Walkers can count blessings

A few years ago, one of my senior colleagues in New Delhi had the chance to visit the United States.

Upon her return, she shared her driving experiences and how pedestrians in America were given the right of way over motorists. And when she said, “If any pedestrian puts his foot on the road, even by mistake, all vehicles stop immediately,” many of us laughed.

“She must be joking,” one of us even commented.

We reacted this way because of our experiences in Delhi. Many times in that Indian city, we’d had to stand waiting for several minutes – even 10 to 15 minutes – to cross a road at a busy intersection, as none of the cars would let us pass even at zebra crossings (as we call crosswalks).

Though traffic rules and regulations in Delhi are almost the same as in the United States, pedestrians are at the bottom of the pecking order.

One’s life literally is at risk every time one crosses a busy street – again, even at a zebra crossing. This is the reason why in Delhi, for instance, pedestrians form a major chunk – more than 50 percent – of all those killed in traffic accidents.

On average, 1,000 pedestrians are killed every year in New Delhi. The number of pedestrians injured is much higher. Figures from other major cities such as Mumbai or the much-talked-about Bangalore, our Silicon Valley, also are not very encouraging.

I am explaining this because of the experiences I have in Grand Forks, either while driving or crossing a road as a pedestrian.

I was very anxious during my first few days of driving. I was extra careful to stop as soon I saw a pedestrian approaching the road, as this was not part of my driving culture back home. It’s now two months later, though, and I’m used to it.

My experiences as a pedestrian have been similar. One day during my first week here, I waited for a few minutes on University Avenue near UND to let the vehicles pass. As I was standing near the zebra crossing, I suddenly saw all the cars stand still. One of them even honked as I took a minute to realize my mistake and the fact that I was in a culture of real traffic rules and regulations.

“The pedestrian is king here. Always give preference to him or her,” I was told later that day. Indeed, crossing a road as a pedestrian has been a fascinating experience for me.

For example, I’ve noticed that pedestrians here always are relaxed – unlike India, where pedestrians have anxious moments as they do not know when or from where a vehicle would come.

In Delhi, the traffic police during public-awareness campaigns always urge pedestrians to look “first left, then right” before crossing. But in Grand Forks, the pedestrians sometimes cross a road as casually as if they were walking in a garden. Many are not even bothered if a car is approaching because the onus lies on the driver, not themselves.

This approach creates problems in a city such as Delhi. A friend of mine found that out the hard way when he visited Delhi after an absence of many years. He tried to cross a road in the U.S. way; “I thought the car would stop as I was crossing,” he said after the accident.