D.C. needs to get a lot more car friendly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let’s see if I understand correctly. It’s Chevy Chase, DC, near MD border. An elderly white man. Not speeding. DC plates. Reportedly mistook the gas and the brake. This situation has zero resemblance to anything being discussed in this thread.

Sounds like an administrative failure. DC needs to get more vigilant about getting elderly drivers off the road.

At the very minimum putting bollards along curbs so that drivers can't murder families eating lunch together would be a sensible move. Of course, we only do that here for potential terrorism targets because what if a driver needs to park on the sidewalk?

Every nation on earth uses bollards to keep drivers off sidewalks. But not the US and certainly not DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s see if I understand correctly. It’s Chevy Chase, DC, near MD border. An elderly white man. Not speeding. DC plates. Reportedly mistook the gas and the brake. This situation has zero resemblance to anything being discussed in this thread.

Sounds like an administrative failure. DC needs to get more vigilant about getting elderly drivers off the road.

At the very minimum putting bollards along curbs so that drivers can't murder families eating lunch together would be a sensible move. Of course, we only do that here for potential terrorism targets because what if a driver needs to park on the sidewalk?

Every nation on earth uses bollards to keep drivers off sidewalks. But not the US and certainly not DC.

Care to provide evidence for this clearly and bizarrely wrong statement?

The obviously cheaper option is just to take away elderly peoples drivers license. Just like taking away licenses of people who have lots of points. And suspending the registration of vehicles that have thousands of dollars in unpaid photo citations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let’s see if I understand correctly. It’s Chevy Chase, DC, near MD border. An elderly white man. Not speeding. DC plates. Reportedly mistook the gas and the brake. This situation has zero resemblance to anything being discussed in this thread.

Sounds like an administrative failure. DC needs to get more vigilant about getting elderly drivers off the road.

As was discussed in the other thread about this incident, it's actually quite relevant to the question of whether DC should be more or less car friendly.

Yes, people make mistakes while driving. This has always been true and will always be true. But if we make policy that seeks to protect and facilitate pedestrians (and cyclists, and outdoor diners, but the focus should be on pedestrians who are most vulnerable and plentiful), those human errors will be less deadly.

If we lived in a city where driving was HARDER not easier, where parking was less plentiful instead of more, where the focus of infrastructure was on accommodating pedestrians and mass transit instead of individual vehicles, the likelyhood of that man making that mistake in that location and killing two people is much lower.

He could have been on a bus or train instead of in a car, if a bus was more convenient to where he was going.
He could have been driving a smaller car instead of an SUV, if DC infrastructure was more hostile to large vehicles, which are much more dangerous to pedestrians (like a LOT more dangerous).
The diners could have been protected by more sidewalks, trees, bike lanes, and other obstacles between them and the lane of traffic.

All of these are things that would make senseless pedestrian deaths less likely. All of them make the city less friendly to cars but MORE FRIENDLY TO PEOPLE. We should want to live in a city that is friendly to people.

[Anonymous]

He should not have been driving. It’s a failure of regulation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Care to provide evidence for this clearly and bizarrely wrong statement?

The obviously cheaper option is just to take away elderly peoples drivers license. Just like taking away licenses of people who have lots of points. And suspending the registration of vehicles that have thousands of dollars in unpaid photo citations.

You clearly haven't been very many places. It is very common for other nations to line their sidewalks with bollards to keep drivers from mowing down pedestrians. Amazing how you are so resistant to this easy move that you'd rather just take drivers licenses away from "old people." Car culture has addled your brain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s see if I understand correctly. It’s Chevy Chase, DC, near MD border. An elderly white man. Not speeding. DC plates. Reportedly mistook the gas and the brake. This situation has zero resemblance to anything being discussed in this thread.

Sounds like an administrative failure. DC needs to get more vigilant about getting elderly drivers off the road.

As was discussed in the other thread about this incident, it's actually quite relevant to the question of whether DC should be more or less car friendly.

Yes, people make mistakes while driving. This has always been true and will always be true. But if we make policy that seeks to protect and facilitate pedestrians (and cyclists, and outdoor diners, but the focus should be on pedestrians who are most vulnerable and plentiful), those human errors will be less deadly.

If we lived in a city where driving was HARDER not easier, where parking was less plentiful instead of more, where the focus of infrastructure was on accommodating pedestrians and mass transit instead of individual vehicles, the likelyhood of that man making that mistake in that location and killing two people is much lower.

He could have been on a bus or train instead of in a car, if a bus was more convenient to where he was going.
He could have been driving a smaller car instead of an SUV, if DC infrastructure was more hostile to large vehicles, which are much more dangerous to pedestrians (like a LOT more dangerous).
The diners could have been protected by more sidewalks, trees, bike lanes, and other obstacles between them and the lane of traffic.

All of these are things that would make senseless pedestrian deaths less likely. All of them make the city less friendly to cars but MORE FRIENDLY TO PEOPLE. We should want to live in a city that is friendly to people.

100% on everything. Couldn't have said it better myself. Revolting how this guy "accidentally" kills two people and the only policy change that drivers want is taking drivers license from old people. Yeah, that will go over well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Care to provide evidence for this clearly and bizarrely wrong statement?

The obviously cheaper option is just to take away elderly peoples drivers license. Just like taking away licenses of people who have lots of points. And suspending the registration of vehicles that have thousands of dollars in unpaid photo citations.

You clearly haven't been very many places. It is very common for other nations to line their sidewalks with bollards to keep drivers from mowing down pedestrians. Amazing how you are so resistant to this easy move that you'd rather just take drivers licenses away from "old people." Car culture has addled your brain.

