I am not to quick to blame the driver for being "hyper aggressive." It was dark, and it was not a straight shot for the street. The driver stopped after the collision. I feel really bad for the runner, of course, but trust me, we don't always run in the safest manner. Yes, I wear reflective gear after dark, but I will try as best as possible to avoid stopping when crossing the street, which is not the safest thing.
I need to pay attention when I cross the street, lest I end up on the pages of the Universal Hub as more than a commenter.
At the end of the day, you cannot make any mode of transport, even by foot, completely safe. Yes, we all need to pay more attention, but I refuse to accept that (and I am not saying that this is the situation in this particular case, just being theoretical) a runner, wearing dark clothing at night while wearing headphones, should think it a wise move to cross a street without looking first. There is no level of infrastructure, other than grade separation, that can help that.
We all know that the party line is that anyone operating a motor vehicle must be universally aware of the exact position and momentum of every pedestrian and cyclist within a one-mile radius at all times, both present and future, in order to not be considered a menace to society. We also know that pedestrians and cyclists, especially the erratic and unpredictable ones, are never to blame for anything, ever.
But this is a situation where I can relate to both the driver and the injured runner.
Just tonight, about an hour ago, I almost went into the hood- the front, not the side, of a car turning after stopping at a stop sign. To be clear, I was running straight at the driver. Why? Because I didn't want to go as far as the crosswalk, my thought being that if I went the extra 20 feet, I would have either had to make a different car stop or stop myself, and the goal is motion. To make this boring story longer, I swerved left, as did the car (that was making a left turn.) No harm, no foul.
If the driver didn't stop in this case, I'd think the worst of them, but they did stop, so they get the benefit of the doubt.
I have to agree. Our drivers are really aggressive and that means there's less of a margin for stupidity/mistakes, whether they are on the driver's or the pedestrian's part. I've seen too many people riding without lights at night on completely dark streets, pedestrians wearing all black and crossing in 40mph zones like they not don't care ("it's a crosswalk, they'll stop!" - right, if they see you, maybe). I've had close encounters with ninja cyclists and ninja pedestrians while biking on trails after dark. Remember this, you may in the right, but the 3-ton metal cage always wins. Reflectors and/or lights and paying attention might just save your life!
I run through there sometimes (though not at midnight) and the crosswalks are kind of weird- you have to go quite a bit out of the way to cross on the crosswalks if you are just going through straight on Chestnut Hill Ave.
Although, my bigger complaint is with the intersection of Leo M Birmingham (Market St)/ Arsenal St/ Western Ave/ Soldiers Field Road. Holy pedestrian nightmare- no crosswalks, no crossing lights, and a person coming from Brighton Center has to cross 5 lanes of traffic to get to the Esplanade paths.
I've had several instances lately where people were walking or jogging in the road in dark clothes with nothing reflective, in areas where street lights were far enough apart that there were areas of deep shadow and they were virtually invisible. Even very careful drivers who obey all speed and traffic laws find it difficult to avoid invisible moving objects especially when they dart across the road unexpectedly.
Take a look at that WELL LIT interesection with CROSS WALKS.
Maybe if you slowed down you wouldn't have trouble seeing even dark objects. It it your responsibility to drive safely in areas with CROSSWALKS and BIKE LANES and SIDEWALKS and all of that.
Why is it that so few cycling shoes have any reflective material? Many running shoes on the market have reflective trim, but virtually no cycling shoes. Given the federal requirement that non-clip pedals have reflectors, they need to be mandatory on cycling shoes, outer side and back faces. These moving reflectors like those on wheels are the most effective kind, like foot, ankle, knee, elbow, and wrist for runners.
As a driver through that intersection and frequent pedestrian too, I always have concerns with it because it is so poorly designed for concurrent use.
The way in which the asphalt allows for drivers to effortlessly glide from northbound Chestnut Hill Ave onto Winship St encourages a lot of bad driver moves:
1) not looking over shoulder for bikes in the bike lane
2) not slowing down to transition from one road to the other
3) not using a signal to take the right fork
4) seeing the traffic light status early at Winship/Union and attempting to "beat the light" if it's not red
On top of bad driver moves, there are obvious pedestrian problems with that intersection too:
1) no marked crosswalk and no obvious location along the Winship sidewalk as to where pedestrians will choose to cross to the traffic island
2) a bus stop on the Jackson Square island requiring pedestrians to reach it
All of this can lead to chaos through that intersection at times. I think we're probably lucky that this is the first really bad collision there in quite a while.
Stop talking about the drivers being "aggressive." You're too quick to assume. I live right next to where the accident happened. It was dark. The jogger wasn't crossing at a crosswalk. The car wasn't speeding. He stopped. I feel bad for the victim, of course, but I feel bad for the driver, too.
Comments
I've noticed an uptick in road
insanity lately. Many people are behaving more hyper aggressive than usual.
Speaking as a runner
I am not to quick to blame the driver for being "hyper aggressive." It was dark, and it was not a straight shot for the street. The driver stopped after the collision. I feel really bad for the runner, of course, but trust me, we don't always run in the safest manner. Yes, I wear reflective gear after dark, but I will try as best as possible to avoid stopping when crossing the street, which is not the safest thing.
