Person hit by bus at 18/k - 5:30pm tues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not just cell phones but people jaywalk here. Jaywalking is horrible problem!

Seriously. People just walk wherever they want whenever they want. Lately I've also seen people crossing at intersections but waiting until the light turns red. It's like they forgot that green means go and red means stop.

That said, I'm not trying to blame the victim here and hope the person is ok.

Uh huh. You people are generalizing based on the behavior that bothers you, but you have NO IDEA what happened in this situation and you have NO IDEA about the statistics of pedestrian injuries/fatalities and who was to "blame". When you are driving a car or bus, you have an incredible amount of responsibility on your shoulders and fact of the matter is that it is not difficult to anticipate what somebody going 4mph is going to do. Open your eyes, get off your phone, and take your responsibility as a driver seriously before you kill somebody.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those Metro buses also tend to drive really fast, really close to the curb.

+1

I'm pretty tall (5'10") and my head has come pretty close to getting slammed by the side mirror while I was standing on the curb. Now I always stand a few feet back.

I am sorry, but this made me laugh.

[Anonymous]

It doesn't look good. She was not breathing when loaded onto the ambulance. The street is still closed off 4 hours later, police tape everywhere, police photographing the scene.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not just cell phones but people jaywalk here. Jaywalking is horrible problem!

Seriously. People just walk wherever they want whenever they want. Lately I've also seen people crossing at intersections but waiting until the light turns red. It's like they forgot that green means go and red means stop.

That said, I'm not trying to blame the victim here and hope the person is ok.

Uh huh. You people are generalizing based on the behavior that bothers you, but you have NO IDEA what happened in this situation and you have NO IDEA about the statistics of pedestrian injuries/fatalities and who was to "blame". When you are driving a car or bus, you have an incredible amount of responsibility on your shoulders and fact of the matter is that it is not difficult to anticipate what somebody going 4mph is going to do. Open your eyes, get off your phone, and take your responsibility as a driver seriously before you kill somebody.

Sorry, what I meant was that I was making a general comment about pedestrians I've encountered lately, not trying to opine on today's accident.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those Metro buses also tend to drive really fast, really close to the curb.

Completely agree. WMATA has some great drivers and, alas, some who are not cut out for a position with so many demands.

[Anonymous]

It was a tour bus, not wmata. At least, there was a tour bus parked there at 7:00.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not just cell phones but people jaywalk here. Jaywalking is horrible problem!

Seriously. People just walk wherever they want whenever they want. Lately I've also seen people crossing at intersections but waiting until the light turns red. It's like they forgot that green means go and red means stop.

That said, I'm not trying to blame the victim here and hope the person is ok.

Uh huh. You people are generalizing based on the behavior that bothers you, but you have NO IDEA what happened in this situation and you have NO IDEA about the statistics of pedestrian injuries/fatalities and who was to "blame". When you are driving a car or bus, you have an incredible amount of responsibility on your shoulders and fact of the matter is that it is not difficult to anticipate what somebody going 4mph is going to do. Open your eyes, get off your phone, and take your responsibility as a driver seriously before you kill somebody.

Sorry, what I meant was that I was making a general comment about pedestrians I've encountered lately, not trying to opine on today's accident.

And I'm sorry too. I obviously get worked up about this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those Metro buses also tend to drive really fast, really close to the curb.

And run lights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hoping they are ok - reminder that life can change in an instant.

Does this line of thinking honestly make people feel better? Must we use someone else's tragedy to feel something about our lives? It's sad.

Terrible tragedy no matter who is "at fault." I hope the victim is okay, but that driver is having the worst day of his or her life.

[Anonymous]

I almost got hit by a bus on Saturday. I was standing by the curb watching my family member across the street. A bus pulled right up at it's stop about an inch from my nose. I never saw the bus coming because I was looking across the street and it was to my left. If I had even leaned forward I would be dead. It was a wakeup call.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hoping they are ok - reminder that life can change in an instant.

Does this line of thinking honestly make people feel better? Must we use someone else's tragedy to feel something about our lives? It's sad.

