Whether you’re driving, riding a bicycle, skateboard or scooter, or walking around campus, it’s important to know the rules of the road.

It’s the responsibility of both drivers and pedestrians to pay attention to their surroundings, which includes avoiding distractions, like cell phones, and removing headphones or ear buds so they can hear what’s going on around them.

Drivers should always follow posted speed limits and yield to pedestrians even when there’s a green light. It’s also pedestrians’ responsibility to follow traffic signals and rules and to always use a crosswalk and look both ways before crossing the street, even when they have the right of way.

We all share UCF’s roads and it’s up to all of us to keep them safe, which is why UCF recently implemented new safety enhancements for pedestrians.

Pedestrian Safety Improvements

Improvements include re-striping crosswalks around campus to increase visibility and adding rumble strips before crosswalks that are not at a traffic light. Rumble strips are meant to provide both an audible and vibration warning so drivers know they are approaching a crosswalk and should decrease their speed.

Previously, UCF added flashing lights at some of the busier crosswalks around campus and signage in the middle of the road to remind drivers that it’s state law to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk.

In June, Orange County also approved a construction project for pedestrian safety updates in the area of Alafaya Trail, McCulloch Road and University Boulevard. The project is expected to be completed at the end of 2024.

UCFPD’s ‘Drive Smart’ Traffic Safety Detail

In preparation for Pedestrian Safety Month in October — established by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a reminder for drivers and pedestrians that staying safe is a shared responsibility — the UCF Police Department (UCFPD) will host a pedestrian safety detail on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

“The goal [of the detail] is to stop dangerous driving behaviors around campus,” says Commander James Mangan, who oversees UCFPD’s main campus patrol division. “Specifically, we’re looking for drivers who are speeding and not yielding to people in crosswalks.”

The department will achieve this by having plain-clothed employees use crosswalks throughout campus, while officers assess drivers’ responses.

Mangan notes that while the main purpose of this detail is educational, vehicles that do not yield will be stopped and officers will have discretion as to whether they give a verbal warning or a citation. Leading up to the detail, UCFPD will be sharing information about these efforts on their social media accounts and on message boards around campus.

This isn’t the first time UCFPD has hosted a pedestrian safety detail. In 2022, two details were conducted, one of which focused on motorists yielding to pedestrians and another with an additional focus on ensuring pedestrians were using crosswalks correctly.