Driving around Starkville—especially on campus—can be pretty stressful, but walking across the roads can be too. It is challenging as a driver and as a pedestrian not to get mad at the opposing group of commuters, because we do what is best for ourselves in our individual positions.
About 80 percent of pedestrian-vehicle accidents occur in areas with no traffic, control according to the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states 71 percent of all fatalities caused by pedestrian-vehicle accidents occur at areas with no traffic control for pedestrians. These situations are usually caused by jaywalking, which is a problem often seen here at Mississippi State University.
Jaywalking is typically a result of pedestrians taking a shortcut to reach a destination because crosswalks at intersections are often too far away.
An example of this at MSU are the three crosswalks at the intersection between McComas Hall and Allen Hall. The intersection is too far from McComas, so students are more likely to jaywalk there for convenience.  
If you must jaywalk, make sure the road is clear and you have time to cross the road without putting yourself or any drivers at risk.
Bicycling is encouraged at MSU with the installation of bike lanes and a bike path to bypass sidewalks, but bicycling is dangerous as well. Cyclists are exposed to drivers, like pedestrians, but they can go around the same speed as a driver when on campus.
This can make parking lots especially dangerous with cyclists zipping through faster than vehicles, making them harder to see and more likely to be hit.
The NHTSA stated in 2014 that the majority of bicycle-vehicle accidents were due to bicyclists. Bikers can easily avoid harm by learning the road rules their school or city set in place for cyclists.
According to MSU biking guidelines, cyclists should walk their bikes across crosswalks instead of riding hem. This ensures the cyclists do not hit people walking, and cars do not hit the bicyclist.
In addition, bicyclists are not to use pedestrian-designated sidewalks, because this results in reckless cyclist-pedestrian accidents.
Going even further for traffic safety, it would be a good idea for MSU to implement either motion sensors or buttons so pedestrians nearing crosswalk could activate walking signs. The signs could show from further away when crosswalks are in use—alerting drivers that people are crossing the street.
This warning system would be especially useful at night when it is more difficult to see pedestrians.
However, at the end of the day, pedestrians and bikers must be smart and aware of what they are doing. Even though pedestrians have the right away and vehicles are supposed to stop, this does not always happen.
If a pedestrian or cyclist decides to take on a two-ton vehicle, trust me—the machine will win every time.