It looks like one of the local news stations picked up on this a little after it was posted here.

http://www.fox5dc.com/news/local-news/safety-concerns-over-temporary-crosswalk-on-piney-branch-road-in-montgomery-county

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a pedestrian or cyclist MAKE EYE CONTACT before crossing.

This is what they teach you on bike school. Yes, the driver who kills you in a crosswalk would be liable. But so what? Posters here who’d rather be right and dead. ....

Nobody has said that on this thread. In fact, nobody in my entire experience of discussions of transportation safety has ever said this. "The driver broke the law" is not a preference for being right and dead; it's a factual statement that the driver broke the law.

On the other side says: So what? Your small child is dead and here’s what you could have done in this scenario to prevent the accident.
A very hollow victory to strive to have the last word be “the driver broke the law.”

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the HOLY F****was the driver supposed to see that short small child on a bike ???
WOW!!!
Luckily the driver saw them just in time to stop.
That was the parents' fault. YOU DON'T LET A SMALL CHILD RIDE A BIKE ACROSS A BUSY STREET ALONE!!

Have you read any of this thread? Specifically, the part where it's illegal for a driver to pass a car stopped at a crosswalk? The driver may or may not have seen the child. The driver certainly should have seen the stopped car.

So the fact that cars are supposed to stop at intersections now means that we should let 4 year olds cross busy streets alone? Whut?

The mother was right behind the child and prevented the accident by yelling at her when she saw the SUV was speeding into the crosswalk. Traffic had stopped in both directions - the SUV driver was completely in the wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The $1 million or $10 million from the driver’s umbrella policy or lawsuit in a wrongful death would be cold comfort. As a parent, you need to be smarter.

As a driver, you need to be smarter. It would be cold comfort to you that your driver's insurance paid out to the dead child's family, wouldn't it?

Don’t be ridiculous. A lot of things could be improved from that video. But between a driver and a parent, who do you rely on to be smarter when it comes to the safety of your child? If you say driver, you need to be smarter. Else, you could have an insurance payment and a funeral.

My personal opinion is that the people who have the potential to kill other people while traveling have the greatest responsibility to be careful.

The most careful behavior in the world can't prevent a careless driver from killing you. That's why we need to focus on the careless drivers.

Don’t be obtuse. Dismounting the bikes and waiting a completely clear road in time to cross or for the cars to all come to a stop would have prevented this near miss. Yeah, it’s a pain, takes longer, people get impatient. It’s what’s required here.

It also is a pain and takes longer to make sure a crosswalk is clear before you cross it. Drivers are impatient, I know. But they are required to stop and this driver did not.

And yes, every day, people run across crosswalks faster than this kid was going on her bike.

Stop driving if you cannot see that the crosswalk is clear. It is simple. Perhaps it is hard for some people but then they should not be driving.

YOU ARE IN A CAR AND THE KID IS LOW TO THE GROUND. WHAT A FREAKING IDIOT.

Does that crossing having any kind of signage?

I'm not familiar with the road, but we have a similar crossing in my town that has STOP signs for the bike trail people. Then, because so many didn't stop, they installed signs leading up to the stop signs that flash and say "Stop Ahead!" annnnnd because so many people STILL didn't get how to properly cross the road, signs underneath the STOP signs were installed that state: Bicycles & Pedestrians crossing must wait until all traffic comes to a complete stop to proceed.

So, technically, if these humans were crossing in my town, they would have been at fault because they only waited for 3/4 lanes to stop completely.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the HOLY F****was the driver supposed to see that short small child on a bike ???
WOW!!!
Luckily the driver saw them just in time to stop.
That was the parents' fault. YOU DON'T LET A SMALL CHILD RIDE A BIKE ACROSS A BUSY STREET ALONE!!

Have you read any of this thread? Specifically, the part where it's illegal for a driver to pass a car stopped at a crosswalk? The driver may or may not have seen the child. The driver certainly should have seen the stopped car.

So the fact that cars are supposed to stop at intersections now means that we should let 4 year olds cross busy streets alone? Whut?

Maybe you're watching a different video? In this video, the child is crossing the street with two adults.

Anonymous wrote:Idiots on bikes!

You walk your bike when you cross the street.

The car was wrong, absolutely, and the driver 100% would have been at fault had the driver hit the kid, but the parents are also not blameless here.

Teach good biking rules! If you don't know them, take a class!

