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On the right track, but kind of one-sided
The story only really looked at college students in college areas and people who work downtown. The apparent conclusion is that people know not to jaywalk, but do so anyway because the city infrastructure isn't so great.
At the program where I work, I can't TELL you how often parents I work with will tell me about how they almost got run over pushing their baby carriage across a busy street like Morton Street or Seaver Street when "no one would stop for us." I'll ask them if they were in a crosswalk, and they all tell me that the cars have to stop no matter what, and should especially do it when someone has a baby with them. I've explained crosswalks and walk signals to SO many people I work with. Most are grateful and tell me it makes a lot more sense now that I've explained why the cars won't stop.
Many times when driving, particularly in Mattapan and in Dorchester in the Quincy Street area, I've gotten yelled at by pedestrians who yell things like "stop for pedestrians." I politely respond "you're not in a crosswalk" or "that big red hand means it isn't your turn yet." One time someone threw a soda bottle at my car as I kept driving while they were wandering across the road into my lane about 50 feet from the crosswalk where I would have gladly stopped.
I think there's a big difference between what all of us do -- hustling across when there's no traffic -- and thinking it's OK to wander across the road any time you damn well please and expect cars to stop for you. And especially when you have children with you; the jaywalking fine might be $1, but the penalty for child endangerment is a lot more severe.
The police don't even need to issue the fine in order to effect change; they could just explain to people that they're jaywalking and tell them to quit it. As we've seen on various discussions on UHub, a lot of people think pedestrians always have the right of way, which they don't, and which is why they get run over. Usually I see cops either ignore jaywalkers or HELP THEM JAYWALK. I don't mean police who are directing traffic where it IS their decision who stops. I mean the officer I saw a few weeks ago in the BPD gang unit outfit standing there talking to someone on a porch, then seeing someone pushing a baby carriage across Blue Hill outside of a crosswalk, and running out in the road and stopping traffic. Why the hell didn't the officer run up to her, explain that she's breaking the law, and point her down the street to the crosswalk? If she thanks him and goes down to the crosswalk, it's over, and she and her child are safer. No need to fine her.
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http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
I can't tell you how many times...
I've seen someone push their small child in a stroller out into the road in front of them, and wondered if they're using the child as a shield or...
I also maintain that the idea that pedestrians shouldn't be expected to follow Boston's traffic signals because they're "not so great" or not as efficient as they could be is a specious one. Traffic signals are often nonsensical and confusing for drivers as well in Boston. Doesn't mean they don't have to follow them, or think that would be an adequate excuse for putting themselves and others in danger.
Ive never seen a traffic
Ive never seen a traffic signal in Boston that did not make sense. I HAVE seen endless pedestrian signals that do not make sense.
When the yellow light turns to red for cars, is there a 9 second pause before the other cars get green? Why is this acceptable behavior for pedestrian countdowns?
Does the yellow light last 3 times as long as the green light? Ive seen many, many intersections in which walk is displayed for 2 seconds, followed by a 12 seconds of flashing red hand, followed by 8 seconds of solid red....all when it was safe to cross (the cars traveling the same direction had green)
Do cars have to push a button and then wait for an entire cycle to get green?
How about on one way streets (both one way), when the pedestrian signal says dont cross to allow for turning vehicles, but does so on both sides of the street, even when there is no possible conflict?
Theres a reason cars follow their signals (most of the time). The city pays a lot of attention to them and makes sure theyre always working and always make sense. Not the case with pedestrian signs.
Bonus story: I was walking on comm ave (inbound) near charlesgate. Theres an intersection where comm ave cars get a green arrow to go straight AND a green right turn arrow to turn onto the overpass. There is no pedestrian signal. on MULTIPLE occassions Ive been honked at because cars assume the green right turn arrow means they have the right of way. If they were right, then a pedestrian would NEVER be able to cross the street.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&g...
From the article:
"New traffic configurations allow pedestrians and cars going the same direction to cross an intersection simultaneously"
wow.
Do you really not understand the walk countdown?
