With the nice weather and high gas prices more people are traveling on foot or on a bike. Because of this, there have been more pedestrian and vehicle accidents. The Eau Claire Police Department wants drivers to be aware of all travelers on the roads.

When cars are zipping between you and your destination on the other side of the street, things can get confusing and sometimes dangerous.

Eau Claire Police Officer Jason Kaveney says "a pedestrian also does have some liability or some expectations to not enter that crosswalk unless a vehicle approaching can reasonably stop."

Officer Kaveney says we all need to be alert. This week alone there were two incidents where a child on a bike was hit by a car. On Monday a little girl was hit while crossing LaSalle Street and on Wednesday a driver failed to stop at a sign and hit an eight-year-old girl on a bike. Neither of the girls were seriously injured but last week in La Crosse a man died after a hit and run in a crosswalk.

UW-Eau Claire Student, Peter Wojtowicz says "I know a lot of drivers around here want to get going and, I mean, you're in the crosswalk and they just don't look. I've been hit almost two or three times."

Officer Kaveney says calls related to pedestrian, vehicle incidents are not uncommon, but how do you prevent these accidents and close calls?

"Abide by the speed limit, slow down a little bit, keep aware as to the possibility that there are people all over out enjoying the weather, walking around the street and stuff" says Kaveney.

Intersections controlled by lights are the easy ones to figure out.

Kaveney says "a lot of times you're going to have those intersections controlled by walk do not walk, so it's very simple to abide by the rules whether or not you can cross the street."

But mid-block crosswalks create a lot of confusion.

Kaveney says "what state statute says is once that person enters the crosswalk, if you reasonably can stop, you need to yield and stop to that pedestrian in the crosswalk."

"Usually I stop and wait, see what's going on cause you never know when people are gonna turn and then it's either run or just walk across, usually run" says Wojtowicz.

Eau Claire Police are hoping a $4,000.00 grant for pedestrian and bike safety from the Bureau of Transportation Safety will help cut down on the number of accidents. This summer officers will be watching busy areas of the city to enforce driver and pedestrian laws.