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Funny rant about DC jay walking
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Anonymous
OK- so that's referring to actual jay walking, which I don't condone at all. But I'm daily challenged by MD/VA drivers in *crosswalks* without lights who are reluctant to yield the right of way to pedestrians. It usually isn't moms who do this (in fact, the offenders are usually men), but please, suburban moms, tell your husbands and goofy brothers in law that pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks in DC. |
Anonymous
| PP - Only when the lights in your favor in DC do you have the right away which is something most people walking in DC don't understand. The GW students are the worst. The constantly jaywalk with their head phones and just don't bother to look before stepping out into trafrice. |
Anonymous
| Even if the pedestrian is walking when the light is green, you still are not, by law, allowed to run them over, or try to. |
Anonymous
In crosswalks where there is no light, pedestrians always have the right of way. This is a big issue for areas beyond downtown through which commuters try to blaze without stopping for pedestrians. |
Anonymous
|
I don't think anyone is referring to running people over in crosswalks. When a pedestrian is in the crosswalk and the light is for cars in the opposite direction that's when the pedestrian gets a ticket. Not being able to run someone over doesn't give the pedestrian the right away. Ex where the W&OD crosses Gallows Rd - pedestrians have an actual stop light and cops sit there all the time and ticket pedestrians that try to cross when their light is red.
And yes the PP is right if there are no lights pedestrians do have the right away if they step into the crosswalk. |
Anonymous
|
I hate all bikers....I would love to be able to ticket them as they zoom from sidewalk to street without a glance left or right, ignoring lights or tracing little circles at stopsigns as I try to make a right turn.....
I wish bikers had to pass both written and monitored street tests... |
Anonymous
Well there goes my activity for this afternoon. Thanks for letting me know, I won't run over pedestrians anymore. At least not on purpose. |
Anonymous
Well, I certainly don't hate all bikers and think that in some sense, they're behaving responsibly by not driving. On the other hand, if they refuse to follow the rules for vehicles when they're in the street, they create real safety problems. They also cause problems for me as a pedestrian. First of all, when they ride in the street, they rarely give pedestrians the right of way at crosswalks without traffic lights. Second, I HATE that they're allowed on the sidewalk around here. It makes walking with an armload of groceries and a child that much harder when I have to be prepared to pull the child out of their way quickly. I can't help thinking that rule is a legacy of the days when DC's sidewalks were under-used, but it isn't appropriate now in neighborhoods with healthy pedestrian traffic. |
Anonymous
| I am 6 months pregnant and was walking across 13th at K and had the light to walk, when one of the double long buses decided to turn in front of me so that I was left standing in the middle of the intersection when the light turned red. The driver could see that I was pissed so he shot me the bird. I was so mad - I have tried to call Metro to complain but good luck getting a human on the phone. I have the bus number and route and time. Not that metro cares or will do anything about it. |
Anonymous
They have a complaint form on their website. I've gotten responses from real people at Metro (via e-mail) that way. Try it. That driver needs to be reprimanded. Don't the drivers remember the 2 ladies who died when they got hit by a bus, or the woman who was recently hit while jogging? |
Anonymous
Here's the form: http://www.wmata.com/about_metro/contact_us/ridercomment.cfm |
Anonymous
| To 11:00 an additional option you might consider (besides filling out WMATA's form) is sending a letter to the driver's union. Most of the news outlets this week carried the story of the bus drivers unions telling their drivers to do NOTHING but follow the rules because they think the drivers are becoming scapegoats to Metro's rules. Somehow I don't think not yielding to pedestrian's consists following the rules... |
Anonymous
| irresponsible to drive? wtf .... |
Anonymous
Have you been under a rock since before the 1970s? |