Sure, some of them should be longer, but they're counting down to let you know when the walk signal is going to end, so in case you walk up to it and it's at three seconds, you'll know that you shouldn't enter the crosswalk unless you're planning to haul ass across the road in three seconds. It's much more useful than it just flashing to let you know it plans to change at some point.
A lot of vehicle signals DO have a delay between when one direction stops having a green and the other direction gets it. For both cars and pedestrians, it's to allow some leeway for people who think that yellow means "take my own sweet time driving to the intersection and through it" and that flashing-don't-walk-signal means "I'll walk across the street as slowly as I damn well please."
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Do you not live in Boston?
"but they're counting down to let you know when the walk signal is going to end"
Really? Thats what they SHOULD do. But here's the problen: They don't.
You know how you can be on a street you'd never been on in your life, and you see a yellow light, and you know if you should break or keep driving? You know that mental calculation that involves speed and distance that tells you if its safer to stop or proceed? Drivers do that dozens of times a day, and the result is always the same. Very few people run the red light The reason drivers can do that is because theres a STANDARD. Every intersection features a yellow light times at 4 seconds. (Some might be a smidge longer if the intersection is extra wide).
Now imagine if some intersections, say 1 in 10, had a yellow that lasts 1 second and only one second, instead of 4. Suddenly, it's much harder to know what to do, because you dont know if this new intersection youre approaching has a standard 4 second yellow or a 1 second yellow that makes you slam on the breaks or run a red. And what if the next intersection had a yellow that lasts 15 seconds? You cruise to a stop....and it's still yellow. You look around, it's still yellow. WTF you ask yourself.
Pedestrians deal with that every day!
Some countdowns in this city count to when you can no longer cross. Zero means the cars are getting a green in 1 second.
HOWEVER, some countdowns in this city count to when it is no longer safe to START crossing. Zero means there are 6 seconds left for one to safely stroll across the street. And by safely stroll, I mean the 6 seconds allows an old person with a cane to make it across if they step onto the street exactly when it says zero.
Theres no rule or reason to which intersection features which type of countdown. However, the majority count down to the 2nd example, meaning pedestrians are conditioned to zero meaning 6 seconds are left. SO when a pedestrian gets to one that counts the other way, they begin to cross against traffic!
Take a walk in kenmore square. Especially near deerfield street. If youre on the north side of comm ave, crossing towards fenway (comm ave outbound) the first light counts down to zero meaning cars have green. From the median, when you cross comm ave inbound, this pedestrian countdown allows 6 seconds between zero and when cars have green. These lights are 5 feet apart and follow different standards
This is why pedestrians dont follow the signals.
Is it now?
BTW, yellows are NOT timed equally. I drive around Dorchester/Mattapan/Southie/Roxbury/JP/downtown all day. There are some much much longer ones.
The reason people don't obey signals is because THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT THE LAWS ARE. People tell me all the time about how they were crossing the street outside of a crosswalk or against the sign and people wouldn't stop. People yell at me all the time when I don't stop for people who are trying to cross outside of a crosswalk or against the signal (and no, I don't run them over or come close to it, but if I have to stop for someone who isn't in a crosswalk or has a red hand, I will tap the horn and point to the red signal or the crosswalk a few feet down the road).
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Did you miss every thing I
Did you miss every thing I wrote, or does it just conflict with what you think is going on as you sit inside your car?
I'm done
It's pretty clear you're wanting to make this into a pedestrians vs. drivers thing, wanting to attack experiences that differ from your own by suggesting that I don't actually live here, etc. I'm done with this part of this discussion.
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I explained why pedestrian
I explained why pedestrian behavior in Boston is the way it is. It's a culture created by the inability of the city to establish standardized signals, like is done for drivers. You completely ignore that and claim that all pedestrians follow this logic (your quote) "I'll walk across the street as slowly as I damn well please." You also claim that nobody knows what the laws are. You have no rational basis to back that up. People know that jaywalking is illegal. They resort to it because theyre not given a reasonable options (standing for 50 seconds when theres no traffic conflict is not an option)
If I put a stop sign on the highway (middle of I-95), do you expect drivers to obey it? Then why should a pedestrian obey a red hand that clearly conflicts with what makes sense and was established on the previous block?
