4 ms·

I'm going to guess a lot of these accidents are during a turn right on a red or an unprotected left turn? In a very crowded city they are very difficult to make

by pkaye 9y ago

I'm going to guess a lot of these accidents are during a turn right on a red or an unprotected left turn? In a very crowded city they are very difficult to make with constant pedestrian traffic. And then my own experience in Berkeley and SF is that pedestrians tend to be impatient and cross on a red at all the minor intersections. One of the reasons I just avoid driving in such crowded places.

hangonhn 9y ago
Wow. That's a good guess because that's pretty much what happened to me. Someone hit me turning right while I was in a crosswalk. Because drivers are so car centric, all she did was check that there were no cars coming from her left and immediately started her right turn even though I was in the crossroad already. She had a yield, which she failed to do. (They later made that an actual stop sign. Probably because too many pedestrians were getting hit?) Know what the craziest part of the experience? The car wasn't even moving that fast but because cars had so much mass there was an enormous transfer of energy that resulted in a "bumper fracture" for me and pushed me so hard that my foot ripped through the top sole of my running shoes. I've largely recovered but I've never been able to run as fast I used to. Up until day I was breaking various personal best times in running and had actually finished third in my age group in a local 10km race earlier that year. That was the peak of my running ability and it's been a struggle to get back to it ever since.
kd5bjo 9y ago
Unless the law has changed since I got my California license, pedestrians have the right of way at all crosswalks regardless of what the lights say. Also, every intersection has crosswalks at it, even if they haven't been painted on the street.
- JoeAltmaier 9y ago
  And unless its changed since I got mine, a car may not enter a crosswalk that has a pedestrian in it. Not often enforced, but I think its there to make it always the car's fault?
  - dsfyu404ed 9y ago
    Varies by jurisdiction. Requiring traffic in both directions to stop once a crossing pedestrian has left the lane and then aggressively enforcing it with fines is a great way to get the law changed.
  - ams6110 9y ago
    It varies. In a marked crosswalk I think you're generally correct, however if a pedestrian just jumps out to cross the road in front of a car it's likely going to be the pedestrian's fault. At some point pedestrians have to be a little bit responsible and respectful of the gross difference in mass between their bodies and even a small car.
- et-al 9y ago
  I grew up outside of California, so "right of way" is a foreign concept for me. I look both ways (and over my shoulder for any turning cars) to make sure the traffic is actively slowing down before I set foot onto the asphalt. You can't always trust the other person (or computer) to yield.
dsfyu404ed 9y ago
There's an orange "don't walk unless safe hand" at a crosswalk and a red light where a right can be taken when safe. Until there are no conflicting signals there are going to be problems because both parties use the same criteria (no cross traffic) to determine when it's safe to go.
Itaxpica 9y ago
Right-on-red is illegal in New York City, except at intersections where it's specifically marked as allowed (which are rare, and usually have turn lights or other features to make it safer). Unprotected left turn, though, yeah.

by pkaye 9y ago

hangonhn 9y ago

Wow. That's a good guess because that's pretty much what happened to me. Someone hit me turning right while I was in a crosswalk. Because drivers are so car centric, all she did was check that there were no cars coming from her left and immediately started her right turn even though I was in the crossroad already. She had a yield, which she failed to do. (They later made that an actual stop sign. Probably because too many pedestrians were getting hit?) Know what the craziest part of the experience? The car wasn't even moving that fast but because cars had so much mass there was an enormous transfer of energy that resulted in a "bumper fracture" for me and pushed me so hard that my foot ripped through the top sole of my running shoes. I've largely recovered but I've never been able to run as fast I used to. Up until day I was breaking various personal best times in running and had actually finished third in my age group in a local 10km race earlier that year. That was the peak of my running ability and it's been a struggle to get back to it ever since.

kd5bjo 9y ago

Unless the law has changed since I got my California license, pedestrians have the right of way at all crosswalks regardless of what the lights say. Also, every intersection has crosswalks at it, even if they haven't been painted on the street.

JoeAltmaier 9y ago
And unless its changed since I got mine, a car may not enter a crosswalk that has a pedestrian in it. Not often enforced, but I think its there to make it always the car's fault?
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  Varies by jurisdiction. Requiring traffic in both directions to stop once a crossing pedestrian has left the lane and then aggressively enforcing it with fines is a great way to get the law changed.
- ams6110 9y ago
  It varies. In a marked crosswalk I think you're generally correct, however if a pedestrian just jumps out to cross the road in front of a car it's likely going to be the pedestrian's fault. At some point pedestrians have to be a little bit responsible and respectful of the gross difference in mass between their bodies and even a small car.
et-al 9y ago
I grew up outside of California, so "right of way" is a foreign concept for me. I look both ways (and over my shoulder for any turning cars) to make sure the traffic is actively slowing down before I set foot onto the asphalt. You can't always trust the other person (or computer) to yield.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago

There's an orange "don't walk unless safe hand" at a crosswalk and a red light where a right can be taken when safe. Until there are no conflicting signals there are going to be problems because both parties use the same criteria (no cross traffic) to determine when it's safe to go.

Itaxpica 9y ago

Right-on-red is illegal in New York City, except at intersections where it's specifically marked as allowed (which are rare, and usually have turn lights or other features to make it safer). Unprotected left turn, though, yeah.