As the number of students on campus rise, people should take more caution when driving near crosswalks, officials say.

“We are extremely fortunate that the number of pedestrians that have been struck over the years have been very low,” said Ray Coleman, Interim Director of Public Safety.

There are a lot of precautions that need to be taken when crossing the crosswalks both by pedestrian and driver, explained Coleman. People need to realize that it is a two-way position; the drivers need to be alert as pedestrians walk across the crosswalk, and pedestrians need to make sure they have the driver’s attention before stepping out into the road. Pedestrians quite often assume that they have the right away.

Coleman said that it is also important that drivers slow down and be prepared to stop. Just because the speed limit is 30 miles per hour does not mean motorists should obey the maximum speed limit at all times.

Another point of consideration is how talking on the cell phones are a distraction. A lot of pedestrians are on cell phones when they walk across the crosswalk and, thus, do not realize they are looking straight ahead or looking down and not looking for oncoming traffic.

They do not realize that it blocks a lot of their surroundings out while they are on it. Two words can save a person’s life: “Hold on.” After saying these two simple words pedestrians could easily put the phone down as they walk across the crosswalk.

Some more advice that Ray Coleman gave was when there are advisory weather conditions outside to always check twice before making the final step out into oncoming traffic.

The university has installed lighting over some crosswalks on campus. Instead of direct lighting on the crosswalks it has to be from the side that way it will keep from blinding oncoming traffic. The Department of Public Safety also has police out at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. in the afternoon in front of the campus. Coleman said that when the cops are not busy the Public Safety has them monitor traffic in case people decide to ignore the crosswalks. The best way to alert people is by education followed up by enforcement which I believe helps increase safety, Coleman said.