PFFT.
I drive and walk this city daily. I have never walked into oncoming traffic and expected cars to slam on brakes for me. Yet I see people doing that every single day. Somehow I manage to use my mental powers and know how to cross the street without needing mommy to hold my hand.
"standing for 50 seconds
"standing for 50 seconds when theres no traffic conflict is not an option"
Sure it is.
The only reason you're dismissing it as one is because you're impatient.
EXACTLY
This is far from the first time on this site I've seen the argument made that because pedestrian signals are allegedly sucky, pedestrians are justified in not following them.
The argument isn't about whether or not the pedestrian signals are sucky. The argument isn't about whether or not traffic signals for drivers or pedestrians are worse. The argument isn't about whether pedestrians or drivers are worse people, or about the truly amazing amount of mind-reading and projection I've seen people taking the pedestrian POV on this site apply toward drivers.
The argument is that despite ANY LEVEL of suckitude in the surrounding infrastructure, BOTH pedestrians AND drivers are responsible for following what signals are there. Even if they have to wait a full 50 seconds. Even if they have to wait a minute and a half. Yes, even if they have to WAIT.
If you have a problem with a ped signal
Report it to BTD: [email protected]
Really, they ARE standardized and if one is out of sequence it needs to be fixed. THere are thousands of signals in the city and they can't possibly know if one is not performing correctly if no one says anything.
So stop complaining and do something about it.
Have you never reported a mis-timed signal...
...and then had the problem ignored (or not dealt with in a reasonably prompt manner)?
I'll give you some examples right now
Of Boston-area traffic signals that are FUBAR.
Right next to Alewife where 2, 2A, 3 and 16 converge there is a hairpin merge where two lanes of cars coming from the Fresh Pond Parkway cross over a diagonally adjacent lane coming from 2A. There are several traffic lights at this intersection, but the one instance where opposing traffic signals are most necessary -- the point where 2A and FPP meet -- they are usually green arrows at the same time, red lights at the same time. HOW does that make ANY sense?
And yet no driver is going to get their insurance claim paid for or avoid points on their license if they get in an accident there because the signal doesn't make sense. They are expected to use their judgment, awareness and COMMON SENSE to determine when it is safe to go in that instance.
Ever try to take a left onto Columbia Road in Dorchester from I-93 south? There are two lanes of cars coming at 40 mph or greater from the Columbia Road rotary just up the street, two more lanes at similar speeds traveling toward it, and an exit ramp right across from you for cars coming off I-93 North.
Your only traffic signal is a flashing red light over the whole hot mess. Have a nice day.
Once again, same arguments apply about drivers / insurance / at-fault / excuses due to the traffic signal being FUBAR.
And finally, Kenmore Square, Westbound on Beacon St. It might not look like it unless you're in a car, but unless you're an experienced driver in this area, the new lights and lane markings they've put there in the last year can be confusing as hell. There are two left turn lanes and two right turn lanes and one of the right turn lanes is the one you want if you want to continue straight on Beacon St. No signs mark this. the lights are simply three green arrows. Take the wrong right-turn lane and you'll end up on Comm Ave instead of Beacon, and if you're from out of town, totally lost.
Now imagine that just as the light turns green a pedestrian walks out in front of these lanes of cars, all of which have managed to wind up in the wrong lane and are focused mostly on jockeying for position for one another as they make their way through the intersection. Imagine that this pedestrian has clearly not stood there, waited and grown impatient for a walk signal but instead has walked out into traffic wearing headphones and texting, not looking AT ALL at his / her surroundings.
If you put yourself in that position as the driver, do you REALLY think it's gonna occur to you to be sympathetic toward that pedestrian as you slam on your brakes because they might've had to wait an extra 30 seconds for a walk signal?
In conclusion...