Admittedly I've not traveled much the last 10 years since i had kids but before being grounded I'd hit about 50 countries and don't remember bollards being common anywhere except maybe for London which is interesting as a comparison because the UK is the most similar to the US in terms of catering to drivers even in dense urban areas. Of course London also had a couple of decades of bomb threats and occasional bombings so I'm guessing that is part of it.

But in all of the European countries I've been too (and in some S. American ones as well) the cities just aren't dominated by these big high capacity high speed roadways through urban areas - people just aren't sitting in outdoor cafes on traffic sewers like they are in the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let’s see if I understand correctly. It’s Chevy Chase, DC, near MD border. An elderly white man. Not speeding. DC plates. Reportedly mistook the gas and the brake. This situation has zero resemblance to anything being discussed in this thread.

Sounds like an administrative failure. DC needs to get more vigilant about getting elderly drivers off the road.

He was speeding. Through the Exxon and across CT Ave and into people eating lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s see if I understand correctly. It’s Chevy Chase, DC, near MD border. An elderly white man. Not speeding. DC plates. Reportedly mistook the gas and the brake. This situation has zero resemblance to anything being discussed in this thread.

Sounds like an administrative failure. DC needs to get more vigilant about getting elderly drivers off the road.

He was speeding. Through the Exxon and across CT Ave and into people eating lunch.

Can you provide a link to an article to confirm your claim of speeding?

The speed limit on Connecticut is 30 MPH so this seems extremely unlikely and probably made up because everything I’ve read says that it’s an old and confused guy that mixed up the gas and brake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s see if I understand correctly. It’s Chevy Chase, DC, near MD border. An elderly white man. Not speeding. DC plates. Reportedly mistook the gas and the brake. This situation has zero resemblance to anything being discussed in this thread.

Sounds like an administrative failure. DC needs to get more vigilant about getting elderly drivers off the road.

As was discussed in the other thread about this incident, it's actually quite relevant to the question of whether DC should be more or less car friendly.

Yes, people make mistakes while driving. This has always been true and will always be true. But if we make policy that seeks to protect and facilitate pedestrians (and cyclists, and outdoor diners, but the focus should be on pedestrians who are most vulnerable and plentiful), those human errors will be less deadly.

If we lived in a city where driving was HARDER not easier, where parking was less plentiful instead of more, where the focus of infrastructure was on accommodating pedestrians and mass transit instead of individual vehicles, the likelyhood of that man making that mistake in that location and killing two people is much lower.

He could have been on a bus or train instead of in a car, if a bus was more convenient to where he was going.
He could have been driving a smaller car instead of an SUV, if DC infrastructure was more hostile to large vehicles, which are much more dangerous to pedestrians (like a LOT more dangerous).
The diners could have been protected by more sidewalks, trees, bike lanes, and other obstacles between them and the lane of traffic.

All of these are things that would make senseless pedestrian deaths less likely. All of them make the city less friendly to cars but MORE FRIENDLY TO PEOPLE. We should want to live in a city that is friendly to people.

100% on everything. Couldn't have said it better myself. Revolting how this guy "accidentally" kills two people and the only policy change that drivers want is taking drivers license from old people. Yeah, that will go over well.

There is an entire state regulatory apparatus that has been set up and in use for 100 years for this very purpose. God forbid the first expectation is that this regulatory apparatus is actually used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Care to provide evidence for this clearly and bizarrely wrong statement?

The obviously cheaper option is just to take away elderly peoples drivers license. Just like taking away licenses of people who have lots of points. And suspending the registration of vehicles that have thousands of dollars in unpaid photo citations.

You clearly haven't been very many places. It is very common for other nations to line their sidewalks with bollards to keep drivers from mowing down pedestrians. Amazing how you are so resistant to this easy move that you'd rather just take drivers licenses away from "old people." Car culture has addled your brain.

Which nations are these?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s see if I understand correctly. It’s Chevy Chase, DC, near MD border. An elderly white man. Not speeding. DC plates. Reportedly mistook the gas and the brake. This situation has zero resemblance to anything being discussed in this thread.

Sounds like an administrative failure. DC needs to get more vigilant about getting elderly drivers off the road.

He was speeding. Through the Exxon and across CT Ave and into people eating lunch.

Can you provide a link to an article to confirm your claim of speeding?

The speed limit on Connecticut is 30 MPH so this seems extremely unlikely and probably made up because everything I’ve read says that it’s an old and confused guy that mixed up the gas and brake.

Eye witnesses and gee, how else does an SUV end up adjacent to a building 20 feet off the curb?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let’s see if I understand correctly. It’s Chevy Chase, DC, near MD border. An elderly white man. Not speeding. DC plates. Reportedly mistook the gas and the brake. This situation has zero resemblance to anything being discussed in this thread.

Sounds like an administrative failure. DC needs to get more vigilant about getting elderly drivers off the road.

He was speeding. Through the Exxon and across CT Ave and into people eating lunch.

Can you provide a link to an article to confirm your claim of speeding?

The speed limit on Connecticut is 30 MPH so this seems extremely unlikely and probably made up because everything I’ve read says that it’s an old and confused guy that mixed up the gas and brake.

MPD said as much in its press release today

https://mpdc.dc.gov/release/traffic-fatalities-5500-block-connecticut-avenue-northwest

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
There is an entire state regulatory apparatus that has been set up and in use for 100 years for this very purpose. God forbid the first expectation is that this regulatory apparatus is actually used.

If I'm understanding your tone correctly, I wouldn't say you're wrong, but I also live in reality. Telling a bunch of elderly drivers you're gonna take away their drivers licenses is a sure-fail electoral strategy. Yes, people should be regularly tested at a certain age, but American Car Culture (TM) will just tolerate more dead bodies piling up so more people can drive with as few restrictions as possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Which nations are these?

Cities--

Bogota
Rio
Santiago
London
Bodo
Moscow
Mexico City