Counting Careless Crossers

Visitors driving on the University of Massachusetts campus for the first time may find themselves swerving and stopping to avoid collision with pedestrians crossing the street.

After several pedestrians were struck last year, police are attempting to curb the number of collisions and two UMass students conducted a survey to bring the issue to the forefront.

Only 27 percent of pedestrians who use the crosswalk near the University of Massachusetts Southwest Residential Area on Massachusetts Avenue look for traffic before they cross, according to a study conducted by two UMass senior mathematics and statistics students.

The two students, Dan Ron and Amy Jackson, performed the study for the Statistics 501 class they were enrolled in last semester.

"We as a group decided that we almost run over people... (read more)