The fact that YOU have not seen traffic signals that in your personal opinion don't make sense doesn't mean they don't exist, and it doesn't change the essential point that whether they do or do not make sense does not change the obligation to follow them for everyone's safety. That goes for drivers AND pedestrians. It also means that if drivers are seen breaking these rules, it gives pedestrians carte blanche to do whatever they want.
I find it mind-blowing, but illuminating, that these are controversial ideas around here.
*correction
that second to last sentence there should say "DOESN'T mean."
I suppose it would be uncouth...
...to say "I told you so" here. :)
This is why no one from Boston reads the Globe
I cannot believe the Globe, after an article about how innocent suburbanites have to deal with bikes on Boston streets that like drivers do not always obey the rules. Is the Globe in some kind of war with residents of Boston, sticking up for the poor little rich kids of suburbia?
Here are some rules that are NEVER enforced but constantly broken by car and SUV drivers:
Right on red after stop - Drivers never come to a complete stop before the crosswalk before making the red. They either roll right through or stop in the middle of the crosswalk.
Stop sign: Drivers never come to a complete stop unless there is a car coming, and even then they stop in the crosswalk, not at the line before the crosswalk, so pedestrians have to cross into traffic to cross.
Yield to Pedestrians - Never unless you through yourself in front of them
No Double parking - Ive never seen someone waiting in a car, double parked, blocking bike lanes, ticketed by a cop. At best they will be told to move along. Ohhh, they learned there lesson pork chop.
I could go on and one.
Boston has become such a pedestrian unfriendly city as cities across the country that werent built for people (but were for cars) are trying to be what Boston once was, pedestrian oriented. Much of this has to do with our terrible mayor, who lives closer to Dedham than Downtown Boston, and it shows. The sidewalks along the Rose Kennedy Moat get so tiny at parts two people cant even walk side by side. They even disappear totally to for valet parking at parts. Throughout Boston the cross times are very short, many downtown start the countdown at 5 or 10, while in Cambridge they start at 45.
Anyone but Menino in 2009!
The intersection they featured...
I was amused when I saw they had a pic and started the article about the intersection at Comm at BU Bridge. I live nearby and cross that intersection daily. Once the BU students arrive each fall, I am amazed at their child like behavior when crossing the street. About a week ago, a kid brazenly stepped in front of my car, against the signal, giving me a split second to stop. I was so upset, I mean I nearly crushed this kid. I was not going fast either, but had I been or been distracted, this kid would be dead. I honked at him, and he waved at me. I was going to contact BU to see if they could do something.
Well, days later, I noticed that there are now two police officers directing traffic and cars here. It made me think someone did some complaining or someone got hurt. Anyway, now the children have thier crossing guards.
Were you making a right turn
Were you making a right turn from the BU bridge (coming from cabridge) onto comm ave (outbound)? Because you may notice that the turn lane is independent of the traffic signal, and is a standard unsignalized crosswalk, meaning pedestrians always have the right of way. Ive seen many cars honking at pedestrians. They feel that because there's no stop sign, they have the right of way.
No, driving across comm ave
No, driving across comm ave from mountfort, to get onto storrow. Lights quite clear.
Then you're in the wrong, as
Then you're in the wrong, as the entrance to storrow drive is not signalized. There is a marked crosswalk, so pedestrians have the right of way, and a stop sign for traffic coming out of storrow. Even though you may have had a green light from mountfort, that green light has nothing to do with the entrance onto university drive.
UNLESS you mean the pedestrian was crossing on the mountfort side, but very few BU students (or pedestrians in general) actually cross there.
What planet are you on?
There is a traffic signal at that corner, I had a green light, traffic is flowing in that direction and a pedestrian steps into flowing traffic, giving me seconds to avoid running him over, and you think I was wrong. Sorry but your attitude is so wrong, so bone headed you should have been featured in paragraph one as an example of what is wrong with this situation.
You can't as a pedestrian walk against the lights into flowing traffic and think you are entitled to such selfish behavior. I could have killed the person or been rear ended by the car behind me. The pedestrian has a responsibilty too you know. Jesus.
As I said, the children now have a crossing guard.
