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Posts Tagged ‘pedestrian’
You MUST read the excellent article on this topic by Joseph Rose of the Oregonian at OregonLive.com. STOPtheMUD agrees with those that hold the premise that the BUS DRIVER is responsible for assuring the pedestrian right of way AND that pedestrians must never assume it.
It’s clear to us at least that the bus drivers in some of the aforementioned events were responsible for the deaths and injuries. Spending a big wad of cash on a $10 gadget that gives bus driver’s an excuse may make Portland’s politicians feel better but it does not MITIGATE the proximate cause of pedestrian injury and death. It is nothing more than an expensive obfuscation.
Our congratulations go out of the engineer that pointed out the cost and the absurdities of this expensive solution. What do you think? Vote in our poll. (Left column of the blog.)
Thank you to the Baltimore Spokes blog for alerting us to this issue.
VBF has the bad news that the Three Foot Passing and Following too close law was tabled in the House Transportation Committee by what was eventually an 11-10 vote. Someone who was there wrote:
via TheWashCycle.com:
StoptheMUD’s comment below: (By the way, please do visit “The Wash Cycle.”
(I’m a Republican and I believe in the Maryland three-foot bicycle safety rule. One wonders the real reason why a Republican in Virginia is keeping bicycling risks greater by ignoring the three foot rule. My experience driving in Virginia says to me that it is equally as dangerous as driving in Maryland and perhaps even more so. The cry for the three-foot rule is a cry for driving safety as well. Like seat belt enforcement the three-foot rule is a round-a-bout way to mitigate the carnage because driving safety is not a priority for individual residents of Maryland or Virginia. We’re using these laws to wake people up and give law enforcement some way to issue citations to the most egregiously unsafe among us.
Then we do have to stop and point out that states are asking for and getting special legislation to protect police officers on their traffic stops and those laws require drivers to move to another lane or slow down sharply as a courtesy to the officer. Fine. Extend the same courtesy to the rest of us and also encourage police and their families driving cars with police vanity plates to start obeying traffic laws.
Government is not doing well here. It sends confusing message, obfuscates debate, and only tends to do what garners a vote. Government can’t really help us. What is required is that every Virginian and ever Marylander make the choice to drive safely. Then government is out of the picture. Existing laws, it might be argued, already protect pedestrians and bicyclists. If those laws are not working then we need to find out why, but first everyone needs to obey the traffic regulations and drive safely.
There is also the “Get Off the BUS option. States that are not considered “bicycle safety conscious” could be designated “Bicycle Unfriendly States.” Either get off that BUS and join us or we won’t bicycle in your state. You cannot ride where you do not feel safe. Maryland seems to be improving in that area but not Virginia.)
As a driver blew through the intersection, I pointed up at the sign for pedestrian crossing, to direct his attention to it. He actually did a U-turn and came back to yell at me.
via Pedestrians beware: Md. drivers don’t know the traffic laws – Baltimore Sun.
(An excellent citizen’s opinion of the Maryland driver. Check it out at the Baltimore Sun. The Sun is an excellent source for safe and unsafe driving news.)
Police Capt. Paul Starks says the accident happened Saturday around 12:45 p.m. in the parking lot of a Giant Food grocery store on Rockville Pike near Hubbard Drive.
Get the complete story at the Washington post:
via Post Now – 6 cars, 2 pedestrians involved in Md. crash.
Pedestrian fatalities stopped declining in early 2010. Unfortunately, a safety nonprofit and its chairman, Maryland’s highway safety head, chose to blame pedestrians for getting killed while downplaying other, equally important causes.
Sphere: Related ContentLife might be a little different if more of us drove safely. Thinking about it seems to put all the bad behaviors in perspective. What might it be like if more Marylanders were safe drivers? Wat if more people cared about themselves, their families, the other folks on the road, pedestrians, property, and the animals? We can only imagine…
There would be six-hundred or so fewer dead people every year. This means happier holidays, another year with mom, dad, grandmother, or grandpa, or even the newborn or a teenager. The emergency rooms, ambulance crews, and police officers would be taking time to save lives, fight fires, or catch bad guys. Those six hundred would die a natural death at an older age with a complete life behind them. What a concept. The end result of the driving behavior we choose is entirely up to us. Everyone driving has a decision to make.
Insurance rates might even be less. Well we can only hope. The theory is that if the companies get to keep more of our money in profits they charge us less. Well I suppose I can fantasize. There might be more insurance agencies charging fewer outrageous penalties when collisions do occur. There might even be more companies willing to insure in Maryland. The more competition the lower rates. To a great degree we still have the power to affect this change.
Our courts, judges, and jails could deal with crime and criminals more effectively. Reducing or eliminating drunks and bad driving behaviors that cause serious accidents take a bunch of folks out of the criminal justice system.
There is an industry that has built itself behind unsafe driving. Lawyers chase ambulances (figuratively speaking) and the legal system is clogged with A suing B suing C suing A. The only people getting rich are the attorneys. That’s your money buying that lawyer’s boat. Granted he or she have college loans to pay but you could be the one encouraging those college students to seek other careers. We may have to wait and see. Do you think fewer unsafe drivers there would be a concomitant decrease in the number of lawyers required to litigate all of these sad events?
Imagine school bus stops. You know we now pay deary every year to a zillion school buses pick up the kids in their own driveways. They tell me it isn’t safe to do it any other way. What a concept having children walk to a school bus stop where the bus and the kids would be safe and out of danger. Maybe kids could even walk or ride a bike to school.
What else would be different if more Marylanders chose to drive safely? How would that change our lives and our communities? It’s a discussion you can have in school, with friends, or over the dinner table at home. Perhaps it is one we should have.
Fairfax County Police are investigating a fatal pedestrian crash in the Mount Vernon area.
Read the ENTIRE article at the Washington Post Blog:
via Post Now – Pedestrian killed in Fairfax County.
…a vehicle, operated by Ryan Shunk, struck Hetrick…
WCBC has the story:
via WCBC 1270 AM Online – The Pulse of Cumberland – Pedestrian Struck by Vehicle.
HANCOCK — A 73-year-old Hancock man was killed Thursday night when he was struck by a car as he was walking across Md. 144 at Casper Road to retrieve his mail, Maryland State Police said.
Read the ENTIRE story at the Herald-Mail.com:
via Maryland: Pedestrian killed near Hancock.
(We don’t know what happened other than a pedestrian was killed. Imagine living a wonderful life. You are 73 years old. One day while you are going out to the curb to check your mail, WHAM! You’re dead. The driver of the car has to live with the guilt the rest of her life. Making things much worse of course is that we are in the Christmas season.
Perhaps this is a good time for everyone to make the commitment to drive safely. Drive to arrive – alive. Drive to be conscious of the safety of those around you.
Th bad-driving pandemic that plagues our state will never subside UNLESS each of us makes a conscious decision to change our driving behavior. There are too many Marylanders driving as though they are immortal even when six-hundred die in Maryland every year. Countless animals are killed, people are injured.
Stop at stop signs and red lights out of respect for the law and the safety of others.
End aggressive behaviors that make our highways dangerous.
Do not drink and drive.
Set an EXAMPLE for others this holiday season. It may be the greatest gift you can give. Fewer dead and injured during the holidays is a great idea. You think?)
It’s jaywalking and it’s dangerous.
via Officials Want To Ensure Pedestrians Follow Rules – wjz.com.
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