This is why it’s impossible to make anything idiot proof. Someone always makes a better idiot.
As a driver, you kinda have to. I can’t plan for someone coming out of nowhere and running across the road, but if I can see them, I have to imagine them doing the stupidest thing imaginable and be ready for it, because I don’t want to hurt or kill anyone with my car. As a driver, I need to be aware of everything around me all the time - what’s going on on the sidewalks and pathways as well as on the road. Those two kids pushing each other while waiting for the bus - they’re obviously not trying to cross the road, but I’m going to keep my eye on them anyway.
I’m pretty sure that the driver of a car that struck a jaywalking pedestrian could still face tickets/charges depending on how badly injured the person was. It is the driver’s responsibility to take action to avoid ANY kind of accident, and to avoid causing injury. If they tried, and couldn’t prevent the accident, or truly had no chance to avoid what happened, that’s a different thing. However, if they were reckless and caused injury, I’d think there would be some kind of charges or a ticket they could get. Reckless driving at the least.
How do YOU know the pedestrian was WRONG?
She was “turning from a parking lot onto a major road”. Unless she had a protected green turn arrow, it was her responsibility to yield to pedestrians. If the pedestrian was illegally crossing on a red light, and she neglected to tell us that, that’s hardly my fault. She admitted that it was her responsibility. If it was a protected turn, and she somehow inexplicably forgot to mention it, that would be completely inconsistent with her statement that she was checking to the left for traffic.
While that may not be enough information for you, it is enough for those of us with moderate reasoning skills.
Whether there was a sidewalk is irrelevant, numbskull.
I’m sorry, but as I said, there is NO excuse for not looking in the direction your car is travelling.
But we’re not talking about that.
Are you intending to write “crosswalks” when you write “sidewalks”? It makes no sense the way you have written it.
Did this about a month ago. Taxis in Toronto are notorious for nosing into pedestrian traffic. So I stepped onto his front tire (extremely stupid if he starts moving), then onto his hood, across the hood (did I mention I’m wearing heavy snow boots) and jump down off the other side. One guy caught up to me after and said “Man, I’d love to do that!”
That event was precipitated by having been hit by a taxi only days before. He was trying to get around me while I was crossing on a green light, and his passenger side mirror hit my right arm. Left a nice bruise too. I relieved him of his mirror (heavy boots again).
With respect to the OP, I think you’re dead wrong, but at the same time, I always keep my eye on traffic, and I never assume they’ve seen me.
As a San Francisco driver (quite an aggressive one at that) and a pedestrian, I’d like to chime in to say that the OP is a douchebag.
Carry on.
I don’t know whether or not the pedestrian was wrong. I don’t know whether or not Anaamika was wrong. I honestly don’t know shit about the whole incident other than what anaamika posted. I wasn’t going to even post in this thread.
Then I saw the vast teeming hordes rushing to the conclusion that that Anaamika, drunk from whiskey and the power of driving one of these new fangled two ton engines of death (all I’ve gots is a pick up with a v6. I want an engine of death 
), was careening around her neighborhood like it was Grand Theft Auto. How do we know this? Because we know that pedestrians have the right of way and thusly would never do something stupid. :dubious:
I’m really wondering how the rest of you know who was wrong in this case. Blowero, you can answer first since you seem so sure.
Here in Pasadena, on Colorado Blvd. in Old Town, we have diagonal crosswalks. That is, you get a cycle where on one step motor traffic goes north-south, a step where motor traffic goes east-west, AND THEN a step where motor traffic stops and pedestrians can walk in basically any direction they please.
Oh, that works. :rolleyes:
On a busy weekend day, there’s always some asshole in a car that decides he can turn on a red light and sort of dodge between crossing peds. Now, there is no sign specifically telling you that you can’t make a right on red, but charlie-brown-on-a-swizzle-stick, people are walkin’ here, can’t you wait twenty frickin’ seconds until the light changes?
OTOH, pedestrians are always not paying attention to their signals and trying to cross when the traffic light is green but the walk sign is red. They’re usually yacking away on their cellphones, of course. Dipshits.
The OP is legally in the wrong, but it’s not always easy to see pedestrians, especially when they dart out from from behind a signals box, or if you’re trying to time traffic coming the other way. If you’re a pedestrian, show a little common sense and consideration, and make eye contact. (If you’re blind, as tremorviolet mentions, then make sure you’re as visible as possible.) And if you’re a driver, realize that you are pushing three thousand-plus pounds of metal and glass, and take the extra second to check both ways, again, before you turn.
This world would be a lot better off if people would stop dogmatically insisting on what is right and show a little awareness and consideration. I run on public streets (well, mostly on the sidewalks) frequently, and I always make certain a driver sees me before crossing in front, or run around the back if they’re pulled out and trying to see into oncoming traffic.
At least, as a ped, be thankful you aren’t inciting the unmitigated, irrational fury drivers seem to have for bicyclists. And I won’t even begin to address the contempt that motorboaters have for kayaks and small sailcraft.
Stranger
I’ve seen stupid things done by both pedestrian and driver here. First pedestrians; when there is an advanced green light, only cars going in one direction may go. This way drivers going left in one direction, will get a chance to go and expect to have a clear turn, and the other drivers going in the same direction will go straight. Once in awhile I’ll see a large group of people just start walking right when the advanced green starts, and put themselves in danger because the driver is expecting nobody to be there.
