4 ms·

There needs to be a reckoning on this sort of thing, aside from the person mentioned in the article who was dragged by the car, how many others missed out on or

by lsllc 3y ago

There needs to be a reckoning on this sort of thing, aside from the person mentioned in the article who was dragged by the car, how many others missed out on or got delayed life-saving care because the emergency services were blocked from getting down a street -- or as the article says even getting out of the fire house. Same goes for manned vehicles, in Cambridge MA (and Somerville and other urban towns), there are now so many Ubers around that just stop randomly and block streets. Sometimes it's to drop off or pick up passengers (which is at least quick), but more and more it's to go into a restaurant for a food pickup (which often involves waiting). Meanwhile they've literally blocked the street outside and people can't get by. Just yesterday, I had to wait for minutes because there were two Ubers on one side of the street and another on the other all picking up at the _same_ restaurant and the street was completely blocked in both directions. We need some sort of uniform traffic code that requires such vehicles (either driverless or manned) to only stop in marked short term spots or regular parking, but not simply block the street. Any emergency vehicles would have been stuck for minutes yesterday. It's just crazy and totally selfish.

15457345234 3y ago
> We need some sort of uniform traffic code that requires such vehicles (either driverless or manned) to only stop in marked short term spots or regular parking, but not simply block the street. Yeah it's been illegal to just stop your car in the middle of the street and get out and go into a restaurant since streets were invented. No new law's required here. The question is, why are people suddenly doing this?
- lsllc 3y ago
  Well quite. But yet you see them stopped all over and the cops don't seem to do anything about it (the cars are not generally stopped for more than 3-5 mins while they pick up, so there's little point in calling the cops, if they'd even bother responding). I get that they're just trying to earn a living and in an urban area it's not always convenient to park. But it's one thing to block a hydrant or park in a place you're not supposed to for a couple of mins and something completely different to just block the (only!) travel lane and bring traffic to a standstill. Usually I just lean on the horn until either they come out, or I can get by. It's getting ridiculous ...

by lsllc 3y ago

15457345234 3y ago

> We need some sort of uniform traffic code that requires such vehicles (either driverless or manned) to only stop in marked short term spots or regular parking, but not simply block the street. Yeah it's been illegal to just stop your car in the middle of the street and get out and go into a restaurant since streets were invented. No new law's required here. The question is, why are people suddenly doing this?

lsllc 3y ago
Well quite. But yet you see them stopped all over and the cops don't seem to do anything about it (the cars are not generally stopped for more than 3-5 mins while they pick up, so there's little point in calling the cops, if they'd even bother responding). I get that they're just trying to earn a living and in an urban area it's not always convenient to park. But it's one thing to block a hydrant or park in a place you're not supposed to for a couple of mins and something completely different to just block the (only!) travel lane and bring traffic to a standstill. Usually I just lean on the horn until either they come out, or I can get by. It's getting ridiculous ...