August 2, 2006

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY LESSONS CAN BE FUN

A video instructing pedestrians on how to safely cross the street has the potential to be a real snore. It also has the potential to save life and limb.

Faced with this challenge, the city of Pasadena has produced a sometimes
farcical pedestrian safety video that pits a safe walker with a walker who is
careless around vehicles.

While no one was hurt in filming, through the magic of video the careless walker appears to be struck more than once by drivers unable to avoid hitting him. The walkers are actors dressed as high school football players, the narrator is a John Maddenesque coach, and a referee calls the penalties as he sees them. By the end the hapless walker has as many bandages as Wiley Coyote from the “Roadrunner.”

“We knew we had to exaggerate to make the point that common sense safety rules, when not followed, eventually have tragic results,” said city Transportation Administrator Bahman Janka.

The 12-minute video was made possible by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and is part of a larger Safe Strides and Rides program of the city’s Department of Transportation to make Pasadena a place where people can get around without cars, which is one of the City’s guiding principles in its General Plan.

The video will be shown in Pasadena high schools, and airs on 55 KPAS Mondays at 1 and 3 p.m., Tuesdays at 9 p.m., Wednesdays at 4:30 and 9 p.m., Thursdays at 5:30 and 9:30 p.m., Fridays at 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. and Sundays at noon and 2 p.m.

Streaming video of all 55 KPAS programming can be accessed in real time by going to www.cityofpasadena.net and clicking on City News. On Pasadena televisions where cable is connected directly to the set, and not via a cable box, 55 KPAS can be found on channel 1.

For more information call (626) 744-6900.