Description
I cross in the crosswalk in from the Salem Common near the Hawthorne Hotel. I was just nearly hit this morning by a landscaping truck coming around the bend from the direction of the Bertram House. Drive was going way way to fast and if I had not jumped back he would most definitely have hit me. This guy was just after the yound girl who also blew through the crosswalk and was on her cell phone. I walk that way every morning and that crosswalk is terrifying. People pay zero attention to the fact that it's a crosswalk-no concept of slowing down or yielding to a pedestrian. Somebody is going to get killed. Working hard to make sure it's not me.
17 Comments
Ben (Registered User)
Mayor's Office (Verified Official)
Peter Crowley (Registered User)
I sabena (Registered User)
Commons Issue Comm. (Registered User)
Place of meeting is TBD.
I suggest as many people attend as possible. There have been too many close calls crossing the Common at all crosswalks.
Robert Doughty (Registered User)
john (Registered User)
Skipper (Registered User)
Cheryl (Registered User)
Peter Crowley (Registered User)
The fact that police officers and city officials spend more time driving than walking may help explain the lax enforcement.
I sabena (Registered User)
Cheryl (Registered User)
Cheryl (Registered User)
I sabena (Registered User)
Agreed although spending money on crosswalks while ignoring pedestrians actions will not do much good.
Based on government statistics, in over two-thirds of pedestrian fatalities a significant factor appears to be pedestrians not following the safety rules of the road. Certainly motorists bear responsibility for being attentive and reactive to the actions of others on the road, but budgeting significant sums of money for reconstructing streets, reducing car lanes, lowering speed limits, and adding cameras to deter drivers from, well, driving, while spending exactly $0 on pedestrian education programs will not change the most of the grim statistics.
So here are some street-smart safety rules for pedestrians:
- Make yourself as visible as possible, particularly during evening hours, by wearing bright clothing and reflective materials
- Cross streets at well-marked crosswalks/intersections
- Obey traffic signals and WALK signs but still look both ways before crossing and across all lanes
- Don’t step in front of a vehicle until you are certain the driver is going to stop
- Walk on the sidewalk. If there is none, walk facing traffic and be especially alert
- Don’t compromise your senses of sight and hearing. Just as distracted driving can be dangerous, distracted pedestrians put themselves unnecessarily at risk
Peter Crowley (Registered User)
I Sabena, the 2017 report of the Governors' Highway Safety Association (www.ghsa.org) recommends a 3E approach: Enforcement, engineering,and education. You will note that the first 'E' is Enforcement.
Motor vehicles are the reason why pedestrian crashes are lethal. Drivers are rarely injured in these crashes. It is perverse to try to put the burden on pedestrians to prevent these crashes when they are almost exclusively the victims, and when it is motor vehicle use that makes the crashes so dangerous.
Your pointers are all good advice, but they are all ways for pedestrians to protect themselves from being victimized by motor vehicles. Really, the users of motor vehicles should take responsibility for the damage that these vehicles do, rather than trying to blame the victims.
I sabena (Registered User)
Peter Crowley: If education is the key, why is it "perverse" to point out pedestrians also share the responsibility of following basic road use rules? What's with this antagonistic "us vs them" attitude?
People whether you're walking or driving, follow the rules and pay attention!
Mayor's Office (Verified Official)