“Drivers don’t pay attention. They’re on the phone and in a hurry. So before you put a foot out in the street, check the [traffic] light and the traffic.”
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–Sharon Przybocki, traffic-control aide with the Chicago Police Department, talked with Q about how to avoid becoming roadkill.
“I had a stranger give me a kiss one day because I stepped in front of a car and kept him from getting hit,” said Przybocki, who has been keeping traffic flowing at Dearborn and Randolph Streets for 10 years.
Przybocki advises pedestrians to not only watch out for drivers who might be yakking on a cell phone but also for distracted tourists “amazed by big buildings.”
But mostly it’s drivers who are running late who threaten to send pedestrians to that big crosswalk in the sky.
“People should leave their homes so they don’t have to rush,” said Przybocki, who works 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays. “If I can be on time, so can they.”
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