For years, parents have advised their kids to look both ways before crossing the street.
However, many Boston University students said the parental advice didn’t sink in until Thursday, when a car crashed into a College of Engineering sophomore while she was crossing Commonwealth Avenue.
Many students said they often cross carelessly.
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Elise Greenberg said as long as there are no cars coming, she crosses the street.
“I don’t see any reason not to,” she said. “I think most people do the same thing. If there are people that aren’t originally from the city they might be more cautious but most people I see end up doing the same thing as me.”
Greenberg said after the incident, which occurred in front of CAS, she thinks students will “try to be more careful but also try to get where they’re going as fast as they can.”
Most students agreed it is easy to get distracted while crossing the street.
“I would say from watching people, a lot of people don’t pay attention,” said School of Management freshman Madison Wetter. “It’s almost 50/50 I guess but I see people texting and then looking up and crossing. . . I guess it’s a little scary.”
“A lot of times I see people walking even I there are cars coming, they just don’t pay attention at all,” said Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences sophomore Rose Goldfarb. “I see a lot of people texting when they’re crossing streets.”
Since the accident, some students said they are more cautious while navigating the crosswalks, especially those on Comm. Ave.
CAS freshman Brian Koch said he generally looks both ways and tries to cross when there is a walk signal.
“We’re all 18 years old and up, grown up people, so hopefully we know how to cross the street,” Koch said. “But I think that it’s really easy to get in the attitude of we’re at college, and we basically have a highway running through our campus and it doesn’t matter if you’re talking to your friends or whatever, you need to stop and realize what you’re doing.”
BU Police Department Captain Robert Molloy said he understands why students rush when crossing the street, especially on the way to class.
“You’re thinking about several things and you’re just following the crowd and next thing you know you are crossing the green light and you are in jeopardy,” he said.
However, students should still exercise extreme caution, especially around the intersection by University Road, the George Sherman Union and the BU Bridge, he said.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said students shouldn’t jaywalk just to get to class on time because “some people go far too fast up Commonwealth Avenue.”
“Even if you have a walk sign you are going to lose that battle to a vehicle,” he said. “There is just a lot of people going through an especially narrow area that is directed by street signs and street lights. If everyone abided by [the street signs] I think we would have a much safer situation.”
Both Riley and Molloy noted an improvement at some crosswalks because of the presence of the Boston Police Department.
BPD has been monitoring the intersections near the BU Bridge due to construction, Molloy said.
Suzanne Schiavone and Susan Zalkind contributed to the reporting of this story
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