By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer

A recent story on the perils of being a pedestrian drew a lot of response from Drive Time readers. Here's a sampling of what people on both sides of the steering wheel have to say:

• "My precious 81-year-old mother is very healthy and walks every day rain or shine on the Ala Wai with her senior friends. They need to walk for their good health and they need to be protected and have a safe arena with caring people."

• "My idea is to have a volunteer team to act as crossing guards. Retired military would be perfect to organize such an effort. It takes a village to raise a child, keeping him/her alive. It has been pointed out that the insurance would be too costly for the city to use volunteers."

• "We have learned that we must make eye contact and get permission to cross 'A'ala and Liliha from the drivers turning right, even if we have the walk light. We are drivers, too, but it seems many drivers now have little if any courtesy when behind the wheel."

• "I agree that there's responsibility on both sides, drivers and pedestrians. I drive, walk, and bike, so I think I can appreciate different viewpoints. Although I often see pedestrians behaving in less than the safest manner — walking or biking at night in black clothing, running on the street alongside cars, jaywalking in obviously unsafe situations — drivers do have a greater responsibility to drive safely because they have the benefit of several thousand pounds of steel and federally mandated safety equipment."

• "You left two of the big dangers out. First, the bicycles on city sidewalks are a terrible menace. Second, the walk signals don't last long enough on long boulevards. People can't make it across in that amount of time — and we're fast walkers."

• "Another thing that might help is to reduce the number of crosswalks that are not at intersections with stoplights. There are stoplights just a bit farther down the road with crosswalks but people choose to cross at the ones in the middle of the block. People in the crosswalk should have the right of way, but if you have drivers who are unfamiliar with an area, they won't be expecting people to step out in front of them in the middle of the block."

• "I'd like to see an investigative article on whether or not these high traffic incidences have increased since the C&C stopped drivers'Êrenewal license tests! Also, another article on whyÊadvertising in glossy car magazines may be contributing factors in motorists' love for speed and horsepower would be interesting."

• "One of the problems is that a lot of elderly people are out walking in the early morning when it's very hard to see them. Then they walk two abreast along the road where there are no sidewalks. Then there are the bicyclists and roller-skaters at night. They don't realize that it's a lot harder for a vehicle to stop than them. We're kind of like sardines in a major city.

Reach Mike Leidemann at mleidemann@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5460.