"I didn't run you over, so you need to calm down!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Thanks but I haven't given any advice on this thread. I actually don't find it that challenging to walk across the road.

It's good that it's not challenging to walk across the road where you walk. I wish that in most places, it weren't challenging to walk across the road. But unfortunately, in many places, even in DC (let alone the suburbs and exurbs), it is challenging to walk across the road.

[Anonymous]

I am at that intersection pretty regularly, as both a pedestrian and a driver. Honestly, it's best when there is a TCO at the intersection, which happens a lot particularly during the school year.

1) As a driver, it is difficult to see whether anyone is coming from the right due to parked cars limiting visibility. Maybe in a larger car, this is not as much of an issue. I drive a Corolla and have a hard time seeing over the parked cars to see if anyone is coming.

1a) In order to see whether it is safe to make a left from Hiatt onto Irving, I sometimes have to move my car into the intersection, at least over the Hiatt crosswalk, in order to get clear visualization of oncoming traffic. I make a point of looking to see not just if pedestrians are at the intersection but if any are approaching on Irving from the right or left or on Hiatt. If pedestrians are present, I don't block the crosswalk and wait to make my turn until they are gone.

2) That area has a lot of inattentive pedestrians. It does not change the reality of the situation - that drivers are to yield right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks and are liable for striking pedestrians regardless of where the pedestrian is. But it does make it more challenging, as a driver, to predict the behavior of the pedestrians. The pedestrian might be on their phone. They might not be paying attention for other reasons. They might just think that they never have to yield the right of way to anyone ever. They might make a sudden decision to go a different direction. The person driving the car should be paying attention to pedestrian behavior as well as the behavior of other drivers.

3) The whole area is filled with double parkers, confused Uber drivers, buses, and police cars. Half the time the right lane of Irving is blocked by someone unloading their car or a bus that has broken down. The other half the time, someone has parked on the NE corner of Hiatt in clear violation of the no parking sign. It makes it even harder to visualize all the activity in an area.

4) There is a middle school on the corner and most of the kids coming to school are coming from the metro. There is also a large daycare center on Irving. Both are CLEARLY labeled as such. As a driver, if I am in an area where I know there to be children who are likely not paying as close attention as they should to traffic, I am going to be paying EXTRA attention to what is going on around me.

5) There is absolutely no universe in which a person who runs a stop sign at an intersection where a pedestrian is lawfully in the crosswalk and narrowly avoids a collision gets to tell anyone to calm down. The driver in this scenario is 100% in the wrong and should be ashamed of herself. Anyone on the last 14 pages criticizing the OP's behavior or stress level at this experience should be ashamed of themselves as well.

[Anonymous]

You were right. They were wrong. But to continue to live you must not assume the driver sees you or will stop. Do what you must to survive. Theatrics are unnecessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You were right. They were wrong. But to continue to live you must not assume the driver sees you or will stop. Do what you must to survive. Theatrics are unnecessary.

5) There is absolutely no universe in which a person who runs a stop sign at an intersection where a pedestrian is lawfully in the crosswalk and narrowly avoids a collision gets to tell anyone to calm down. The driver in this scenario is 100% in the wrong and should be ashamed of herself. Anyone on the last 14 pages criticizing the OP's behavior or stress level at this experience should be ashamed of themselves as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thanks but I haven't given any advice on this thread. I actually don't find it that challenging to walk across the road.

It's good that it's not challenging to walk across the road where you walk. I wish that in most places, it weren't challenging to walk across the road. But unfortunately, in many places, even in DC (let alone the suburbs and exurbs), I personally find it quite challenging to walk across the road.

Fixed that for you. I don't have the same experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am at that intersection pretty regularly, as both a pedestrian and a driver. Honestly, it's best when there is a TCO at the intersection, which happens a lot particularly during the school year.

1) As a driver, it is difficult to see whether anyone is coming from the right due to parked cars limiting visibility. Maybe in a larger car, this is not as much of an issue. I drive a Corolla and have a hard time seeing over the parked cars to see if anyone is coming.

