Pedestrian hit by car, both sides blamed

[LexiaFira]

studen at McNeese college, quick news post

ACTUAL news post

BOTH pedestrians and motorists are to blame. Will do my best to lay out both sides
The students who DON'T use the crosswalks just walk out in the middle of the street with no regard to themselves or other drivers and half the time its on a cell phone so they aren't paying attention and EXPECT everyone to stop on a dime for them. RIGHT. There is that center turning lane they use as a stopping point, lets hope no one needs to use it!
For the students that DO use the cross walk there are NO cross walk signals on some of them so the students do pay attention but its a dash across to avoid getting hit. There are some cross walks with lights on the other side of campus for their benefit as that particular road is a long stretch between stop lights

For the motorists, SLOW THE HELL DOWN! On the side that has the crosswalks with lights on that long stretch of light be aware please as I KNOW you see the lights. SLOW DOWN. DO NOT PLAY (x) points per pedestrian dammit
yes you have a horn please use it to the students that do just walk out there with disregard, however if you are that much in a hurry dammit manage your time better. However to those that do slow down thank you, we've had so many auto accidents where booze was not involved its bad enough already.

I had to ask hubs to drive 20 miles an hour because when we were out apparently class had let out. There were more students walking in the middle of the road from campus to get to wherever than there were using the crosswalk. I actually leaned over and hit the horn and gave one pedestrian this look of "are you stupid?"

yet of course nothing will be done until something like this happens. so I feel for both sides but both have done wrong AND try to be safe,

[lordlundar]

*sigh* is it really that difficult to find a crosswalk, wait for traffic to acknowledge you, then walk? I never seem to have a problem.

Of course, then again, I'm not a fucking moron and understand that in a fight between me and a one tonne minimum vehicle traveling at 50kph, I'm not likely to be the winner.

[LexiaFira]

that was part of it, the crosswalks they do have don't have the crossing signals and these people are either too lazy to go that extra ten or few minutes to go up to the crosswalk and back down they would rather just run out and get hit.
makes me wonder if these people don't have a death wish or this is a dumb people college

[AdminAssistant]

College students here are the same damn way. The road I have to take every day has a ton of crosswalks, but that's not good enough. They'll just hop in the damn street and expect me to stop.

[McDreidel09]

It happens here too!!! ><

I was driving about 20 mph around campus with a friend in the car. We were behind a truck and the crosswalk was just two minutes(not even!) away from us. Some princess on her cellphone decides to cross the street, just feet away from the crosswalk, without looking, and the truck had to make a sudden stop. Good thing I always keep good distance between me and the car in front of me!

[blas87]

If it wasn't for the angels who surround me and keep my eyes sharp, I'd be in prison by now for hitting everyone on my street who takes the bus.

There is a damn sidewalk and yet they get off the bus, step off the sidewalk, and walk up and down and in the middle of the street until they get to their buildings. Unbelievable.

[telecom_goddess]

I always use a crosswalk/signal when I can. However in front of my apartment complex there are no such things.....and it's a long ways away to a signal and my bus stop is across the street. I have to cross the road in the middle and I do use the turning lane in the middle to stop if I have to so I can avoid getting hit. But I'm watching the whole way and making sure no one is coming before I step out there because I don't expect people to stop for me there since it's not a cross walk.

However the crosswalk/no signal crossing outside my work is another story. There are cars blowing by there every single time I want to get across, and they are supposed to stop for pedestrians there. I still have to treat it like it's the middle of the freeway and watch everything so I don't get hit. That pisses me off.

[LexiaFira]

thast why i wish every place had laws to where there HAS to be crosswalks AND crosswalk signals such as the cross no cross signals or like we have here press a button and the lights on the street blink or something
and laws to protect pedestrians like telecom_goddess who is actually doing everything she can to not get hurt even though there are no crosswalks for her benefit.
And I have lived in an area where there are no sidewalks or in the rare case that road was literally the line between one city and another and one side had sidewalks and one didn't. The choice was ride a bike or walk, and on most days i walked due to rainy weather.
(washington state)

still at least california and other states have laws about this and that yes the pedestrian has the right of way but they are also held accountable if they ignore crosswalks and just walk out in the middle of the street. But by then in the area i was at traffic was so bad at certain times that people COULD have walked out in the middle of the street and no one could honk because no one was moving. heh

[telecom_goddess]

thast why i wish every place had laws to where there HAS to be crosswalks AND crosswalk signals such as the cross no cross signals or like we have here press a button and the lights on the street blink or something

This is the kind of crossing I have at work, you press a button and a light blinks..and cars STILL whizz by without a single care that someone is trying to get across the street.

[Adoyle90815]

This happens here, and it's not just college students. I've even seen parents who are teaching their children by example that it's easier to walk across a busy street instead of going the few feet to a crosswalk. Also, there are people waiting at a bus stop who will walk into the middle of the right lane to see if the bus is coming. They don't care that cars also use that lane, not just buses.

[Cats]

Here, it's a no-win situation. People Jay Walk constantly, but on the other hand, I can't blame them entirely some days as some drivers just go take a right turn into the crosswalks (illegally) without looking (specifically, in one intersection by my place, which even has loud bells that go off when the walk signal is on. Loud enough to be heard from my 8th floor apartment sometimes). I've been close to getting hit at least a dozen times now, and that's just in the past month. I know in some places it is still legal to turn into a crosswalk if the signal is on, but here, it is NOT. Crosswalks can never be blocked (happens all the time too), and all traffic must be stopped when the signal goes off. Even a normally legal right turn on red is unlawful during the walk signal.

If in a crosswalk without the signal but clearly marked, sometimes, you can be waiting 10 minutes for a big enough break in the traffic or for someone to stop, despite the fact they are marked so that it is illegal to fail to stop for the pedestrian so long as they are in clear view (and trust me, 95% of the time, they are).


A few months ago, a 90 something year old man died from his injuries walking in a crosswalk from the grocery store (by my place). Drivers there aren't careful, despite older people going through there all the time, as there's a few nursing/senior homes on the other side. I haven't read it lately, but there has been talk of improving pedestrian safety in that area as a result. They did brighten the crosswalk lines and added one of those yellow crosswalk cones in the middle, as well as adding 2 more in the parking lot leading to that exit, which is a good start.


There's an easy way to solve this problem on both sides. It's called STOP BREAKING THE LAW, ASSHOLE! I don't care if you're a cyclist, motorist, or pedestrian.

[LexiaFira]

watching the news RIGHT NOW, and they said she passed away and that she will give the gift of live to others (makes me think organ donor)
will try and find news post as i'm trying to wrangle lisa and the dogs in and get dinner done

[LexiaFira]

jay walkers are being given tickets and bad motorists as well so its a start but 175 for a first offense of jay walking. for a student thats bad. for a motorist i dunno but thats still a HIGH price

i guess sometimes it has to be that high for people to get the message. unfair or not

[Lace Neil Singer]

There's an easy way to solve this problem on both sides. It's called STOP BREAKING THE LAW, ASSHOLE! I don't care if you're a cyclist, motorist, or pedestrian.

Exactly. A lot of the time over here, it's cyclists who break the rules of the road, but we do get a lot of people in the nearby town who feel that the Green Cross Code is for sissies and to cross the road, all you have to do is step out into traffic and it will magically stop for you.