April 26, 2001

Practice Safe Walking For Healthier Walking

As the weather warms up, walkers move outside. Walking is a healthy activity that stimulates circulation and lung capacity and may help work off excess weight. But walking for exercise is not without its risks, notes a North Dakota State University safety specialist.

More than 7,000 fatalities and 50,000 non-fatal injuries happen every year in collisions involving pedestrians and vehicles, notes George Maher of the NDSU Extension Service. "The pedestrian is most at risk when safety rules are bent or broken. It is much safer, and healthier, to walk with the rules than against them," he says.

"When safety precautions are practiced, walking can be done year-round for great exercise. Keep it safer by adjust your walking practices as the seasons change. Walk against the flow of traffic, be sure of your footing, and be seen," Maher says. Vehicle-pedestrian accidents are not just an urban problem, they happen in rural areas too, he notes. And when visibility is poor, walking becomes more risky.

Follow these precautions, to make your walking safer:

• Always walk toward the flow of traffic, on the left side of a roadway when there are no sidewalks available. Remember the saying, "The left side is the right side for walking."
• Stay far enough to the left so that you are not in the way of on-coming vehicles. People who are walking are much more maneuverable than vehicles.
• Before crossing roads or highways, always look both directions. Although many rural roads have very little traffic, always assume that a vehicle can appear any time.
• Wear light colored clothing. Garments trimmed with reflective tape make you much more visible to drivers.
• Wear sturdy footwear with good treads for safer footing. Walking on various surfaces -- all on one trip -- such as pavement, gravel, or roadside sand can be challenging.
• When children are walking with you, don’t let them get too far ahead.
• Carry and use a flashlight if you walk at dusk or dawn or after dark. Your light bobbing in the darkness will quickly get the attention of drivers.

Source: George Maher, (701) 231-8288, gmaher@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu