I feel like drivers have gotten exceedingly bad at awareness and it then absolutely baffles me that Byrd and other similar products are mandated to be on the road.
U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high
401–410 of 625 posts
Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high
#402Earlier quoted context omitted.
My suburb does as much as it can to make itself walkable. There are crossings and sidewalks everywhere, but it's still a low density suburb so it doesn't make much sense to walk almost anywhere (my kid does walk to school as it happens to be close, but that's it). So while they are trying to address this problem, very few people actually walk. But all of this said, I want low density. Having lived many years in a hig…
Your ideal described lifestyle is very expensive to cities and ultimately subsidized: https://i.imgur.com/msDV0zm.jpg There is a middle ground. Walkable cities are not a cluster of high rises and this is mostly the result of poor zoning (we lack the appropriate "missing middle")
A lot of people think they as willing to pay for it, but very few really want to see their property and fuel taxes double or triple.
Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high
#403Thr article lacks numerical context, or at least makes it more difficult to find than necessary.
Is this a 1% increase over 10 years or a 10% increase over 1 year? Is it normalized by population or an absolute number?
Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high
#404Earlier quoted context omitted.
This happened to me and it left me with lasting anxiety. I stopped in town at a crosswalk for a pedestrian waiting to cross, and the car a couple seconds behind me went around and tore through the crosswalk. I don't know what the answer is. Drivers make mistakes -- they don't see things, they might be preoccupied, etc. etc. And yeah, all too often they're negligent to the point of malice. But urban landscapes are alm…
The thing to do is NOT do the unexpected. Being excessively courteous and letting an oncoming car turn left, or stopping for a pedestrian who is not already in the crosswalk but is waiting for a gap in traffic, is unexpected. It surprises other drivers and they get annoyed and then do something stupid like zooming around you.
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Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high
#405I guess pickup trucks fall under the category of SUVs? It's wild how we've lost access to our streets and neighbourhoods for the convenience of mostly suburban vehicle users. Actually not wild, but disgraceful. The majority of roads are too wide and with little options for alternative modes of transport, drivers are growingly frustrated and angry on the road. We continue to make the mistake of thinking the solution i…
I live in a small town with... not enough sidewalks. I try to walk my dog, but half the streets where I live, I have to walk on the street or else on people's lawns. I definitely walk a lot less because of it Not really a systemic issue in this case, just a pet peeve
If anything designing a neighborhood with no sidewalks must be a systemic issue?
Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high
#406Earlier quoted context omitted.
Speed Cameras are a lot cheaper than cops, they don't get killed and they don't need a pension. They should do gofundmes for installing speed cameras in your hood, I'd fork some money.
The efficacy of speed cameras depends on the socioeconomics of the area. The "car culture" lunatic drivers I've met in the Baltimore / DC area just make a hobby of fighting tickets. They have lawyers they regularly work with and somehow always make it out with their license intact.
I mean, you have a photo of them timestamped, there should be no recourse in those cases?
Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high
#407It's not just pedestrians. I think I'll never ride motorcycles on public roads again. I just don't trust drivers. They're all talking, texting, watching a fucking YouTube video or TikTok reel. I've seen people eating spaghetti with a fork and knife while driving! It's insane how selfish and unaware drivers are, and it got way worse after Covid. Lax licensing standards and the average U.S adults abysmal literacy levels (read: the average driver neither knows nor can they comprehend the very basic laws governing driving) contribute to turning streets into a chaotic carnival.
Combined with the massive size of vehicles, ridiculous amount of illegal modifications, and nonexistent enforcement of traffic/vehicle laws, there is absolutely nothing surprising about this news.
Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high
#408Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don’t forget there have been massive loopholes in vehicle emission regulations which favour larger SUVs and pick-up trucks. If regulations actually focused on MPG, these vehicles would not be the size and weight that they are. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/cafe-lo... Right target. Bad implementation. Going forwards, with widespread electric vehicles, focusing directly on size and weight makes a…
Blaming regulation removes agency from people. Or maybe yeah, most consumers just mimic other people and cost be darned. Then when gas eventually becomes pricier they complain because they had the foresight of a goldfish. (And theoretically no efficiency laws need to be passed. Increase taxes on fuel and there you have it)
If people exercised this level of agency, no economic incentive would ever work.
Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high
#409It's Phones ... everywhere I go I see people using their phones while driving.
Source: as an avid runner, whenever I cross streets I make eye contact with drivers to ensure they see me.
Re: U.S. pedestrian deaths reach a 40-year high
#410Aren't bikers considered "liberal elite woke". And in places like Texas, it is considered just good sport to run them off the road?