EDITORIAL: Being careful one of the best ways to avoid being a statistic

Christie Lynn Rogers became the sixth pedestrian to die from being hit by a vehicle in Macon-Bibb County in 2015. She was trying to cross Gray Highway on Tuesday morning, a little after 6 a.m. We can only speculate what distracted her attention and placed her in front of the car that struck her.

We do know that accidents of this sort have left us scratching our heads. The county has a special committee designed to look into methods to prevent such accidents from happening, but there are no quick and easy fixes.

The county has miles and miles of roads without sidewalks and there are long distances between intersections with crosswalks. The wider the road, the longer it takes to cross, and it's easy to misjudge the speed of an oncoming vehicle. Some of the walkers who have been hit have been impaired.

The only easy answer seems not so easy at all. Be careful, don't walk out into traffic and keep your head on a swivel. Look in all directions before crossing any road, even in a crosswalk. Drivers are distracted, too.

If you're walking at night, it's helpful to wear light-colored or reflective clothing. The life you save could be your own.

This story was originally published November 18, 2015 at 10:06 PM with the headline "EDITORIAL: Being careful one of the best ways to avoid being a statistic ."