1a) In order to see whether it is safe to make a left from Hiatt onto Irving, I sometimes have to move my car into the intersection, at least over the Hiatt crosswalk, in order to get clear visualization of oncoming traffic. I make a point of looking to see not just if pedestrians are at the intersection but if any are approaching on Irving from the right or left or on Hiatt. If pedestrians are present, I don't block the crosswalk and wait to make my turn until they are gone.

2) That area has a lot of inattentive pedestrians. It does not change the reality of the situation - that drivers are to yield right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks and are liable for striking pedestrians regardless of where the pedestrian is. But it does make it more challenging, as a driver, to predict the behavior of the pedestrians. The pedestrian might be on their phone. They might not be paying attention for other reasons. They might just think that they never have to yield the right of way to anyone ever. They might make a sudden decision to go a different direction. The person driving the car should be paying attention to pedestrian behavior as well as the behavior of other drivers.

3) The whole area is filled with double parkers, confused Uber drivers, buses, and police cars. Half the time the right lane of Irving is blocked by someone unloading their car or a bus that has broken down. The other half the time, someone has parked on the NE corner of Hiatt in clear violation of the no parking sign. It makes it even harder to visualize all the activity in an area.

4) There is a middle school on the corner and most of the kids coming to school are coming from the metro. There is also a large daycare center on Irving. Both are CLEARLY labeled as such. As a driver, if I am in an area where I know there to be children who are likely not paying as close attention as they should to traffic, I am going to be paying EXTRA attention to what is going on around me.

5) There is absolutely no universe in which a person who runs a stop sign at an intersection where a pedestrian is lawfully in the crosswalk and narrowly avoids a collision gets to tell anyone to calm down. The driver in this scenario is 100% in the wrong and should be ashamed of herself. Anyone on the last 14 pages criticizing the OP's behavior or stress level at this experience should be ashamed of themselves as well.

You should report this intersection to your ANC and ask them to help you make a request to DDOT to change the parking to fix visibility. T DDOT actually has regulations on how close cars can park to the intersection in order to ensure visibility, but apparently a lot of the intersections still have the parking spots marked too close to the intersection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Thanks but I haven't given any advice on this thread. I actually don't find it that challenging to walk across the road.

It's good that it's not challenging to walk across the road where you walk. I wish that in most places, it weren't challenging to walk across the road. But unfortunately, in many places, even in DC (let alone the suburbs and exurbs), I personally find it quite challenging to walk across the road.

Fixed that for you. I don't have the same experience.

Probably because you're walking across different roads, eh?

I'm the PP you're responding to, and no, it's not me personally. Nobody finds it unchallenging to walk across 6-lane or 8-lane roads with where people drive 40 mph or faster, with intersections with slip lanes, double left turn lanes, walk signals that don't give you enough time to cross, rounded corners so drivers can turn at 30 mph, no sidewalks, marked crosswalks where you have to cross 3 roads in order to get across the road, etc.

Even in downtown Bethesda and downtown Silver Spring, which ought to be great for walking, people are getting hit all the time. Unless you're looking at the data, you have no idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am at that intersection pretty regularly, as both a pedestrian and a driver. Honestly, it's best when there is a TCO at the intersection, which happens a lot particularly during the school year.

1) As a driver, it is difficult to see whether anyone is coming from the right due to parked cars limiting visibility. Maybe in a larger car, this is not as much of an issue. I drive a Corolla and have a hard time seeing over the parked cars to see if anyone is coming.

1a) In order to see whether it is safe to make a left from Hiatt onto Irving, I sometimes have to move my car into the intersection, at least over the Hiatt crosswalk, in order to get clear visualization of oncoming traffic. I make a point of looking to see not just if pedestrians are at the intersection but if any are approaching on Irving from the right or left or on Hiatt. If pedestrians are present, I don't block the crosswalk and wait to make my turn until they are gone.

2) That area has a lot of inattentive pedestrians. It does not change the reality of the situation - that drivers are to yield right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks and are liable for striking pedestrians regardless of where the pedestrian is. But it does make it more challenging, as a driver, to predict the behavior of the pedestrians. The pedestrian might be on their phone. They might not be paying attention for other reasons. They might just think that they never have to yield the right of way to anyone ever. They might make a sudden decision to go a different direction. The person driving the car should be paying attention to pedestrian behavior as well as the behavior of other drivers.

