Being a part of a community entails looking out for the other member’s overall safety and well-being. Your community has the resources to reduce dangerous habits and behaviors while positively reinforcing pro-social actions. Monitoring local motorists is one of the most important tasks assigned to each community. Nearly 90% of Americans own a car, making them more susceptible to the dangers of the road.
Nearly 38,000 American drivers die of road accidents annually, and another 4 million get seriously injured from these collisions. Your community should keep the roads safe, especially from accidents. Below are six ways your community can increase safety and keep the residents and motorists safe from dangers.
Keep Traffic Signs Evident
Traffic signs should be visible on the road. That’s because it informs motorists about the speed limits, different dangers, and more. But many often find these signs hidden or in obscured areas, resulting from poor placement or degradation. Your members should report hidden or damaged traffic signs. Or have them repaired. Fixing them and moving them to visible places will help motorists avoid accidents.
You should also educate your residents about these signs and their meaning. Hosting a local seminar for both parents and kids to learn more about road safety is one of the best things your community can do. It’ll make them more responsible drivers over time.
Implementing Traffic Rules
Local officials are the ones implementing the traffic regulations and rules. However, your community is the one that should uphold these laws. It’s also best to keep the residents educated about any changes. In addition, you’ll have to build a committee responsible for upholding these regulations while also educating the public about them. If possible, organize patrols around the area to look out for drunk and delinquent drivers.
You can also assign the community to look for people who need assistance resulting from a traffic incident. You can help the victims meet with an accident lawyer to identify the measures they can take. Your committee should also be responsible for keeping the roads clear for emergencies. Doing these things will protect the community proactively from any traffic accidents.
Discussing Traffic Safety
It’s also best to educate other people about traffic and road safety. Homeowners often forget how vital traffic safety is in their lives, even to those who don’t drive or own a vehicle. Making brochures and leaflets is the easiest way to talk about the traffic laws and general tips on avoiding accidents. That can include even the most straightforward tips like walking on the right side of the road.
You should also the most common traffic signs and their meanings in your brochures and leaflets. Educating your neighbors and members is the best way to avoid accidents.
Improving Overall Visibility
Not seeing the road is one of the reasons people get injured while driving. If the roads in your community have low visibility, you should improve that through different means. You can either add new light posts if it’s too dark. Or install fog lights if fog tends to accumulate on that specific road. Both will keep the road visible. If possible, you can also add signs that talk about the dangers of that road.
It’ll help educate people on what to expect and whether they should turn back. Bear in mind that visibility is essential for drivers. Making the roads more visible will give them more time to avoid accidents.
Defensive Driving Courses
It’s also best to encourage fellow members that drive a car to participate in defensive driving courses. You can either do that offline or online. Defensive driving courses have the materials needed to teach you about the topic. It teaches motorists to avoid drunk drivers, collisions, and other dangers on the road. On top of that, it’ll be the best material that will teach them to keep themselves away from dangers.
Inspire fellow drivers in the area to join this course. If required, provide them with the resources to help them with the course. Defensive driving courses are the best means to improve the overall safety of the drivers in your community.
Lower Intersection Crash
Interactions are one of the familiar places where accidents happen frequently. It can often occur due to distracted drivers who miss traffic signs. Or people who missed cars stopping before turning. Defensive driving will help minimize these accidents. Don’t be hasty in turning when the traffic light turns green. Doing that will allow you to ensure that no other driver is coming from the other side of the intersection.
It’ll also be helpful to be mindful of drivers trying to make it through the yellow light. If you’re approaching a yellow light, be cautious instead of taking chances.
Educating the community about traffic safety will keep everyone safe. Eventually, you can pass on the things you’ve learned from driving courses or seminars to your kids, who can pass them on to their children. Developing this habit will ensure that everyone in your community is safe against traffic accidents.
