April 26, 2008
Three Pedestrians Killed by Vehicles in Three Days
How do people leave their homes in the morning? Since Thursday, three people have been killed by vehicles in Brooklyn.
Early this morning, the Post reports that "one person was killed and two others were injured" when a van hit them at Avenue U and East 33rd Street in Marine Park. A witness said, "I was in my basement when I heard a big bang. First I heard the hand on the horn and then I heard a bunch of girls screaming." Then she "saw a boy dead on the street." The driver stayed at the scene; it's unclear if he/she was charged.
Yesterday morning, a pedestrian on New York Avenue was killed by a city Sanitation truck, whose driver had failed to yield. The 57-year-old victim was in the crosswalk when the truck was turning left. The driver was issued a ticket.
And on Thursday morning, a 59-year-old woman was killed while trying to cross Adams Street at Joralemon Street in downtown Brooklyn. A witness told the Daily News, "The light turned yellow and instead of yielding, he tried to catch the light. Everybody tries to catch the light. But that's the wrong area to do that." The investigation is continuing.
You can learn more about pedestrian advocacy at Transportation Alternatives. Also, Transportation Alternatives has data for pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities for 1995-2005 and maps it on CrashStat 2.0. At top is a map of accidents along Adams Street between 2000 and 2005.
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I no longer just look left and right when crossing the street (checking in the opposite direction of traffic for the odd cyclist riding against traffic), I always look behind me to check for a vehicle that is not slowing down to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk with a walk signal. I probably look paranoid, but at this point I feel it's a necessary precaution.
"How do people leave their homes in the morning?"
Well, there are various ways to leave your home in the morning, that might differ than when you leave your home in the afternoon, the evening and sometime last night. Most people I know use their front door, some people I know use their patio door, I even know a bloke who uses his window. Outside of NYC, some people use a garage door to go to a car. But, if I were to place a bet, I would say most people leave their homes in the morning by the front door.
I live in Brooklyn Heights and often cross Adams on Joralemon to get to the A/C/F Jay St. subway. It's a terrible intersection and the current construction is making it especially dangerous for pedestrians, that location really needs to be adressed.
Here's some pedestrian advocacy: Stay on the f-ing sidewalk until the sign says walk.
You may ultimately have the right of way as a pedestrian, but being right isn't very comforting when you're laying in a hospital bed.
A witness told the Daily News, "The light turned yellow and instead of yielding, he tried to catch the light. Everybody tries to catch the light.
This is SOP at almost every busy intersection in Manhattan. The "3-second" rule seems to be in effect: drivers use that time when lights in both directions are red to continue rolling through their own stop light, well after the signal has gone from yellow to red.
I've yet to see a law enforcement officer summon the nerve to stop a driver who commits this most basic of infractions.
People seem to forget that the streets are for vehicular traffic. Pedestrians have the sidewalk. When the modes mix, hilarity ensues. I saw some mentalist charge across 23rd st w/o stopping. Pay attention and stay alive..
A Sanitation driver fails to yield, kills a man and all he gets is a ticket? I'd arrest the guy for criminally negligent homicide.
Apparently that first driver was a tranny as "it was unclear whether he/she was charged". Those trannies are a menace behind the wheel and need remedial driver's ed. At the very least, all area transvestites and transgenders should have to report immediately for re-education on the rules of the road.