Fatal Hit-and-Run on North Decatur Overnight
Decatur Metro | November 11, 2009
I think the average speed along this stretch of North Decatur is around 50 mph.
From the AJC…
The eastbound car hit the woman, then turned around and drove west back down North Decatur, Gagnon said. The incident occurred near Landover Drive, in unincorporated DeKalb near Decatur.
The woman was pronounced dead on the scene, police said, and has not been identified, pending notification of her next of kin.
…There are no cross walks in the area, and Gagnon said the area was dark.
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Nor are there any sidewalks, so she was walking in the road.
I hope you’re not blaming someone for walking in the road if there are no sidewalks.
No, my comment was not blaming the victim. It was pointing out the reason for her being in the road in the first place.
I pray for her family and wait they are going thru, so sad!
Very sad and unacceptable. Most pedestrian fatalites are due to speeding, meaning drivers are unprepared to quickly respond to common urban “hazards.” According to a presentation I just saw, 75% of drivers in urban areas ignore posted speed limits. Turns out, drivers are inclined to read the road which typically means how fast feels right which on an arterial like N. Decatur is apparently around 50mph. To slow down traffic will mean slowing down N. Decatur. Typically done with medians, road diets, trees, etc. To view the presentation were I got this data go to http://www.naturewithin.info/Talks/GA_Dumbaugh_Urban%20Form.pdf
I have often had to “walk in the road” along numerous streets in Decatur/greater Decatur area, because of the lack of sidewalks. You can’t always walk on the berm either, because sometimes it is blocked off by shrubbery or street railings (think North Decatur Road going east from Clairemont). Sometimes there is a brief interlude of sidewalk on the OTHER side, but you can’t cross the street safely at that point due to lack of visibility of oncoming traffic or traffic is too heavy. Many sections of Scott Boulevard also have no sidewalk, but at lease have walkable berm. WHY such hit-and-miss sidewalk availability in “walkable Decatur”?????
Here’s a challenge for y’all that I just posted on the Oakhurst Yahoo group:
I’d like to issue a challenge to everyone on this board. For one week, pay close attention to your speedometer while you are driving around. Know the speed you are traveling, not just in Decatur, but everywhere. Pay attention to speed limit signs and acknowledge how often you speed. You don’t have to do it in this public forum and no one is grading you. I’m willing to bet, though, that you will be surprised at how often you speed. I’ll admit to having a very difficult time driving 35 mph on Memorial Drive and abiding by the speed limit on the interstate. Those speed limits are shockingly low in my opinion, while the speed limit of 35 mph on Oakview is shockingly high. Perspective, perhaps?
The following week, your challenge is to actually drive the speed limit
everywhere you go! Talk about difficult.
The difference between hitting a pedestrian at 35 mph and 25 mph is the
difference between life and death, so while you won’t likely get ticketed for going ten miles over the speed limit, you could potentially have to live with the consequences for the rest of your life. Is it worth it to get to your
destination 2 or 3 minutes early?
Safety starts with us, the residents. If we all agree to be “pace cars” then the folks cutting through town aren’t going to be able to speed.
I failed to mention how tragic this accident is and that my thoughts and prayers are with the family. If anything positive can come from such an untimely and unnecessary death, I can only hope it is a ground-swell movement toward safer streets.
This challenge is a good idea.
I’ve been doing that since I read a report about speed vs fatality. Basically the chances of killing someone with your car start around 20mph then go up exponentially. I’ve also been hospitalized by a speeding hit and run driver on North Decatur in 2004.
IMO there is no moral justification for ever exceeding 35 MPH in a non-exclusive roadway.
When driving my car, I stay below posted and recommended speed limits (which are marked 15mph on many parts of North Decatur!).
Don’t like it? Leave earlier.
I agree with you that we are often going faster than we realize. I think that’s why those “your speed” indicators are effective. I’d like to see more of those.
How bad is the problem of people speeding through that neighborhood as a cut through to Emory and the VA? I lived on Woodridge until a couple years ago and people would fly through there like it was some sort of speedway.
It’s not a cut-through… it’s the main approach to Emory from the east. Some incoming Emory employees drive like maniacs through here and every morning they inconsiderately block the red light at Webster Drive, forcing drivers taking a left onto Eastbound North Decatur to navigate an obstacle course to get turned. I’ve seen drivers (probably some VA employees or patients) pass at that intersection in the not-a-turn lane on the left and take an illegal right from it, cutting across two lanes of stopped traffic and almost hitting pedestrians in the crosswalk. To top it all off, probably 1% of drivers run the red light outright at Webster, from what I’ve seen.
There is a sidewalk on the North side of North Decatur Road where this accident happened, just not on the South side of the street.
I have seen one particular lady walking on North Decatur Road, in the street, right next to the sidewalk (on the north side of the street), and on the other side of the street, numerous times. Weirdly, she always walked with traffic in the street, not against it. I’m afraid this might be her that got hit; I regret never sticking my head out the window and telling her to get on the sidewalk.
Another factor: that night visibility was very low because of the storm… there was standing water everywhere here at that time.
I read in the AJC that the woman killed had 8 children and had visited a convenience store to buy food that night.
Just to clarify this location…apparently the lady was hit on N. Decatur Road near I-285, east of Ponce de Leon (where the softball fields used to be and the Citgo station where Shanon Melindy was abducted). This is shown in WSB and WAGA reports with reference to the Lantern Ridge development.
That information doesn’t change the horrific nature of the incident, but it should be clarified.