Why You Should Always Look Both Ways When Crossing the Street

Last Updated on March 18, 2025 by Michael

Ever wonder why your mom nagged you about looking both ways before crossing? With 7,522 pedestrians turned into human speed bumps in 2022 alone – that’s one person every 70 minutes – maybe she wasn’t just practicing her lecture skills.

The Art of Not Becoming a Hood Ornament

Let’s be real – crossing the street shouldn’t be harder than explaining TikTok to your grandparents, but here we are. A whopping 78% of pedestrian fatalities happen in the dark, which means your ninja-inspired all-black outfit might not be the best choice for that midnight Taco Bell run.

Have you ever noticed how everyone becomes a stuntman when they’re running late for work?

One person gets injured every 8 minutes trying to cross the street. That’s less time than it takes to decide what to watch on Netflix.

The Modern Crossing Conundrum

Remember when your biggest street-crossing worry was avoiding cracks to save your mother’s back? Now we’ve got:

The Urban Jungle: Fun fact – 85% of pedestrian fatalities happen in urban areas. Turns out concrete jungles are deadlier than the Amazon. At least in the Amazon, the predators aren’t checking their Facebook while hunting.

The Hit-and-Run Horror: Nearly 1 in 4 pedestrians killed in traffic crashes were victims of hit-and-run drivers. That’s like playing a deadly version of ding-dong-ditch where the door is a car bumper. Speaking of which, anyone else miss the simple days of actual ding-dong-ditch?

Science Says You’re Really Bad at This

Here’s a sobering thought that’ll haunt your next crosswalk adventure: pedestrian deaths have skyrocketed 75% since 2010. That’s a worse trend than cargo pants making a comeback.

And if you think intersections are safe havens, think again. Only 16% of pedestrian fatalities occur at intersections. The other 84%? That’s what happens when people treat every street like their personal catwalk. Project Runway, this is not.

The Rules of Not Becoming a Statistic

Want to know what’s scarier than your browser history? More pedestrian fatalities occur in the dark (78%) than in daylight (19%), dusk (2%), and dawn (2%). Even vampires are like, “Yo, maybe take an Uber?”

Remember when your parents told you nothing good happens after midnight? Turns out they weren’t just trying to ruin your social life.

When All Else Fails

Here’s a fun stat: 88% of pedestrian fatalities involve single-vehicle crashes. You’re not playing Frogger with multiple cars – it just takes one driver finishing their Wordle to turn your day into a headline.

Ever noticed how everyone becomes a mathematician when calculating if they can make it across before that car reaches them? Spoiler alert: your mental calculations are about as accurate as a weather forecast.

The Grand Finale

Think about this: one in five people who died in crashes in 2022 were pedestrians. Those are worse odds than finding a matching sock pair in your laundry.

A Final Thought

The streets are literally “dangerous by design,” built to move cars quickly rather than keep pedestrians safe. It’s like whoever designed them was playing SimCity with their eyes closed.

Is that notification really worth checking while crossing? Your Instagram followers will survive without knowing what you had for lunch, but you might not survive trying to post it.

Because unlike your dating profile, the street is one place where ghosting has permanent consequences.

Stay safe out there, and remember: looking both ways is easier than having your family explain to everyone that you got taken out while trying to catch a Pikachu.

And hey, if you’re reading this while walking, maybe stop and finish it on the sidewalk? Just saying.