Fix the intersection, not the runner
This is more evidence that drivers have to be controlled by the infrastructure so that they don't speed and have to pay attention.
Um, no
I need to pay attention when I cross the street, lest I end up on the pages of the Universal Hub as more than a commenter.
At the end of the day, you cannot make any mode of transport, even by foot, completely safe. Yes, we all need to pay more attention, but I refuse to accept that (and I am not saying that this is the situation in this particular case, just being theoretical) a runner, wearing dark clothing at night while wearing headphones, should think it a wise move to cross a street without looking first. There is no level of infrastructure, other than grade separation, that can help that.
You must be new here
We all know that the party line is that anyone operating a motor vehicle must be universally aware of the exact position and momentum of every pedestrian and cyclist within a one-mile radius at all times, both present and future, in order to not be considered a menace to society. We also know that pedestrians and cyclists, especially the erratic and unpredictable ones, are never to blame for anything, ever.
Yeah, I know
But this is a situation where I can relate to both the driver and the injured runner.
Just tonight, about an hour ago, I almost went into the hood- the front, not the side, of a car turning after stopping at a stop sign. To be clear, I was running straight at the driver. Why? Because I didn't want to go as far as the crosswalk, my thought being that if I went the extra 20 feet, I would have either had to make a different car stop or stop myself, and the goal is motion. To make this boring story longer, I swerved left, as did the car (that was making a left turn.) No harm, no foul.
If the driver didn't stop in this case, I'd think the worst of them, but they did stop, so they get the benefit of the doubt.
I have to agree. Our drivers
I have to agree. Our drivers are really aggressive and that means there's less of a margin for stupidity/mistakes, whether they are on the driver's or the pedestrian's part. I've seen too many people riding without lights at night on completely dark streets, pedestrians wearing all black and crossing in 40mph zones like they not don't care ("it's a crosswalk, they'll stop!" - right, if they see you, maybe). I've had close encounters with ninja cyclists and ninja pedestrians while biking on trails after dark. Remember this, you may in the right, but the 3-ton metal cage always wins. Reflectors and/or lights and paying attention might just save your life!
dupe
Computer issues. I did write it different the second time, but I'm going with my first comment.
No, you haven't.https://en
No, you haven't.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias
That's a weird intersection for pedestrians
I run through there sometimes (though not at midnight) and the crosswalks are kind of weird- you have to go quite a bit out of the way to cross on the crosswalks if you are just going through straight on Chestnut Hill Ave.
Although, my bigger complaint is with the intersection of Leo M Birmingham (Market St)/ Arsenal St/ Western Ave/ Soldiers Field Road. Holy pedestrian nightmare- no crosswalks, no crossing lights, and a person coming from Brighton Center has to cross 5 lanes of traffic to get to the Esplanade paths.
Was the jogger wearing light colors or reflective gear?
I've had several instances lately where people were walking or jogging in the road in dark clothes with nothing reflective, in areas where street lights were far enough apart that there were areas of deep shadow and they were virtually invisible. Even very careful drivers who obey all speed and traffic laws find it difficult to avoid invisible moving objects especially when they dart across the road unexpectedly.
Yawn
Take a look at that WELL LIT interesection with CROSS WALKS.
Maybe if you slowed down you wouldn't have trouble seeing even dark objects. It it your responsibility to drive safely in areas with CROSSWALKS and BIKE LANES and SIDEWALKS and all of that.
Reflective runner footwear more likely than for cyclists
Why is it that so few cycling shoes have any reflective material? Many running shoes on the market have reflective trim, but virtually no cycling shoes. Given the federal requirement that non-clip pedals have reflectors, they need to be mandatory on cycling shoes, outer side and back faces. These moving reflectors like those on wheels are the most effective kind, like foot, ankle, knee, elbow, and wrist for runners.
Got a new login, MarKKK?
n/t
Bad intersection
As a driver through that intersection and frequent pedestrian too, I always have concerns with it because it is so poorly designed for concurrent use.
The way in which the asphalt allows for drivers to effortlessly glide from northbound Chestnut Hill Ave onto Winship St encourages a lot of bad driver moves:
1) not looking over shoulder for bikes in the bike lane
2) not slowing down to transition from one road to the other
3) not using a signal to take the right fork
4) seeing the traffic light status early at Winship/Union and attempting to "beat the light" if it's not red
On top of bad driver moves, there are obvious pedestrian problems with that intersection too:
1) no marked crosswalk and no obvious location along the Winship sidewalk as to where pedestrians will choose to cross to the traffic island
2) a bus stop on the Jackson Square island requiring pedestrians to reach it
All of this can lead to chaos through that intersection at times. I think we're probably lucky that this is the first really bad collision there in quite a while.
Stop talking about the
Stop talking about the drivers being "aggressive." You're too quick to assume. I live right next to where the accident happened. It was dark. The jogger wasn't crossing at a crosswalk. The car wasn't speeding. He stopped. I feel bad for the victim, of course, but I feel bad for the driver, too.