3) The whole area is filled with double parkers, confused Uber drivers, buses, and police cars. Half the time the right lane of Irving is blocked by someone unloading their car or a bus that has broken down. The other half the time, someone has parked on the NE corner of Hiatt in clear violation of the no parking sign. It makes it even harder to visualize all the activity in an area.

4) There is a middle school on the corner and most of the kids coming to school are coming from the metro. There is also a large daycare center on Irving. Both are CLEARLY labeled as such. As a driver, if I am in an area where I know there to be children who are likely not paying as close attention as they should to traffic, I am going to be paying EXTRA attention to what is going on around me.

5) There is absolutely no universe in which a person who runs a stop sign at an intersection where a pedestrian is lawfully in the crosswalk and narrowly avoids a collision gets to tell anyone to calm down. The driver in this scenario is 100% in the wrong and should be ashamed of herself. Anyone on the last 14 pages criticizing the OP's behavior or stress level at this experience should be ashamed of themselves as well.

You should report this intersection to your ANC and ask them to help you make a request to DDOT to change the parking to fix visibility. T DDOT actually has regulations on how close cars can park to the intersection in order to ensure visibility, but apparently a lot of the intersections still have the parking spots marked too close to the intersection.

PP here. They actually seem to have changed it a bit in that cars on Irving seem to be unable to park as close to Hiatt as they used to. The cars I am thinking of are generally people parking on a Sunday morning to attend church and parking in an area that is clearly not a parking spot at any time. Honestly, I really think the only thing that would help would be a stop sign on Irving as well as Hiatt, but I suspect that would cause the traffic redesign to spill over into the intersection of 15th/16th/Irving back a block, which I doubt the city will be super interested in changing.

Plus that stop sign won't do much for the OP's situation in which a woman straight up violated the stop sign on Hiatt to blast through the intersection onto Irving for whatever reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in the crosswalk yesterday at Irving and Hiatt (halfway between 14th and 16th Streets) when a driver making a left turn onto Irving nearly ran me down. I kept thinking the car would stop... and it did, about 6 inches from me. I thought, "This is it" and my reaction was to let out a yell and and throw my arms up. The driver rolled down her window. I said, "You didn't see me?" She replied by berating me with, "I didn't run you over, so you need to calm down!" Then she drove off down Irving. If I did that, I would be apologizing profusely and asking if the pedestrian was okay. Yeesh. What in the hell? She's going to kill someone one day. I'm still a bit rattled.

It's just not safe for pedestrians out there. What can be done?

Never trust that a car will stop or they see you. If you think a car will stop wait till it does before you move in front of it. It’s nice you are in the crosswalk but if that car hits you ...

It's "nice" that I was in the crosswalk?!? I was following the rules... already in the crosswalk before she came barreling up out of nowhere.

You don't just have the right of way because you are in a crosswalk. It does not mean you don't have to be vigilant because you are in the crosswalk.

uh, a pedestrian in the crosswalk absolutely has right of way when crossing with the light. you need to get the f*ck off the road and back in driver's ed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:you miss the point. Legally, you do have the right of way. Pedestrians have to more defensive, because you’re not in car. You have to be more vigilant so you don’t die

No, we get your point. I just wonder why you and others keep making it. There is not a person over the age of 3 or so who doesn't understand that getting hit by a car can kill you. Which is why the burden is on drivers to not kill people with their cars.

Lol. You said you get the point, while clearly explaining that you don’t. Number 1, I’m a slow driver that almost pisses people off. I don’t get distracted in my car. You leave the burden to the millions of drivers and millions of different personalities out there or do what some of us suggest, make eye contact, make sure that car is stopping. Do what you want, I’m trying to tell you that I see these head in the clouds pedestrians all the time. I won’t take them out. Someone will. I’m a great driver

But "make eye contact" doesn't work.

And as for "make sure that the car is stopping" - You know what behavior is most effective in getting car drivers to stop? Aggressively walking out into the street - exactly what you are advising people to not do. And you know what is least effective? Doing what you are advising people to do.

OMG, do you have a death wish? Go ahead and aggressively walk out in the street without looking both ways. Your mom will then put a leash on you if you don't die first. BTW, impressive a toddler can read and type.

