Your car is broken down next to the center wall on I-285.
The nearest approaching vehicle is a quarter-mile away.
At a brisk walk, you can cross six lanes in 18 seconds. But the car, traveling 60 mph, will be there in 15.
The arithmetic almost never works in a pedestrian’s favor on the interstate.
Authorities say a man involved in a two-car accident before dawn on I-285 Friday was able to cross the freeway once on foot, although they did not offer a reason for the crossing. When the man tried to cross back again toward his own SUV, he was struck and killed.
“When you’re on an interstate, vehicles are changing lanes and moving a lot faster than you can perceive,” said Michael Roberson, manager of the state’s HERO program, which helps disabled motorists. “Most people think they have given themselves enough time to cross. And they haven’t.”
The distances and speeds on freeways are deceptive, especially for people on foot. A car traveling at 70 mph covers more than 100 feet per second. At that speed, the car will travel the length of a football field in 2.9 seconds.
For drivers, the top-end Perimeter Highway can be a tense ride under the best of circumstances. But when one driver makes a mistake, 285 can turn terrifying.
“It’s extremely hard to detect stopped cars at night on 285, when you just aren’t expecting it,” said a man responding to an AJC Facebook query. “There’s no easy solution when you are stuck in the middle of the Indy 500 at night.”
He said he almost rear-ended a car stopped in the middle of the road on night and then narrowly avoided being struck by the car traveling behind him.
Twenty-nine pedestrian deaths last year occurred on Georgia interstates, 18 of them in metro Atlanta. Often the victims are motorists getting out of their cars to change a flat tire or inspect damage from a crash.
So what should you do if you find yourself stranded on the interstate?
Authorities recommend that you pull over as far as you can whenever you have a disabled vehicle, and stay in the car with the seatbelt fastened. Then, call 511 to summon a Georgia Department of Transportation HERO unit.
Even if you’ve just run out of gas, don’t risk walking to a convenience store. HERO units will bring a gallon of gas free of charge to help you on your way, said Roberson.
HERO units aid roughly 8,000 stranded motorists a month.
To stay safe during traffic stops, too, never get out of the car, said Georgia State Patrol Sgt. Thomas Kustra.
Drivers may proceed to the nearest exit instead of pulling over to the shoulder if they believe it would be unsafe to remain on the highway. Just signal your intentions to the officer, Kustra said, by pointing toward the exit and turning on your flashing hazard lights.
