With high temperatures expected back in the low 50s in parts of Iowa today and into the weekend, the unseasonable mid-winter weather will bring more Iowans outdoors — and into potential danger.
Dr. Laurel Vaughan, a trauma and critical surgeon with Gundersen Health, says Iowa drivers need to stay especially alert as they may not be used to seeing so many pedestrians at this time of year.
“From the driver side, obeying the laws of the road, putting your cell phones down, trying not to be distracted while you’re driving,” Vaughan says, “and just keeping a sense of the space around your car.”
With no snow drifts or icy sidewalks to navigate, plenty of Iowans will be going out for strolls to welcome February’s arrival, and Vaughan says they also have a responsibility — to watch for vehicles.
“Head up, phone down. That’s what we are always telling people, and then making sure you’re also paying attention to your surroundings, seeing the cars coming, and making sure you’re having eye contact with the cars in your area if you’re going to cross the street,” Vaughan says. “Also, using sidewalks is a big thing instead of walking in the roads.”
Vaughan says many areas of the region are seeing an increase in crashes involving pedestrians, and the national numbers are staggering.
“In 2022, over 17% of traffic accidents were actually pedestrians who were hit,” she says, “and that accounted for over 9,000 people who ended up dying in that year.”
Gundersen Health System has clinics in Calmar, Decorah, Fayette, Lansing, Postville and Waukon, and a hospital in West Union.