Collegiate Times

Charges against a Virginia Tech student were filed yesterday following the incident of a student being struck by a driver March 13.

Seth Berman is charged with failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk for striking Tech student Sohyun Lee at approximately 2:08 p.m. that afternoon.

Berman was traveling north on West Campus Drive and apparently looked away before striking Lee at the crosswalk. The Virginia Tech Rescue Squad transported Lee to Montgomery Regional Hospital then transferred her to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital that afternoon, said Lt. Joey Albert of the Virginia Tech Police Department.

The condition of Lee is not known, although the accident did not look life threatening, Albert said.

Berman was contacted about the incident but declined to comment.

There have been two other cases of pedestrian accidents this year and six incidents last year.

Albert thinks that drivers and pedestrians should always remain alert.

“It’s a shared responsibility for drivers and pedestrians to look and make sure they each know what they are doing,” he said.

Other members of the community are also concerned with pedestrian safety on and off campus. Kim Kirk, coordinator for the Town of Blacksburg and Neighborhood Services and Town Gown Community Relations, has helped conduct research about the issue since the Pedestrian Safety Campaign was launched 18 months ago.

This group convened because there was interest and there is a great need for increasing awareness about pedestrian safety, Kirk said.

The group is also promoting their “Catch the Wave” Pilot Project to increase awareness, especially since there seems to be a lot of safety issues recently, Kirk said.

The campaign aims to increase alertness by a wave or blinking lights at night each time a motorist acknowledges a pedestrian and for pedestrians to give a wave in thanks or wave a car through the intersection. This way there is increased communication, Kirk said.

Implementing a safety program can prove to be effective, as the “Get Caught Buckled Up” program conducted by the Department of Psychology showed in 1988 at Tech. In the intervention, police identified and rewarded motorists who wore safety belts, which showed a 150 percent increase in usage during the program.

The group will also promote their message through flyer campaigns on campus, setting up table tents in dining halls and distributing handbills. Besides communication, other goals include increasing crosswalk use and yielding behavior, Kirk said.

The Virginia Tech Police are also doing their part to promote safety. During shifts, police officers are parking their vehicles or bikes near crosswalks so they are visible to everyone to take enforcement action if any violations occur. During fall and spring semester in 2006 there were 49 enforcements for failing to yield to pedestrians.

Kirk also agrees with Albert about sharing responsibility at crosswalks.

“Pedestrian safety is everyone’s business, not just the drivers responsibility,” Kirk said.