosswalks.
• When turning, yield the proper of technique to pedestrians and bicyclists.
• Pass bikes at a safe distance and provides bicyclists room to journey.
• Cross the road solely at intersections and crosswalks.
• Obey all visitors and crosswalk alerts.
• Use sidewalks. If there’s no sidewalk, stroll on the left facet of the road, dealing with oncoming visitors.
If you’re driving a motorbike:
• Always cease at purple lights and cease indicators.
• Ride in the similar course as visitors and use bike lanes or journey as close to as potential to the right-hand curb.
• Use hand alerts when turning or stopping.
• At night time, be certain your bike has a white mild on the entrance and a purple mild or reflector on the again.
Our personal Christina Burgess coated a narrative similar to this.
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story by The Texas Tribune Source link
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