| FWIW I think they removed the cameras (which were pretty far from the St. Paul intersection) because they just lowered the speed limit to 30 from 40 or 45. I expect they will be back. |
No the problem is we have the technology to monitor and fine speeders but we do not. |
This was a child at a cross walk. Cameras would not have prevented this. |
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There was a camera there before and residents have said that when that camera was originally installed the speeding was greatly reduced so they were very surprised and upset when the camera was recently removed. And now a kid was killed there.
Do we know 100% that a camera would have prevented this? No, but it is a logical conclusion that the likelihood of this accident happening would have been decreased had the camera been there based on past behavior of drivers in that location. Also apparently this stretch is dangerous because it has drivers going into a blind curve and if the driver is speeding they can’t see what is on the other side of the curve until they’re right there in it. This is where the kid was hit. |
But most of all, there needs to be a culture change among nihilistic pedestrians. Why: if you’re run over by a car going 35mph because you made a rash decision to dart in front of the car you’re still going to die. |
| What is the basis for claiming that the driver was speeding? How do we know he/she wasn't texting, drunk, or any other possibility? |
It was dark and the kid was not at a crosswalk. We don’t know anything about what happened except that she stayed at the scene and he died. |
He could have been texting, drunk, AND speeding. Anything is possible but a 16 year old usually will not suffer fatal injuries from being struck by a car going 30mph (the speed limit on this road). It's thus highly probable that the driver was speeding. |
| Detectives are opening the investigation into the traffic fatality in Kensington. |
| There was another fatal crash last night. Five in five months, two in three days. |
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The 16 year old who was struck was in a crosswalk.
This road is designed to be deadly. the Maryland SHA has ignored our pleas to make it safer for pedestrians for TOO LONG. |
| Can they even collect fines right now? For a while the payment website wasn’t working so you just had to call and say that and they would just void the ticket. |
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One side note to this very sad story. Apparently, the county attached a flag holder to the crosswalk sign. The pedestrian is supposed pick up a flag and wave it as he crosses the street. (Presumably the pedestrian drops the flag off on the other side of the street.)
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/teen-killed-crossing-university-boulevard-in-kensington/3992208/ This strikes me as a very third-world solution. But it might be useful if pedestrians were aware of it. I have never seen this before. |
Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase DC had intersections that used this system for years. |
Have you seen how people cross a road in a "third-world" place? |