It’s no secret that 2018 was a bad year for pedestrian-related automobile collisions in Fountain Hills, with numerous injuries and a staggering five fatalities tallied over the past 12 months. And that doesn’t even include the non-injury incidents that resulted in crunched vehicles and the destruction to both private and public property.
During the recent annual planning retreat for the Fountain Hills Town Council, Town Manager Grady Miller said he aims to put together a committee to take a deeper look at pedestrian safety around the community. We fully support this measure and look forward to learning what additional measures might be taken in the future, but we also feel that the process of making local streets safer can begin here and now, on an individual basis.
It’s a well-known fact that more than half of all car collisions occur within five miles of the driver’s home, with that number jumping up to 77 percent within 15 miles of home. That’s likely due to the fact that folks are more comfortable driving on their local streets, where they feel they know the roads like the back of their hand.
The problem with that mindset is that our roads are far more fluid than the asphalt would have you believe. While the roads themselves tend to stay stationary, the people, bikes, cars and animals that traverse through and across them are ever-changing.
When we get too comfortable on our commute across town, we forget to keep our eyes peeled for the people around us. And no matter how many times you drive that same stretch of highway, today might be the day a jogger decides to cross at a bend when they think the coast is clear.
While the council works on more physical and official ways to address safety on our streets, let’s remember to do our part and keep an eye out for each other while cruising through Fountain Hills.
