Look Right

 Rachael Trost

LONDON -- More than 500 people were injured, and 233 killed, during 2012 in London simply by crossing the street. The majority of those are tourists, according to the Department of Transportation. Several of my classmates were almost part of those statistics my first two days in London.

Nearly 20 years ago, a somewhat simple solution was formed. The curbs of London are donned with phrases hoping to warn us visitors; look right or look left. The tendency of visitors to step in the path of traffic became enough of a concern for officials that the majority of crosswalks through out the city now show the warning. 

Crosswalks near heavy tourist activity,  like this one
near Westminster Abbey, are all painted with the warning.

Possibly the most famous crosswalk in all of London is on Abbey Road. The cover of the Beattle's last studio album is the iconic photograph showing the four striding across the pedestrian crosswalk outside the Abbey Road Studios. Many fans try to recreate this photography, but it seems sometimes it leads to injury. Although figures of exactly how many vehicle vs. pedestrian accidents have occurred here, several locals confirmed the reanactments are not safe.  

Although the number of pedestrian accidents here seems high, the United Kingdom is one of the safest for taking a stroll, at least in terms of deaths. The number of fatalities per mile in the UK is one of the lowest in the European Union. 

Personally, I am having to constantly remind my self to "look right". It's the first time I have been in a country where cars travel opposite the way they do back home in the US. Let's hope I, and the rest of our group, can make it home all right.