Answer Key

Pulling out one earbud as you approach an intersection.

Restoring your hearing restores most of your situational awareness.

Assuming a driver sees you because their headlights are pointed your way.

Headlights illuminate the road, not driver attention. Confirm with eye contact.

Standing behind the tactile strip until the train fully stops.

Keeps you outside the danger zone for sway, suction, and the platform gap.

Stepping into the street to walk around a construction shed.

The shed is narrow for a reason. Stay inside it even if it's slower.

Waiting on the curb until the steady white walker appears.

Steady walker is your green light. Cross at a normal pace.

Stepping off the curb the moment the hand starts flashing.

The flashing hand means do not start a new crossing. Wait for the next steady walker.

Crossing only at the marked crosswalk even if it adds 20 seconds.

Drivers expect pedestrians at corners and almost never expect them mid-block.

Crossing mid-block in dark clothing at night.

You are nearly invisible. Walk to the lit corner and use the signal.

Stepping back when a cyclist rings a bell behind you.

A bell is a request for space. Giving it prevents a sudden swerve into traffic.

Following a runner who crosses against the light.

Their gap is not your gap. Decide for yourself at every crossing.

Walking an extra block to a lit, signaled corner after dark.

Lighting plus a signal dramatically cuts your risk at night.

Crossing a wide avenue without checking the median for turning traffic.

Medians hide left-turning cars accelerating across your second half of the crossing.

Pausing audio before stepping into the crosswalk.

A second of silence is cheap insurance against the thing you did not see.

Walking behind a stopped bus to flag a cab.

Buses pull out without warning and the next vehicle is often right behind.

Letting passengers exit the subway car before stepping on.

Prevents the shoving that pushes people toward the platform edge.

Wearing both earbuds at full volume through a busy intersection.

You lose horns, sirens, and bike bells. Pause audio at the curb.

Letting a right-turning truck complete its turn before stepping off.

Removes you from the truck's huge right-side blind spot.

Stepping into a crosswalk while a driver is staring at their phone.

If their eyes aren't up, treat the car as if it has no driver. Wait.

Holding kids' hands and keeping them on the inside of the sidewalk.

Puts an adult between them and the curb — the simplest, strongest protection.

Stepping straight into a bike lane to look for cars.

Treat the bike lane as its own crossing. Check it before you step in.

Stopping at the painted edge of a bike lane and looking left first.

Exactly the routine that prevents the most common bike-lane collisions.

Crossing in front of a stopped school bus that still has its stop arm out.

Kids are crossing or about to cross. Wait for the arm to retract.

Carrying or wearing something reflective on a dark walk home.

Reflective gear can double or triple the distance at which drivers see you.

Walking out from behind a tall SUV without leaning to look first.

Drivers in the next lane can't see you and you can't see them — a classic blind-pull collision.

Walking on the building side of the sidewalk on a rainy day.

Puts more distance between you and splashing or sliding vehicles.

Crossing a one-way street while only looking the way cars come.

Cyclists, scooters, and wrong-way drivers come from the other side too.

Stepping back from the platform edge as the train pulls in.

Gives you margin against sway, wind, and accidental bumps.

Waiting a full beat after the light changes before stepping off.

Late-runners and last-second turners clear the box in that beat.

Pausing before a turning SUV until the driver makes eye contact.

Confirming the driver sees you is the single best habit at a corner.

Crossing while looking down at your phone.

You miss turning vehicles, cyclists, and silent EVs. Heads up for the whole crossing.