“R U ready 2 Stop?”

Featured in posters circulating around the University of Massachusetts campus, the question asked by University officials is the chief focus of a recently launched campaign hoping to raise pedestrian awareness among those who utilize their driver’s licenses on campus.

Along with the engineering department, and increased traffic law enforcement, UMass officials hope the preventative measures will curb the rate of accidents on campus due to distracted drivers, as well as equally distracted pedestrians.

With the weather warming up and more students taking to the outdoors, UMass Police Department (UMPD) decided to take extra caution by initiating the campaign during what they deem a hazardous time for pedestrians because of the increase in foot patterns.

“As the spring weather arrives, we want to raise awareness for both drivers and pedestrians,” said UMPD Chief Johnny C. Whitehead.

The mission of the program is not to focus primarily on drivers, but rather, the precautionary measures are addressed to pedestrians as well, who can be just as distracted and at risk for causing accidents.

Featuring a distracted driver using their cell phone and a pedestrian lost in the music of his iPod, the posters exhibit an all too common scene on campus and are currently being displayed on University buses and around UMass in general.

Developed by UMass staff, with the aid of students, the posters are just the beginning for the heightened awareness for campus safety said Whitehead. In addition to the posters, the members of the group working on the campaign say that a video public service announcement is in production, as well as more printed materials set to be distributed around the UMass campus in the near future.

Also in conjunction with the University’s efforts to raise public awareness for traffic safety, students and faculty from the College of Engineering will be conducting a study of pedestrian and traffic flow in order to determine where better safety measures can be implemented.

Those from the College of Engineering working on the study will also survey various speed limits and existing crosswalks on and around the UMass campus to analyze the “hot spots” for potential accidents.

According to Whitehead there are, for example, 15 crosswalks on North Pleasant St. alone, which, given its location, is a high traffic area for both pedestrians and drivers.

The new Recreation Center on Commonwealth Ave. is also one of the “hot spots” under review according to Whitehead who said that area is attracting more student traffic later in the day which can lead to traffic jams for commuters leaving campus.

Whitehead said this problem may require the installation of traffic signals or further safety adjustments to help curb the heavy traffic and increased risk for auto accidents.

For the UMPD, the safety campaign will involve a collaborative effort between the campus police department and the Amherst police. According to Whitehead the police officers will heighten enforcement efforts by distributing written materials as well as advice for drivers, pedestrians, skateboarders and bicyclists.

In addition to the UMass students and staff on the campus committee developing the “R U Ready 2 Stop?” campaign, the collaborative effort to curb the number of accidents on campus includes representatives from Parking Services, the Physical Plant, Facilities and Campus Planning, Environmental Health and Safety, as well as the Office of News and Media Relations.

Jennifer Heshion can be reached at [email protected].