lenaitch
Senior Member
Six foot barriers. We must be protected from ourselves.
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- Thread starter Fresco
- Start date
Fresco
Active Member
Yes, my own 2 eyes. I live in financial district and I lost count how many times I seen pedestrians walk into traffic because they were texting on their smartphones. NY City even wanted to pass a new law against texting while walking, thats how bad its getting.
And of course some car drivers also carry blame if they are distracted, its not always the pedestrians fault
New York might make it illegal to text while walking | CNN
Crossing the street here can be challenging any time, and you might be even less likely to notice that honking cab or zooming bicyclist if you're looking at your phone.
www.cnn.com
I walk at least 10 km a day. I don’t use my phone while walking and when crossing at intersections my head is on a swivel because people come up to right turns quickly with no intention of actually stopping and looking. My other favourite is someone making a left turn while I am crossing (on a walk light). I frequently have to stop quickly or take some kind of action to avoid being hit. I always try to make eye contact with drivers. Many don’t even look in my direction.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Warning for Germans Visiting USA (and Canada for that matter)...
DirectionNorth
Active Member
Do you actually know this, or is this the incoherent blabbing of someone who doesn't care for pedestrian safety?Yes, my own 2 eyes. I live in financial district and I lost count how many times I seen pedestrians walk into traffic because they were texting on their smartphones. NY City even wanted to pass a new law against texting while walking, thats how bad its getting.
And of course some car drivers also carry blame if they are distracted, its not always the pedestrians fault
New York might make it illegal to text while walking | CNN
Crossing the street here can be challenging any time, and you might be even less likely to notice that honking cab or zooming bicyclist if you're looking at your phone.
When I am walking, I experience too many near-misses by cars in slip lanes, cars turning in and out of parking lots, drivers calling someone, drivers not even looking my way, etc. etc.
Fresco
Active Member
I never said cars are always blameless. Please read what I write before going off on a tangent.
But there are plenty of times where pedestrians also carry blame.
The police have laid the blame evenly across all 3 parties, drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.
So if people would stop texting while walking maybe we can cut pedestrians accidents by 1/3rd or so
Almost 200 pedestrians were struck by Toronto drivers in just 45 days
Toronto is experiencing a surge in pedestrians struck by drivers, and though the year is only a month and a half underway, the city has already recor…
www.blogto.com
Cars are blameless. It’s the humans driving them that cause the problems. When you get behind the wheel, you are in control of a machine that can kill. You are under an obligation to be in control at all times. If I walk into your car, i will bump myself but if you drive into me with your car, there is a much higher likelihood of injury. Obeying the speed limit and not being pissed off if you get a ticket is one way to slow down, be in control and ensure we all get home safely.
Fresco
Active Member
Sounds to me like you're saying pedestrians dont carry any responsibility, which I strongly disagree with
goreckm
Active Member
There is some responsibility, for sure. I think if you live in this city in it's current state, are a pedestrian, and aren't being cautious, you are putting your life at risk. However, we should reconsider if that's the kind of city we want to live in. In the end, the biggest responsibility should be on the driver, since the power to injure is that much greater. People also forget that driving is a privilege. You don't have an unlimited right to drive, and certainly, not to make your own rules for how to drive. There are a lot of ways to make drivers more compliant. Ideally, we would restructure our roads to force drivers to go slower, lots of threads and articles here have great ideas. The other is enforcement, which is basically non-existent today for the amount of cars there are. Even speed cameras seem to get push-back from people, even though it's just giving tickets to people who are breaking the law. I see people every day, rolling through stop signs, not stopping before turning right on red. If the city really wanted to make money, they could just station a few cops at intersections all day where cars routinely (like 90%+) don't stop (they should stop at the line first before creeping, but, I won't even include that, since we'll be at 99%) before turning right on red. I'm sure most drivers at this point don't even realize that's something they have to do. The cameras are just a way to try to get the vision zero people to shut up, without doing anything substantial about the issue.
Not what I said at all. I said the larger onus of responsibility is on those who drive machines that can kill.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Sometimes the corners at intersections are too wide. Wide corners allows motorists to make turns at a higher speed, reducing the safety of pedestrians.
How Big Does the Corner Really Need to Be?
From link.
T3G
Senior Member
Exactly this. I am a defensive walker, I never leave anything to chance, I'm always analyzing and anticipating what is going to come next. But there are a lot of people for whom that simply isn't possible. And even for those of us who can do it, it's unpleasant having to constantly be on your guard.
And nor should we have to be on guard when crossing on a light, for example.
I know (knew) too many people who have been killed or injured through careless and dangerous driving incidents. These people were riding in bike lanes or on the side of the road where they should have been safe. Slow down, put the phone away and pay attention to driving. LOOK around.
I'm all for more speed cameras if they will get people to slow down.
sixrings
Senior Member
I drive through speed cameras at 30KM... far less than the 50KM areas they are posted in. But I also never go above 150 anymore... Ticket prices are an incentive to slow down for people not rich. I think thats the majority of us.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
The fines should be income or family worth based. Have a higher income or have higher assets, you should pay a higher fine.