4 ms·

that "almost hit by car" anecdote is complete nonsense. There is plentiful jay-walking in Boston/Cambridge (just as there is in New York City, and has been rece

that "almost hit by car" anecdote is complete nonsense. There is plentiful jay-walking in Boston/Cambridge (just as there is in New York City, and has been recently legalized in California). To an outsider, perhaps it looks like people are dangerously walking into traffic? But how many MIT students actually get hit by cars? the number would be unusually high if the number of close calls were unusually high, but without looking up any statistics I can assure you it's something nobody ever thinks twice about. Also Mass Ave which tons of people cross is not the most highly trafficked street by MIT, that would be Memorial Drive, but hardly anybody even has a need to cross Memorial Drive so that part is also hinky.

FFP999 3y ago
Damn, you found me out. smoke bomb
plorkyeran 3y ago
The thing I learned very quickly while living in Boston is that no one will ever stop for you if you let them think they can keep going without running you over, but drivers do expect pedestrians to just walk into the street and are prepared for it. If you want to cross at a spot without a signal or stop sign, you have to act like you have no idea that there's any cars coming while still keeping an eye on them in case they genuinely didn't see you. The end result looks like a lot of people have death wishes, but the pedestrian injury rate isn't actually unusually high.
- insanitybit 3y ago
  Boston or Cambridge? Coming from NYC I was shocked at the fact that cars in Cambridge would constantly yield to me, even in situations where I really didn't expect it. Contrast to NYC where I do follow that exact process you're describing - act oblivious, make yourself look like you really will let them hit you, that way they won't. Although in NYC you gotta be real careful about that strategy...
  - FFP999 3y ago
    I'm talking here about Mass Ave directly adjacent to the bridge--so it's Cambridge but involving drivers coming out of Boston.
- FFP999 3y ago
  I actually use almost the complete opposite strategy, which is to make eye contact with the driver and stare them down. So far so good.
Tangurena2 3y ago
I went to Purdue. The joke among engineering students was that we used calculus to compute trajectories and to avoid "elastic" collisions with motor vehicles when crossing State Street (the main road through campus). And that the liberal arts students got to go to some secret class where they were taught how to do that without calculus. Back then, painted crosswalks would have been a waste of paint.

FFP999 3y ago

Damn, you found me out. smoke bomb

plorkyeran 3y ago

The thing I learned very quickly while living in Boston is that no one will ever stop for you if you let them think they can keep going without running you over, but drivers do expect pedestrians to just walk into the street and are prepared for it. If you want to cross at a spot without a signal or stop sign, you have to act like you have no idea that there's any cars coming while still keeping an eye on them in case they genuinely didn't see you. The end result looks like a lot of people have death wishes, but the pedestrian injury rate isn't actually unusually high.

insanitybit 3y ago
Boston or Cambridge? Coming from NYC I was shocked at the fact that cars in Cambridge would constantly yield to me, even in situations where I really didn't expect it. Contrast to NYC where I do follow that exact process you're describing - act oblivious, make yourself look like you really will let them hit you, that way they won't. Although in NYC you gotta be real careful about that strategy...
- FFP999 3y ago
  I'm talking here about Mass Ave directly adjacent to the bridge--so it's Cambridge but involving drivers coming out of Boston.
FFP999 3y ago
I actually use almost the complete opposite strategy, which is to make eye contact with the driver and stare them down. So far so good.

Tangurena2 3y ago

I went to Purdue. The joke among engineering students was that we used calculus to compute trajectories and to avoid "elastic" collisions with motor vehicles when crossing State Street (the main road through campus). And that the liberal arts students got to go to some secret class where they were taught how to do that without calculus. Back then, painted crosswalks would have been a waste of paint.