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Because if cars are being driven at a speed where they are actually useful, then basic physics dictates that it is not safe to mix cars and pedestrians. The car
by pavon 6y ago
Because if cars are being driven at a speed where they are actually useful, then basic physics dictates that it is not safe to mix cars and pedestrians. The car can only stop so quickly, and you must also factor in that both the pedestrians and drivers are humans and will make mistakes in gauging distance, speed, visibility, and will not always have ideal response times. The legal "right of way" cannot ignore reality. To avoid deaths it is far better to designate areas where cars have right of way and where pedestrians have right of way and clearly mark them.
I agree that the US infrastructure doesn't do enough to support pedestrian and bicycle transport. Expecting people cross only at intersections that are a half-mile apart is unrealistic. Expecting people to cross at a cross-walk that is 5 yards away is not. Crossing just beyond an intersection is the most dangerous possible place to cross due to inherently poor visibility, and all the competing demands for attention that drivers and pedestrians encounter around an intersection. This isn't a matter of rights or relative importance, its a matter of physics and human ability.
Wishing away all the cars is not practical solution, which is what your post essentially amounts to.
- JJzD 6y agoThis is exactly the problem wit the car culture, almost everywhere outside the netherlands. You give cars so much space, they start behaving like it's the freeway, and then drive into buildings or do other stuff which kills drivers and other users. Of course they are speeding, and they shouldn't do that. But the netherlands thinks ahead, and tries not to give cars the opportunity to speed. So, we make a lot of obstacles and opposing traffic. Somehow drivers still do not like to kill people, slow down, and save themselves in the process. Look at this video's and others from this channel, to see how the netherlands builds infrastructure being more forgiving of mistakes, and find out how our cities turn out more livable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_0DgnJ1uQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_0DgnJ1uQ (Yes, i'm aware the suburban culture is different, hence the relation with cars)
- recursive 6y agoIt's not a law of physics that dictates that you must be allowed to operate cars at a speed that you feel is actually useful. There are plenty of things that could be useful, yet aren't in the context of civilized society. For instance, shotguns are useful for killing squirrels. That alone doesn't grant someone the right to use them that way at any place or time. "Wishing" people into crosswalks is also not a practical solution.