Nobody is talking about walking out into the street without looking both ways.

But the fact is that if you stand on the side of the road waiting for drivers to stop, you will be standing there for a long time - because most drivers won't stop, even the law says that they have to.

Your advice for safe walking basically boils down to "Don't walk anywhere with any convenience; or, better yet, just don't walk anywhere at all."

This is like talking to a wall. The drivers have to stop because they are going to have a red light, however, make sure everyone is fully stopped before you listen to your walk signal. I see pedestrians do crazy stuff, as if they are wearing a shield of armor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You were right. They were wrong. But to continue to live you must not assume the driver sees you or will stop. Do what you must to survive. Theatrics are unnecessary.

Exactly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You were right. They were wrong. But to continue to live you must not assume the driver sees you or will stop. Do what you must to survive. Theatrics are unnecessary.

5) There is absolutely no universe in which a person who runs a stop sign at an intersection where a pedestrian is lawfully in the crosswalk and narrowly avoids a collision gets to tell anyone to calm down. The driver in this scenario is 100% in the wrong and should be ashamed of herself. Anyone on the last 14 pages criticizing the OP's behavior or stress level at this experience should be ashamed of themselves as well.

you sound like you need to calm down

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am at that intersection pretty regularly, as both a pedestrian and a driver. Honestly, it's best when there is a TCO at the intersection, which happens a lot particularly during the school year.

1) As a driver, it is difficult to see whether anyone is coming from the right due to parked cars limiting visibility. Maybe in a larger car, this is not as much of an issue. I drive a Corolla and have a hard time seeing over the parked cars to see if anyone is coming.

1a) In order to see whether it is safe to make a left from Hiatt onto Irving, I sometimes have to move my car into the intersection, at least over the Hiatt crosswalk, in order to get clear visualization of oncoming traffic. I make a point of looking to see not just if pedestrians are at the intersection but if any are approaching on Irving from the right or left or on Hiatt. If pedestrians are present, I don't block the crosswalk and wait to make my turn until they are gone.

2) That area has a lot of inattentive pedestrians. It does not change the reality of the situation - that drivers are to yield right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks and are liable for striking pedestrians regardless of where the pedestrian is. But it does make it more challenging, as a driver, to predict the behavior of the pedestrians. The pedestrian might be on their phone. They might not be paying attention for other reasons. They might just think that they never have to yield the right of way to anyone ever. They might make a sudden decision to go a different direction. The person driving the car should be paying attention to pedestrian behavior as well as the behavior of other drivers.

3) The whole area is filled with double parkers, confused Uber drivers, buses, and police cars. Half the time the right lane of Irving is blocked by someone unloading their car or a bus that has broken down. The other half the time, someone has parked on the NE corner of Hiatt in clear violation of the no parking sign. It makes it even harder to visualize all the activity in an area.

4) There is a middle school on the corner and most of the kids coming to school are coming from the metro. There is also a large daycare center on Irving. Both are CLEARLY labeled as such. As a driver, if I am in an area where I know there to be children who are likely not paying as close attention as they should to traffic, I am going to be paying EXTRA attention to what is going on around me.

5) There is absolutely no universe in which a person who runs a stop sign at an intersection where a pedestrian is lawfully in the crosswalk and narrowly avoids a collision gets to tell anyone to calm down. The driver in this scenario is 100% in the wrong and should be ashamed of herself. Anyone on the last 14 pages criticizing the OP's behavior or stress level at this experience should be ashamed of themselves as well.

OP here. Thank you. I had no idea this thread would blow up like it has. I should have known this thread would devolve into a screed telling pedestrians what to do. Lots of defensive (but not behind the wheel) drivers here. My intent was to have a discussion about how to make the roads safer and drivers more cautious. Oh well. As many have told me, I should be just be glad I wasn't flattened. Hopefully I'll lose my cane soon so I can hustle across the street the way I'm supposed to.

[Anonymous]

*strike that first be in my next to last sentence

[Anonymous]

Something similar happened in parking lot recently. The driver said she knew what she was doing. People are so entitled. I told her she can kill someone and go to prison for life.