To all of the college students who refuse to use crosswalks,

Crosswalks are designed to provide a safe space for people to walk the streets, and it is a space for people in automobiles to know people could potentially begin walking there. One thing I have noticed on college campuses is that students rarely use the crosswalks. They will pop out of nowhere and start crossing the street and assume that they will never get harmed. I cannot stress enough about incidents where I could've gotten in an accident because someone decided to randomly run across the street without even looking.

I am here to say, "Stop!". As a college student and a licensed driver, it is very dangerous when people do not use crosswalks. I know that the crosswalk may be a little further than where your destination is, and it may seem like a nuisance to have to go out of your way to properly cross the street. The drivers aren't completely innocent either because some actively speed in areas they know has heavy traffic of students. That is an even better reason to use caution and cross the street properly.

I know that everyone believes that drivers are supposed to abide by the law saying, "Pedestrians have the right of way," but that is a false misconception that many people are not informed about. The truth is that whenever a pedestrian is not walking within a marked crosswalk area, they are supposed to yield or wait for all vehicles. Although 2018 statistics have yet to be reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 198 pedestrian-related fatalities occurred during 2017 in North Carolina. That may not seem like a lot, but I think it is safe to say that a few of those fatalities could have possibly been avoided if both the driver and the pedestrian were using proper safety measures.

With this being said, use the crosswalks that some people take their precious time to paint for your safety and mine!