Im from the planet in which
Im from the planet in which Ive crossed that intersection dozens of times on foot. There is no signal.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&g...
Do you see a signal?
I DO see a sign warning cars of a crosswalk (bright yellow). I DO see a line indicating there is a stop sign (for vehicles coming from storrow).
Do you not understand how crosswalks without signals work? It means CARS HAVE TO STOP, regardless of what the signal down the road told you to do. Ever seen a crosswalk mid block? Do you get upset there as well?
You should also note that on that corner is a HIGH SCHOOL, making that a school zone. You should be driving slow enough that you can stop if a squirrel darts in front of your car. Perhaps the high school hired a crossing guard because people like you dont understand how crosswalks without a signal work.
There *is* a signal at
There *is* a signal at Mountfort St and Comm Ave, which is where the original poster said he was. I walk across on Comm Ave across Mountfort quite often as a pedestrian, and I often see college-age people crossing with me, or in the opposite direction. I assume that's what the poster was referring to.
No, anon is referring to the
No, anon is referring to the entrance to storrow drive (university road), not the crosswalk at the end of mountfort. On that side of the street, he'd be 100% correct, as there is a crosswalk with a signal.
There is a traffic signal.
When you are driving from Mountfort towards Storrow, there is a traffic light that goes green (which means cars go!) and red which means cars stop.
There is very heavy pedestrian and auto traffic here, esp in the morning. If pedestrians continued walking whenever they damn pleased, ignoring the traffic signals then the cars would never get across Comm Ave. When cars are given the green light, pedestrians should wait, when cars are given the red light they can go. This is not a new concept. You keep saying there is no signal, but there is a signal. There just isn't an accompanying pedestrian walk/don't walk sign. Perhaps they should install one, but even so, there is still a traffic signal at that corner. I don't understand why you don't see it. Just because there is no sign blaring DONT WALK doesn't mean you act like a damn fool and walk into car traffic which is being given a green to go.
They have crossing guards because the college ages children, like you, do not understand that they should not walk into oncoming traffic. They don't even look to see what is going on, they jsut keep walking. You think stepping in front of moving cars is smart and legal? Don't be insane. Stand on the corner and wait your turn. Jesus...
Did you not click the
Did you not click the streetview? Do you not see that there is NO SIGNAL? There is a STOP sign for traffic going one way and a YIELD TO PEDESTRIAN signs for traffic going the other way. There is NOTHING to indicate to the pedestrian that they have to, or should stop. It's a crosswalk without a traffic signal, they have 100% of the right of way.
Cars get a signal at the end of mountfort street, this allows them to cross come ave and ONLY to cross comm ave. This does NOT allow them to turn left and continue crossing the BU bridge (as there is another signal displaying red). This does NOT allow them to turn left then right ONTO the BU bridge as there is another signal displaying red.
I'm sure you understand this concept, so I don't understand why you can't make the connection to university drive.
This does NOT allow you to angle left then enter right onto storrow drive as there is a CROSSWALK that's 100% independent of the signal you proceeded through, in the exact same way that the BU bridge signal is independent.
What part of this concept do you not understand? Yes, it is a confusing intersection, but do you not understand how a mid-block crosswalk is independent of the signal earlier in the street?
And thank you for calling me a "children", knowing nothing about me. That's nice and civil of you. It conveniently ignores the fact that the high SCHOOL (full of actual children) is in that corner and that those students cross there every day to get to class, some of which is held at BU.
"If pedestrians continued walking whenever they damn pleased, ignoring the traffic signals then the cars would never get across Comm Ave."
So what, we should ban pedestrians? They should wait for mountfort traffic to stop, and then wait again because now comm ave has green and cars turning right want to use that road (they have a right turn arrow)? And then they should keep waiting because cars exiting storrow drive want to move, and heavens forbid traffc gets backed up to the storrow drive proper?
In what scenario in your mind can a pedestrian cross without being in conflict to one of the 4 traffic patterns found at university drive?
"do not understand that they should not walk into oncoming traffic."
