Comments on: Pedestrian Hit By Car on Ponce This Morning

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:09:31 +0000

Your comment reminds me of a recent Slate article called "In Defense of Jaywalking." I agree that pedestrian stupidity is frustrating and can get messy (I'm sure your experience was highly disturbing). Yet, the article points to some interesting statistics that suggest that illegal pedestrian problems aren't nearly as bad as they seem. The author notes that drivers violate a pedestrian's right-of-way more often than the opposite, and that the numbers are probably somewhat distorted because the pedestrian often isn't around to tell his/her side of the story. Check it out; I found the numbers to be quite eye-opening. Incidentally, this article is also the first place I read about the "leading pedestrian interval," a walk signal setup that gives pedestrians a head start so they're more easily visible to turning drivers. It seems like the Ponce-Ponce Place intersection would be a perfect spot for such a setup.

By: Decatur Metro

Decatur Metro — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:00:17 +0000

Sorry, I’m going to keep making this argument.

Both car drivers and pedestrians are only human. Therefore no one should be shocked that sometimes either/or don’t follow the rules.

HOWEVER, I’m still pretty convinced that the extra responsibility to be safe when it comes to cars/bikes/peds goes to whomever can do the most harm, not to whomever annoys you most. That means it’s always a driver’s responsibility to be the MOST law abiding. And in my firsthand experience that isn’t true at ALL. Therefore in my opinion, concerns about peds crossing illegally are secondary to the irresponsible motorist.

By: Nelliebelle1197

Nelliebelle1197 — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 14:04:06 +0000

I think at the same time we need get serious about pedestrians in the middle of the road, walking parallel to perfectly good sidewalks and crossing in the middle of the street? That’s just as illegal and even more likely to cause an horrible bloody harm. I have seen an awful illegally crossing pedestrian vs. legally turning SUV collision, and let me tell you, it’s horrible.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:57:06 +0000

Brent, you haven’t been watching enough. Decatur Police regularly ticket crosswalk violators and even occasionally run “stings”. I can assure you the the police take pedestrians seriously in Decatur and organizations like PEDS have recognized that.

By: Brent

Brent — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:54:06 +0000

When are we going to get serious about the crosswalks. We claim to be a pedestrian focused neighborhood. As I walk around Decatur I constantly see cars running through the crosswalks while pedestrians are crossing. I have never seen a police officer watching these crosswalks or ticketing a car for not yielding to pedestrians. I believe it is Boston that fines a driver $500 for entering a crosswalk while a pedestrian is attempting to cross. There are even signs posted alerting drivers of the seriousness of the fine.

This will continue until our law enforcement takes this serious.