Whether you鈥檙e driving, riding a bicycle, skateboard or scooter, or walking around campus, it鈥檚 important to know the rules of the road.
It鈥檚 the responsibility of both drivers and pedestrians to pay attention to their surroundings, which includes avoiding distractions, like cell phones, and removing headphones or ear buds so they can hear what鈥檚 going on around them.
Drivers should always follow posted speed limits and yield to pedestrians even when there鈥檚 a green light. It鈥檚 also pedestrians鈥� responsibility to follow traffic signals and rules and to always use a crosswalk and look both ways before crossing the street, even when they have the right of way.
We all share UCF鈥檚 roads and it鈥檚 up to all of us to keep them safe, which is why UCF recently implemented new safety enhancements for pedestrians.
Pedestrian Safety Improvements
Improvements include re-striping crosswalks around campus to increase visibility and adding rumble strips before crosswalks that are not at a traffic light. Rumble strips are meant to provide both an audible and vibration warning so drivers know they are approaching a crosswalk and should decrease their speed.
Previously, UCF added flashing lights at some of the busier crosswalks around campus and signage in the middle of the road to remind drivers that it鈥檚 state law to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk.
In June, Orange County also approved a construction project for pedestrian safety updates in the area of Alafaya Trail, McCulloch Road and 海角直播 Boulevard. The project is expected to be completed at the end of 2024.
UCFPD鈥檚 鈥楧rive Smart鈥� Traffic Safety Detail
In preparation for Pedestrian Safety Month in October 鈥� established by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a reminder for drivers and pedestrians that staying safe is a shared responsibility 鈥� the UCF Police Department (UCFPD) will host a pedestrian safety detail on Tuesday, Sept. 26.
鈥淭he goal [of the detail] is to stop dangerous driving behaviors around campus,鈥� says Commander James Mangan, who oversees UCFPD鈥檚 main campus patrol division. 鈥淪pecifically, we鈥檙e looking for drivers who are speeding and not yielding to people in crosswalks.鈥�
The department will achieve this by having plain-clothed employees use crosswalks throughout campus, while officers assess drivers鈥� responses.
Mangan notes that while the main purpose of this detail is educational, vehicles that do not yield will be stopped and officers will have discretion as to whether they give a verbal warning or a citation. Leading up to the detail, UCFPD will be sharing information about these efforts on their social media accounts and on message boards around campus.
This isn鈥檛 the first time UCFPD has hosted a pedestrian safety detail. In 2022, two details were conducted, one of which focused on motorists yielding to pedestrians and another with an additional focus on ensuring pedestrians were using crosswalks correctly.