If they did not enforce their right to cross, then they would stand forever, never being able to cross.
You know how the crosswalk rule works right? To get the right of way the pedestrian has to step into the crosswalk. How do you propose said pedestrian do so without stepping into oncoming traffic?
I think you are wrong.
Mass Gen Law says that only in the absence of traffic signals do pedestrians have the right of way. There is a traffic signal here telling cars to go.
All I can say, is keep walking in front of moving traffic. It'll be a real shame if you get run over.
Different intersection
You do realize that you're talking about a different intersection than the other people here, yes?
Mountfort Street is on the Brookline side of the intersection that crosses Commonwealth and goes over the BU Bridge. There are pedestrian signals all over that intersection. There is, however, no high school.
Meanwhile, you're describing Commonwealth and University Road, a block east of the intersection that everyone else is discussing. This may explain your confusion.
J is the worst type of
J is the worst type of pedestrian.
Do you even lookup or do you see that yellow sign, put your head down and go?
Get a clue. It's a world of give and take. Try and go with the flow for once in your life instead of turning every trip down the block into an opportunity to create a traffic jam. You are the other side of the coin that is Masshole drivers.
Technically true these days
However, the only reason that it's an "unsignaled" crossing is because the city has NEVER gone back to put the signal back up! There used to be a green light for traffic that matched the light for crossing Comm Ave from the BU Bridge into Brookline. The stalk is still there, actually, but something took it out and the city never restored it.
Fortunately, most pedestrians are either still aware of this or just willing to hold up when they see a green light for the rest of that traffic. The bridge could really get mucked up pretty badly in the right lane if cars were regulated by the pedestrians in the turn lane there because there's only room for about 3 cars to turn before you're back in the main lane again.
Did the vehicle light have a
Did the vehicle light have a pedestrian light as well? If it didn't, maybe it was removed because of that? I honestly never noticed a stub. Any memory of when the light disappeared?
I think most pedestrians stop out of concern to their personal safety then because of considerations to bridge traffic - cars travel over the bridge very quickly.
Hopefully that turn lane gets signalized or properly signed (stop for pedestrians) when the bridge work is done. Theres also no adequate wheelchair ramp at that location, but perhaps DCR will claim that's MTA's job.... In the meantime, the reduction to two lanes for the entire bridge should slow cars down (scheduled for this fall, but knowing this government, real work wont start until April).
Reduction to 3 lanes not 2
At the intersection we're discussing, it'll still be 2 lanes crossing Comm Ave. Halfway across the bridge, the middle lane will flip to give 2 lanes to cars entering Cambridge.
I know, I was referring to
I know, I was referring to the 2 year construction period, where itll be 2 lanes total.
There should be a signal...
But people also shouldn't act like morons. I mean, if I'm driving and see someone jay walking, do I have the right to run them down because there is no signal telling me to stop? Of course not. Likewise if I am a pedestrian and I approach a corner with no pedestrian signal, and yet traffic is flowing, do I have the right to step into flowing traffic? Um no! This is child like behavior.
I always like to say:
I trust the laws of physics over the laws of Massachusetts. There are lots of places where you can see when it's safe to cross, jaywalking as a pedestrian, but if you attempted to wait for a crossing light, the chance that you'd get beaned by someone turning on red or running the light is very high. I recently watched as a guy made an illegal left turn nearly hitting me, while a cop watched and did nothing from his car directly behind him.
Of course, as a driver as well, I hate hate hate the clueless wanderers roaming the streets on the phone, from their cars, etc. Paying attention is not made less necessary by the fact of laws.
If the laws of Massachusetts were ENFORCED...
...people would have a better idea of what they are.
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WIN
It's really that simple. Welcome to Massachusetts, where laws are mere suggestions.
I read that article. I love how somebody who drives 80 in a 65 has to forfeit their money, but somebody who walks into oncoming traffic when it's not their turn does not. What a weird place to live this is.
I've never known a ped to have been struck by a traffic signal
I have never heard of a pedestrian being struck by a traffic signal. Pedestrians are struck by vehicles all the time.