Now drivers; I usually freeze when I don’t have eye contact with the driver, and 98% of the time they’ll look up and see me and wave me on, but if I didn’t stop for the 2%, then my kneecaps would be a sore sight. Yesterday I almost got hit twice in one light though; I was three quarters of the way across when a person turning right cut it close and almost nicked me, THEN THE PERSON BEHIND HER went and brushed me with the mirror, THEN THE PERSON BEHIND THEM went but around behind me and I had to speed up my pace to not be hit! It’s like Frogger out there sometimes. :eek:
I have a question to Anaamika: How does she know the pedestrian did not look, when she wasm’t looking at the pedestrian? As far as we can tell, the pedestrian walked along the side of the street, saw Anaamika’s car stopped on the driveway onto the busy road, saw that the road was busy, looked again at Anaamika’s car and saw it was still stopped, and walked in front of it, assuming that a driver would not start moving without making sure there was nothing in front of her.
Yes, I know she was busy looking left, but a driver always has a duty to look in front to see if there is anything there before moving off. Always. Even if she has a green light, just in case a little old lady has been a bit slow in clearing the cross walk. Always.
It’s different if your car is moving, because something can jump in front of you without warning, but in this story Anaamika’s car had stopped to check for traffic on the busy street, and the pedestrian had a right to expect that it would not start moving again without the driver looking to her front.
Oh, man is that ever stupid. When the light’s green for the cars, people try to cross, so the cars can’t get through. Then, when the walk signal is green, the cars try to go through. What a disaster. So’s the fact that they put in random turn lanes all over Union St., causing a confusing mess of bottlenecks, but took out the turn lane from Union going right on Fair Oaks, which is the busiest intersection. But I digress…
But that’s not the case here. She SAID she was looking over her LEFT shoulder when she was turning right. Yeah, if someone darts out in front of you, then it’s excusable for you to be surprised. But if you AREN’T LOOKING WHERE YOU’RE GOING, it’s not excusable. The problem didn’t occur because the pedestrian darted out, it occurred because the driver wasn’t looking.
The reason I’m making a big deal about this is because I see this happen all the time. I see drivers every day who are busy looking over their shoulder in the opposite direction from the direction their car is moving. I shouldn’t HAVE to stop walking and wait to make eye contact with the idiot driver who can’t be bothered to look where he’s going, but I do. People have to stop driving like this. It’s extremely dangerous. Hell, half the drivers I see can’t even be bothered to stop AT ALL when they turn right on a red light. It’s just disgusting.
This world would be a lot better off if people would get a clue and start taking reponsibility for the way they drive, and stop blaming it on others.
Already answered. Did you not read my post? Sometimes, the vast teeming hordes are right.
I’d say it also depends on where her car was stopped. If she had already ventured into territory where one would expect pedestrians, it would be prudent for those pedestrians to either wait or cross behind her car. Stepping in front of her car would not only put them in danger of being hit by her as she accellerated but also by those in the street which are likely to be moving much faster than Anaamika would.
Of course, if you’d read the OP you’d see this phrase too.
So he wasn’t looking either. People make mistakes, even pedestrians.
And not to mention running the Gold Line right down the middle with signals that often jam up, resulting in huge backlogs of traffic on Del Mar and California, the only two exits off of that 210 spur. But now I digress.
People aren’t going to stop driving like this (and especially not California drivers who are makin’ deals and hookin’ up 24/7/365/whatever :rolleyes: ) any more than motorboastistas are going to stop blasting by my kayak at 12 knots in a No Freaking Wake Zone and making me practice my bracing skills. As a kayaker, I just have to be aware, stay to the side, or prefereably outside, of the throughway, and prepare to brace or roll when one of these dickless wonders comes blasting throw Newport Bay. Right, wrong, or otherwise, you’re just as dead when some bimbo in an H2 rolls over you.
Stranger
As a driver, I’ve had cyclists yell at me when I thought I was being courteous, and as a ped, I’ve had cyclists yell at me when they were the ones breaking about 5 laws at once. Let’s face it, we’re all assholes.
Your words are true. Again, nobody’s questioning the wisdom of being a prudent pedestrian. If you thought that was my point, you didn’t understand me at all.
You’re a moron.:rolleyes:
Prudent, maybe. But not nearly as prudent as looking in the direction you’re making your car move. Would you argue it was OK for her to reverse while looking straight ahead?
This is the most deserved pile-on of an OP I have ever witnessed. The OP demonstrates cager-syndrome at its worst and I’m glad to see the vast majority see her for the asshat she is being.
For the record, I’ve been hit twice by right-turning cars and ‘almost hit’ 1/2 dozen more times. In each case I had the right of way. In fairness, one of the hits I actually was able to jump up and land hard on the car’s hood. Manged to be OK from that one, and left a nice crease on the hood. Guy wanted to bitch at me (after I got off his hood), I said call the police and you can tell them what happened. The bozo drove off in a huff, gunning his engine and then screeching to a halt at the next red light.
And for those trying to blame the pedestrians I’ll say this: Incidents where pedestrians are at fault for being hit are very rare. Incidents were pedstrian hit and injure drivers are non-existant. You drive the car, you have the murder weapon, thus you have the responsibility. Driving course in the USA have explained from day 1 that it is your job to keep your machine from killing people on the road. Blaming any near-victims is assinine.