Staying alive

Brick Township police and public officials must walk a fine line when it comes to addressing the recent pedestrian fatalities on Chambers Bridge Road and other areas in town.

If they come out too strongly against people not using crosswalks, crossing against traffic lights and crossing busy highways in the dark while dressed in dark clothing, they run the unsavory risk of blaming the victims.

But unfortunately, that's where some of the blame lies. Had the pedestrians who died on Brick roads this year followed a few simple rules, they might still be here today.

The latest fatality involved an older man who tried to cross the busy intersection of Chambers Bridge and Ovation Way against the light. He was in the crosswalk, where he should have been. But for whatever reason, he took a chance and decided to cross Chambers Bridge in the dark, in a motorized, sit-down scooter.

He didn't make it. He not only lost his life, but probably left the driver of the car that struck him traumatized for life at the sight of a human being suddenly in his headlights, with no time to stop.

The Ocean County Engineering Department will soon install a mesh fence on sections of the roadway, in an effort to force pedestrians to cross at the crosswalk.

Higher-intensity streetlights are also in the works, along with more lights on utility poles.

Hopefully, those measures will cut down on some of the problems. But until people realize they have to follow the rules, more horrific accidents like the ones in 2007 will probably happen.

Anyone who pushes the button to change the light at the intersection of Chambers Bridge and Ovation Way has 35 seconds after the light changes to make it across.

That's ample time for anyone, even elderly people, to get safely to the other side, says township Traffic Safety Officer Jeffrey Lindquist.

The police department and Ocean County have already held safety seminars with residents in nearby apartment complexes.

But it's up to the residents to exercise common sense when trying to get from one side of the street to the other. There's been too much heartache and too much trauma already.

Slow down. Stay alive.