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Getting in or out of your car on the traffic side of the street is a terrible idea. But to do so, while double parked might be even worse: An SUV ran into a man getting into his double parked car in Brooklyn yesterday. The victim got an estimate for new tires on 20th Street and Third Avenue before being hit, and a worker at Rapid Tire Service Shop said, "I heard something like a thump. When I turned around, I saw his head cracked open. Once the blood started coming out his ears, I couldn't look anymore." The Post reports that some witnesses say the SUV driver was talking on a cellphone (earpiece? or handheld?); the driver says he didn't see the victim and wasn't charged. The victim is in critical condition.
Okay, first things first: Double parking is bad mojo; sure, it's unavoidable, but it's ridiculously dangerous. We wonder about the details of the accident - it's possible the SUV driver really didn't see the victim, but people drive like idiots to begin with. Transportation Alternatives had an article two years ago about why double parking should get bigger fines, as many people would rather get a cheap ticket versus park their car somewhere, which then encourages more traffic and limit bike usage. Add "It's a safety issue" to that list. Also, this makes a City Councilman's plan for a five minute double park seem even dumber.
Photograph from Transportation Alternatives
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fuck cars. all of them.
Double parkers are bad news for bicycles too because they park on the bike lane and make you swerve into traffic.
My councilman (Vincent Gentile) authored the 5-minute double parking bill! Yay.
My kvetch is that traffic officers in Brooklyn spend too much time focusing on "single-parked" cars (for alternate-side, meters, etc.) and basically ignore double-parking, double-standing, and U-turns, which are bigger hazards.
i'm with the fuck cars contigent. or fuck drivers. isn't the whole deal that you're supposed to be paying attention to where you're driving? seems like every car-hits-ped accident lately has ended with the words "no charges were filed"
yes, in nyc peds do suicidal things every day. but i don't see drivers actually breaking when that little old lady, who could be just a bit out of her mind, strolls out into broadway against the light. break, people, break.
i love ranting on gothamist.
In addition to higher fines, parking violations should put points on a driver's license just like moving violations do. Then they'd be taken more seriously.
K, maybe you should spell "brake" correctly before ranting. You know, cars have brakes. Not breaks.
Spoken like people who don't own motor vehicles. Try being the driver for a change. It's hard not to mow people down when they crowd intersections. Being a NYC driver has made me a much more conscientious pedestrian. (And yes, I'm from here.)
Both pedestrians and drivers could learn some manners, obviously. It's just that some drivers don't realize they're operating a potentially deadly weapon.
And yes, pedestrians who don't stay on the curb make it awfully dangerous for drivers who are turning and it scares Gay Boyfriend to see people on their phone crossing the street without looking.
But double parkers have no regard for their own and others' safety and need to be shot, without a doubt.
I just really don't understand how people put up with the stress of driving in the city. Thinking about having to find a parking space makes me want to shit my pants. I've been carless for six years and very, very rarely miss it.
Double parking is totally avoidable. People are just lazy.