Terrible tragedy no matter who is "at fault." I hope the victim is okay, but that driver is having the worst day of his or her life.[/quote

What does "this line of thinking" have to do with making anyone feel better? And who said it made anyone feel better? How can one feel better about a potential tragedy anyway? The victim may or may not be dead and, as you said, the driver's life will never be the same. It's horrible no matter how you slice it. And the acknowledgement that life can change in an instant is simply a fact.

[Anonymous]

Prayers to the woman who was hit yesterday.

Here's what I learned living in DC and NYC:

Don't wait in the street to cross. Stay on the curb. A foot or two back.

Don't ever expect an approaching car or bus to stop, even when the traffic signals are telling them they should. Pause to confirm before making a move.

When the light changes, wait a few extra seconds before stepping off the curb. Just in case.

It's crazy, but I've seen so many close calls in downtown DC and Roslyn, too.

Cars and buses running lights.

Cars turning right without looking to see who's stepped off the curb.

Cars pulling way up into the intersection to turn right on red (NoVA), again, without slowing down to realize pedestrians were in the crosswalk waiting to cross.

Everyone is in a hurry. Drivers and pedestrians, both. Do yourself a favor and stay back on the curb, and don't be the first to cross the street.


Slow yourself down and take a few extra beats to wait and look around, just in case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prayers to the woman who was hit yesterday.

Here's what I learned living in DC and NYC:

Don't wait in the street to cross. Stay on the curb. A foot or two back.

Don't ever expect an approaching car or bus to stop, even when the traffic signals are telling them they should. Pause to confirm before making a move.

When the light changes, wait a few extra seconds before stepping off the curb. Just in case.

It's crazy, but I've seen so many close calls in downtown DC and Roslyn, too.

Cars and buses running lights.

Cars turning right without looking to see who's stepped off the curb.

Cars pulling way up into the intersection to turn right on red (NoVA), again, without slowing down to realize pedestrians were in the crosswalk waiting to cross.

Everyone is in a hurry. Drivers and pedestrians, both. Do yourself a favor and stay back on the curb, and don't be the first to cross the street.


Slow yourself down and take a few extra beats to wait and look around, just in case.

Yes. I see this all the time. And as a driver this terrifies me--I try to be vigilant about looking right before I turn right at a red light or when I am at a stop sign waiting to turn right. My good friend's husband was jogging and was hit by a car this way. He was cut and bruised but nothing serious, thank goodness.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Prayers to the woman who was hit yesterday.

Here's what I learned living in DC and NYC:

Don't wait in the street to cross. Stay on the curb. A foot or two back.

Don't ever expect an approaching car or bus to stop, even when the traffic signals are telling them they should. Pause to confirm before making a move.

When the light changes, wait a few extra seconds before stepping off the curb. Just in case.

It's crazy, but I've seen so many close calls in downtown DC and Roslyn, too.

Cars and buses running lights.

Cars turning right without looking to see who's stepped off the curb.

Cars pulling way up into the intersection to turn right on red (NoVA), again, without slowing down to realize pedestrians were in the crosswalk waiting to cross.

Everyone is in a hurry. Drivers and pedestrians, both. Do yourself a favor and stay back on the curb, and don't be the first to cross the street.


Slow yourself down and take a few extra beats to wait and look around, just in case.

To this I will add, cars going around a car waiting to turn right because they are too impatient and don't realize the waiting car is waiting for a reason (ie, pedestrians). Incredibly reckless. Of course, as a pedestrian there is nothing you can do to protect yourself in such a situation. I hate drivers here. I was visiting my parents in Philly recently -- a place not exactly known for its good manners -- and it was so much more pleasant to drive and walk there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hoping they are ok - reminder that life can change in an instant.

Does this line of thinking honestly make people feel better? Must we use someone else's tragedy to feel something about our lives? It's sad.

Terrible tragedy no matter who is "at fault." I hope the victim is okay, but that driver is having the worst day of his or her life.

What does "this line of thinking" have to do with making anyone feel better? And who said it made anyone feel better? How can one feel better about a potential tragedy anyway? The victim may or may not be dead and, as you said, the driver's life will never be the same. It's horrible no matter how you slice it. And the acknowledgement that life can change in an instant is simply a fact.

Because it's all about personalizing someone else's tragedy. Why do people need to use someone else's tragedy to remind themselves life can change? It's childish, it's maudlin, and it's tacky.