Tag: pedestrians

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Watch for all Kinds of Pedestrians

Q: When people walk along roadways, they should wear bright clothes and carry lights at night. Today black seems to be the dominant color, and that is plain dumb and dangerous. Also, people should walk facing traffic, so why do I often see pedestrians walking on the wrong side of the street?

A: You’re mostly not wrong, but you’re not exactly right either. As I write this, I’m sitting in a café. I took a look around, and every person here is wearing either dark or subdued colors. It’s Washington. That’s how we dress. Soon many of us in this café are going to become pedestrians, maybe crossing the street to our cars, or walking home. Meanwhile, on the road right outside the café, a cycling group just rode by, all wearing neon yellow or other bright colored jerseys.

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Running In The Road May Be Hazardous To Your Health

Q: What are the rules regarding pedestrians walking on the roadway when there is an obstruction-free sidewalk available? Runners and joggers tend to prefer using the asphalt over the concrete sidewalks available on just about every street in my neighborhood. I have heard that some runners claim asphalt is more forgiving on their joints but I believe that is unsupported by any data that I could find.

A: I’m no running expert, so I took a look at a few studies to see if there was any validity to the claim that running on asphalt is better for your joints than running on concrete. The studies were inconclusive so I sought out the input of experienced runners. Advice ranged from “Concrete should be avoided like the plague, to “The thickness of your socks has a greater cushioning effect than the difference in hardness between concrete and asphalt.” Again inconclusive. But from the perspective of traffic safety, here’s my take: Any perceived benefit from running on a slightly more forgiving surface is offset if that surface is shared by multi-ton vehicles that you can’t outrun. Yes, athletes have reason to be concerned about training injuries, but your most likely injury while running in the roadway is probably getting hit by a car.

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What The HAWK?

Q: I was driving on Alabama Street when the flashing red light on the HAWK signal had turned off and the pedestrian had completed crossing the road. Cars coming from the other direction remained stopped. I continued through the crossing because a car on my left obscured my vision of a pedestrian waiting at the crossing. Are drivers obliged to stop or can they proceed through until the light for the pedestrian activates and the red light for cars comes on? Did I act illegally?

A: Back in the day when laws were printed on paper and bound in books (they probably still are but I rely on the internet version) the thickest title in the legal code was the part about motor vehicles and traffic. If I were forced to summarize that entire part of the law in two words, it would have to be, “Don’t crash.” That’s the motivation for nearly every law in Title 46. Speed limits, intersection controls, signs, vehicle equipment and lighting, impaired driving, licensing, bike and pedestrian rules; they all work together to create a shared system that road users hopefully understand and observe so that we can prevent crashes. There are a few laws, like car pool rules, that are more about efficiency than safety, but they make up a tiny slice of the giant pie of traffic laws.

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Does a Fancy Car Make You a Jerk?

There are a lot of jokes about BMW drivers, and most of them depend on the premise that if you’re rich enough to drive a BMW, your wealth somehow entitles you to a greater portion of the road or less responsibility in how you use it. For example, if you ever feel like your job is meaningless, just think about the workers in Munich who install turn signals in BMWs. Or, if light travels faster than sound, why can I hear the horn of the BMW behind me before the light turns green?

Of course, if you drive a BMW, feel free to substitute the name of another premium automotive brand. The point isn’t about BMWs; it’s the stereotype that drivers of expensive cars are more likely to, well, be jerks on the road. And while in the past that may have been a presumption, a study recently confirmed it.

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Yielding at an Alley

Q: I know you’re supposed to yield to pedestrians crossing the street at an intersection, but does an alley count as an intersection?

A: An alley does not count as an intersection, but I don’t think that gets to the heart of your question. If I can take the liberty to interpret what you’re asking, I’d guess that what we’re getting at is, “Who yields to who (or is it whom?) where an alley meets a street?” And yes, it’s whom. I just checked.

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Cars vs. SUVs vs. Pedestrians

A few weeks ago I pointed out that overall traffic fatalities both in our state and nationally declined last year, but at the same time pedestrian and cyclist fatalities have increased. In Washington we’ve had an increase in pedestrian and cyclist-involved crashes, but even more concerning is that pedestrians are dying at a higher rate. In case you missed the previous column, here’s a quick refresher on the data: In 2013 we had 3118 crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists, resulting in 63 fatalities. Last year we had 3718 pedestrian/cyclist-involved crashes, resulting in 120 fatalities. That’s a 19 percent increase in crashes, but a 90 percent increase in fatalities.

I don’t have a good answer for why vehicle/pedestrian crashes have increased, but as I mentioned previously, there is some evidence for why the fatality rate has shot up. And right now I’m about to alienate about 43 percent of my audience. A big reason for the increase in pedestrian fatalities can be blamed on SUVs and pickups. Don’t take this personally; I’m not accusing owners of SUVs and pickups (or what the industry calls light trucks) of being worse drivers. Crash rates for SUVs and cars are about the same. The problem lies in what happens to a pedestrian in a crash.

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Trucker Bling or Safety Concern?

Q: I’ve seen quite a few semi trucks with metal spikes sticking off their lug nuts. That seems incredibly dangerous. I’ve seen it so often that I’m assuming it must be legal. But how could it be?

A: I could probably write an entire column that consists exclusively of bullet listing all the equipment violations commonly seen on the road. I recall a deputy telling me that he once had to essentially quit noticing all the equipment violations of cars that he was sharing the road with, because he would have never made it home from work if he kept making traffic stops.

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The Rudest Insult in Traffic

Q: What exactly is jaywalking? Is it just crossing the street where there isn’t a sidewalk?

A: A little over one hundred years ago, the New York Times decried the use of term jaywalker as, “highly opprobrious” and “a truly shocking name.” I had to look up opprobrious, and if your vocabulary doesn’t include that word either, here are some synonyms: derogatory, insulting and scandalous. Who knew calling someone a jaywalker could be so offensive? Back in 1910, calling someone a jay was essentially saying they were a hillbilly that didn’t belong in the city. It was a semi-vulgar classist insult. But how did it become associated with traffic?

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Free Right on a Red Light Isn’t Really Free

Q: In other states in which I have lived, cars are required to come to a complete stop before turning right on a red light. However, here so many cars do not stop; I was wondering if the law is different here. I did a very unscientific survey at an intersection I regularly crossed and found about half of the cars did not stop. Police did better, with only one-third that didn’t. One group I must compliment is city buses; I never saw one not stop. The one semi that I saw at the intersection did not stop.

A: Most drivers are probably familiar with the expression, ‘free right on red.’ However, if you were to ask a room full of economists, I’m pretty sure they’ll tell you that nothing is free. I’ll get to one of the costs of the ‘free’ right on red in a moment, but first let’s review the law. Continue reading “Free Right on a Red Light Isn’t Really Free”