The Tennessee Highway Patrol reported 19 traffic fatalities involving pedestrians during the summer of 2004. Just this past April, a UTM student received minor injuries from an incident in front of Gooch Hall.

So what does it take to get motorists to slow down through crosswalks?

Far too often, safety measures are put in place after a high profile accident. The laws of physics do not favor a pedestrian struck by an oncoming vehicle at any speed.

We have noticed that fewer and fewer drivers are stopping at the crosswalk, prompting many students to make a mad dash to get to the Student Life Center, the University Center or from Martin Place. These are dangerous areas if we are not paying attention.

From birth, we’ve been taught to look both ways before crossing the street. But the responsibility also rests with the driver.

The signs at every crosswalk suggest as much. Motorists are not to proceed into the crosswalk until all pedestrians have cleared. New stop lines even provide a marker for these drivers.

Yet, there is still a lot of swerving and brake slamming on University Street and Hannings Lane. It has to stop.

In the grand scheme of “to protect and to serve,” we place enforcing these basic traffic rules ahead of writing parking tickets. We ask the Department of Public Safety and the Martin Police Department to better patrol these areas before we lose one of our own.

If you speed through the crosswalk, that hand gesture you see in your rearview isn’t one of salutation or a sign of good will.