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Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013 | 2:02 a.m.
Another view?
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I am reading with disdain about the number of deaths in this city by pedestrians being hit by moving vehicles: six as of this writing, and we are still in January.
My question is: Did the drivers of these vehicles have any opportunity to avoid hitting these people either by slowing down or changing lanes?
It seems to me that if you do happen to walk outside of the crosswalk boundaries, you become fair game for any car that happens to come along.
I cannot believe that in every instance, the drivers of the vehicles had no chance whatsoever to avoid contact with these pedestrians either by slowing down or changing lanes, as in every case these deaths occurred on streets where there are either two or three lanes in each direction and at times when traffic is not at its peak.
Maybe drivers in this city should be reminded that the steering wheel and brakes should be used when a pedestrian crosses the street.
More then 10,000 people each year are murdered by drunk drivers. Yet we do not eliminate all cars or bars. Over one million abortions every year yet we do not ban forceps, five million die worldwide from cigarettes every year yet they are not banned and we are promoting use of weed
Should we eliminate cars or crosswalks or both
On January 1, at approximately 4 PM a young teenage girl and her boyfriend were walking on the sidewalk on a street in North Las Vegas. They were struck by a car going approximately 60 miles an hour [zoned for 25mph] driven by a male teen who was drunk and drugged. A male passenger, also believed drunk and drugged, was in the front seat. The victims were taken to UMC. The driver of the car and passenger were fine. The male pedestrian died within 24 hours from the injuries. The female, after several operations, struggled to hold on for life and has. It is generally agreed that immediately before the time that the vehicle struck the two pedestrains, the young man placed himself in front of his girlfriend to shield her from the impact. He bore the brunt of the car's force and likely died because of it. While his girlfriend, only 16 years old, was recently released from the hospital and entered a rehabilitation facility on the path to a very long recovery, not just physically but mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
CarmineD
We do need more police to patrol, and give out tickets to drivers who break the law.
Hopefully the quarter percent sales tax increase gets approved so more police can be put in place.
As a 3 times a week bike rider myself (on bike trails). There are at least 8 areas that I need to cross 5 with lights and 3 with stop signs to continue on the bike paths.That's 8 lights and stop signs up and the same amount on my return trip (16 total).
I can honestly say that at least once or twice a day I have had cars and trucks cut in front of me while I'm in the crosswalk using the light or stop sign.It seems that some driver's actually speed up when pedestrians are crossing the street.
It's the same effect when you are driving your car. And you see a on coming car approach a light. The light turns yellow and the driver (of that Car) wants to proceed thru this light (they increase speed) and continue as if they did nothing wrong.
I say let's hire the police we truly need to make our city a safe place to walk and drive for all it's citizen's an visitor's.
"...Did the drivers of these vehicles have any opportunity to avoid hitting these people either by slowing down or changing lanes?..."
Author, are you asking a serious question? Really?
Wow, you ought to live around my part of town. I live in fear of hitting a pedestrian, because there are so many, some with obvious mental health issues, who cross just anywhere, including in the dark, at dusk & dawn, with no light clothing. There are those who run out from behind busses after they exit. There are those who seem to feel that being in a wheelchair gives them license to push themselves in front of traffic without even looking.
Just yesterday evening a ragged man who may have been drinking decided to cross Charleston halfway - not in a crosswalk - and wait there in the center of the street for a chance to cross the rest of the way. Since I was making a left turn, I turned into the center lane - where he was standing, in dark clothing, in the dark. Thank god I saw him.
Who are you to pass judgment and vilify drivers?
gunowners4obama,
This is just one more reason we need more policemen and women,to help control situations that you just spoke about.
Mr. Rosin,
You seem to be missing the critical statistic here. The question isn't whether six drivers could have avoided the collision. The question is how many drivers have avoided the collision with pedestrians, and then what percent of the total do these six collisions represent. Six collisions out of six opportunities (what you seem to be saying) is far different from six collisions out of 10,000 opportunities for a collision. From my own experience, I've missed a number of people stepping out in front of me.
If a pedestrian is so careless about his/her own safety, what are drivers to do? Many, if not most, pedestrians are hit at night, are wearing dark clothing and are risking their lives by crossing in mid-block. If Rosin was unlucky enough to encounter such carelessness and hit someone, would he want to arrested and charged? I sure wouldn't. BTW, we already gave Metro a quarter % sales tax increase a few years ago and that was supposed to put more boots on the street. Did it cut down on the crazies driving our roadways? Not so far as I can see. You can see them barreling down Michael Way every day of the week as if it is an extension of the LV Motor Speedway (many must think the 25 MPH sign is merely a suggestion). Some pass drivers obeying the speed limit by illegally passing them in the left turn lane. Most do not stop for pedestrians in crosswalks (painted or not, intersections are considered to be crosswalks). And, where are Metro's "finest?" Ticketing these fools and madmen and hitting them hard in the pocketbook is one solution. Another is to take away their driving priviledges more quickly. Those of us who try to obey the speed limits and drive safely deserve to be protected from the crazies.
Many of the mid-range cars now sold have a variety of control and collision avoidance technologies....lane control, automatic cruise, collision warning, automatic anti-lock brake systems, etc. These technologies will become increasingly available and [very likely] mandatory on new cars. It is far too expensive to build roads to accomodate the increasing number of cars. Policy makers have therefore embraced technologies which will allow more cars in the same amount of space all traveling at higher speeds. You might see car-pedestrian accident benefits from this in twenty years as the new cars work their way through the market. In the meantime pedestrians, especially in Las Vegas, need to be damned careful.
Some streets are quite wide and the distance between signal crossing points is considerable, especially for the elderly. I have been in cities that construct more midway median pedestrian waiting areas which allows them to stand until the light changes again, in order to complete their crossing.
At least these medians could be lighted for pedestrian safety.