The rule used to be "look both ways before you cross," but that's when there were two lanes, fewer cars and a much more amiable zeitgeist among the commuting public.

These days, we need a flashing red hand and numbers to count us down so we know how many seconds we have to get our slippers safely to the curb, feet and all.

We call it "pedestrian safety," but it's more than just the guy walking, the guy driving and the laws of motion.

There's the guys in office, the guys who want to be in office, the guys who hate the other guys in office, the guy in office who has aspirations for higher office. All of those forces swirl around the space between one side of the road and the other. No wonder so many people are getting hurt.

The state legislators want it to be known that they are looking out for the little guy. Gov. Linda Lingle is saying the money should come out of the general fund, not the highway fund. Mayor Mufi Hannemann is standing across the street going, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to save some lives here." Those who lobbied for the bill have their hands on their heads hoping that something, please something, gets done.

In this game, though, it's not what gets done but who gets the credit. And even more important than being able to say "I did that!" is to be able to point at your opponent and say, "They didn't do anything!"

Who will get the credit for making pedestrians safer? Who will get the blame if another little old person gets clipped on King Street? What do traffic signals Downtown have to do with the folks who got hit crossing the road in Ma'ili or Nanakuli? Is the city actually coming out smelling like roses for finally fixing a host of crosswalk signals?

Clearly there are many threats to pedestrian safety and it behooves our government leaders to take action, but how much safety will $3 million buy anyway? Will knowing how much time you have to get across the road help the shuffling, not-looking, barely-able-to-walk old person who should be home on the couch waiting for Meals On Wheels rather than hobbling across the street to buy a pack of cigarettes? Will a 5-second countdown stop a kid in an SUV from barreling into the crosswalk while changing the song on his iPod and arguing with his friend on his two-way? Will that money, regardless of where it comes from, get people to take personal responsibility?

Probably not. But it will dissipate some of the blame from elected officials when more lives are lost and tough questions have to be answered.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.