That is why I watch the vehicles like a hawk and treat the traffic signals as merely advisory. When crossing against the rules, I always scamper. If I impede traffic while breaking the rules, my bad.
Both sets need to be more aware of the other
When I'm walking and have a walk signal, I look to see whether cars might have a green that allows them to turn into my path, or whether someone might be turning right on red. If I have a walk signal, I'm not at fault when someone hits me, but I'm still hit, which isn't something I want. As people say in the insurance business, "the right of way isn't something you have; it's something you yield."
If I'm driving and see pedestrians in the road while scanning, I look to see if they're in a crosswalk and if they have a walk signal. If they have a walk signal and I'm wanting to turn across it, I yield the right of way as the law and common courtesy dictate. If I'm wanting to turn across a crosswalk with a solid red hand, I'm going to do so regardless of whether it cuts off a pedestrian (I'm obviously not going to hit or come close to hitting someone; having the legal right do so something doesn't ethically permit me to be irresponsible).
It's exactly the same as if I'm walking or driving and a car is blowing through a red light; yes, I'm going to get my ass out of the way because I'd rather not be in an accident that's ANYONE'S fault, but I'm going to honk and give them a "wtf are you thinking?!" look. I'm not going to smile and wave them through, and I'm not about to do the same with pedestrians who are breaking the law.
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http://1smootshort.blogspot.com
It's obvious that "J" is the
It's obvious that "J" is the opposite of what you described in the first paragraph.
I was once hit by a taxi
in front of South Station. (I'm visually impaired.) I was alone,crossing with the light, when a speeding taxi (~40-50mph) blew the red light, hit me, stopped. I bounced off the hood and onto the middle of Atlantic Ave. I'm face-down on the pavement, stunned, bleeding severely from facial scrapes. People were STEPPING OVER MY BODY to make it through the intersection without getting hit themselves. Taxi driver looks over at the 2 Big Dig detail cops looking at me while drinking their coffee, without moving, shrugs and drives away. I was finally helped to the curb by a visiting New Yorker. Never did get to talk to those cops; they walked in the other direction and I was too stunned to chase them. You don't like that roads are where the cows grazed? Tough, deal with it. My scars are a daily reminder. (Thank God I had insurance.)
Jesus
That's amazingly awful.
Interesting...
...that the only person to help was a New Yorker.
ironically
as the woman helped me to the sidewalk, (over towards the "Lollipop Bldg")she withdrew an antiseptic wipe from her purse, (like a sealed Wash'nDri packet), and handed it to me. I commented that "I'm really lucky a nurse was around" when this happened. She answered, "oh, I'm not a nurse. I'm from Manhattan; this happens all the time there!"
Which is it that happens all the time?
Pedestrians getting thumped by cars?
Or fallen pedestrians being walked over by their fellow pedestrians?
Disclaimer -- The one time I fell flat on my face crossing a street here in Boston (near Government Center), some people _did_ check to see if I was okay.(I was).
cars, peds, everyone
I'll cast my vote with the lot claiming that drivers and pedestrians are equally at fault for the sometimes amazing failure to follow basic rules. I'm not talking about sneaking through the intersection as yellow turns red, or sneaking across the street just as the light turns green.
Especially around Downtown Crossing (the part with cars), the brazenness of some people (mostly younger folks) walking right in front of moving cars that have a right of way and basically daring them not to stop is a sight to see.
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I can't find it right now, but I'm pretty sure I related a story about just this occurrence that happened to me and a friend of mine driving down Comm Ave between Washington and Chestnut Hill Ave and two girls walked out in front of us on our green light. One of them even STOPPED square in the middle of our lane as we were hitting the brakes and stared at my friend behind the wheel and threw up her hand and said "Stop!" like she was a damn traffic cop or something. She then took her time to lazily join her friend who had scooted out of the road when she saw us coming. They were laughing the whole way while we were hitting the horn and flipping them off.
Just a matter of time before we read about her weeding herself out of the gene pool, I'm sure.
Must have have been "J's"
Must have have been "J's" offspring...