As students return to campus for the school year, so too, does the heightened risk of distracted street crossings. Between phones, stress and an increase in commuters, the roads around Marshall have become precarious for students.
In response to the increasing danger, Marshall University Police Department began a campus safety initiative called “Heads Up, Herd” in 2022. Since its inception, the campaign has made it their mission to educate students on safe methods of crossing around campus.
Last week, the initiative held a tabling event that included MUPD officers and Beau Evans, the traffic safety director for the city of Huntington. Evans brought along a distracted driving simulator to better educate students on the driver’s side of Marshall crossings, mirroring the stressful roads around campus.
“Our initiative today is to really hone in on distracted driving and distracted pedestrians,” Evans said. “Making sure that they pay attention when they are also driving around campus for other pedestrians when they are crossing.”
He expressed satisfaction with the Heads Up, Herd initiative, referencing the small safety reminders sent out to students and staff about road crossings, calling them “lifesaving.”
“There’s a lot of stuff to do and cram into a semester. Unfortunately, that can lead to people being in a hurry, not paying attention to what they are doing, and so these reminders do that for students and staff,” Evans said.
Another figure present at the Heads Up, Herd table was MUPD Lieutenant Dickey Parker. He explained the initiative as a program advocating for student safety.
“(It is a) safety first kind of approach to making sure our students are safely crossing the streets, driving,” Parker said. “Any type of thing that their safety comes first in our perspective.”
One of the most preventable of these risks to safety is distracted walking or lack of awareness. Often, students stare at their phones or zone out while waiting at crosswalks. This can easily lead to premature or late crossings, ending in an accident.
The Heads Up, Herd initiative tackles the issue by reminding students of proper crossing habits.
“Our initiative is that you are more aware of your surroundings. So, when you are coming to the crosswalk, you push the button, activate the signal to let the motorists know that you are crossing the road,” Parker said.
The Heads Up, Herd initiative has already seen successes with lowered crossing incidents, specifically along the 20th street crossings. With more time, Parker expects to build upon their success in creating a safer campus traffic environment.
“We’re always trying to work to do better,” Parker said.
In the meantime, students and staff should be aware of crossing dangers and maintain a healthy level of caution around all campus roads.
“Get your head out of your phone,” Parker said.
Claire Johnson can be contacted at [email protected].