HAH!!!! I've never even heard of a "biking class" and there certainly isn't a "biking license" required so maybe the driver of the automobile should have paid attention to all the cars stopped.

Anonymous wrote:Idiots on bikes!

You walk your bike when you cross the street.

The car was wrong, absolutely, and the driver 100% would have been at fault had the driver hit the kid, but the parents are also not blameless here.

Teach good biking rules! If you don't know them, take a class!

Why?

Have you taken a class? For example, the City Cycling class offered by WABA? And if so, is that what they taught - that you should walk your bike when you cross a street?

Anonymous wrote:How in the HOLY F****was the driver supposed to see that short small child on a bike ???
WOW!!!
Luckily the driver saw them just in time to stop.
That was the parents' fault. YOU DON'T LET A SMALL CHILD RIDE A BIKE ACROSS A BUSY STREET ALONE!!

Serious question - where did you go through driver's ed? Did you not know that you are supposed to stop at a crosswalk where other cars are stopped? Do you continue to drive at speed when you see a car in the next lane stopped at a crosswalk?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How in the HOLY F****was the driver supposed to see that short small child on a bike ???
WOW!!!
Luckily the driver saw them just in time to stop.
That was the parents' fault. YOU DON'T LET A SMALL CHILD RIDE A BIKE ACROSS A BUSY STREET ALONE!!

Have you read any of this thread? Specifically, the part where it's illegal for a driver to pass a car stopped at a crosswalk? The driver may or may not have seen the child. The driver certainly should have seen the stopped car.

So the fact that cars are supposed to stop at intersections now means that we should let 4 year olds cross busy streets alone? Whut?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is so scary!! The diver was 100% in the wrong.

At the same time, bikes should be WALKED across traffic lanes. Is this not a thing anymore? Her parents should have also accompanied the small child across the road.

If the plates are legible, can the police ticket the car?

Also, I notice that the dad crosses the road while the intersection is not clear.

True. And, the video starts several seconds before the car arrives at the crosswalk, so you can tell that there is a fairly decent stretch of straight road approaching the crosswalk. That SUV driver had plenty of time see the family ahead, but the parents also had plenty of time to see the SUV approaching and to make sure it was actually going to stop.

Which they did, and that's the only reason the child isn't dead and the driver isn't facing a vehicular manslaughter charge.

No, that vehicle had to already visible to mom when the little girl started to cross. She shouldn’t have even been in the crosswalk until the SUV was clearly stopping.

thissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
x100000000000000000000
I am a careful driver, very careful and I live near a bike trail and crosswalk. My attention would have been on the dumbass dad and thought...oh all done...looking at road in front and not seen a small child lower than my damn bumper.

Would you have noticed that the car in the lane next to you was stopped at a crosswalk? If you wouldn't, you lose your "very careful driver" badge.

Anonymous wrote:
thissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
x100000000000000000000
I am a careful driver, very careful and I live near a bike trail and crosswalk. My attention would have been on the dumbass dad and thought...oh all done...looking at road in front and not seen a small child lower than my damn bumper.

Then you're not a careful-enough driver.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is so scary!! The diver was 100% in the wrong.

At the same time, bikes should be WALKED across traffic lanes. Is this not a thing anymore? Her parents should have also accompanied the small child across the road.

If the plates are legible, can the police ticket the car?

Also, I notice that the dad crosses the road while the intersection is not clear.

True. And, the video starts several seconds before the car arrives at the crosswalk, so you can tell that there is a fairly decent stretch of straight road approaching the crosswalk. That SUV driver had plenty of time see the family ahead, but the parents also had plenty of time to see the SUV approaching and to make sure it was actually going to stop.

Which they did, and that's the only reason the child isn't dead and the driver isn't facing a vehicular manslaughter charge.

No, that vehicle had to already visible to mom when the little girl started to cross. She shouldn’t have even been in the crosswalk until the SUV was clearly stopping.

thissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
x100000000000000000000
I am a careful driver, very careful and I live near a bike trail and crosswalk. My attention would have been on the dumbass dad and thought...oh all done...looking at road in front and not seen a small child lower than my damn bumper.

Even if you couldn't see the little girl, you should have seen the mom on the left and stopped and let her cross even if she wasn't in the intersection yet.

Idiots on bikes!

You walk your bike when you cross the street.

The car was wrong, absolutely, and the driver 100% would have been at fault had the driver hit the kid, but the parents are also not blameless here.

Teach good biking rules! If you don't know them, take a class!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That is so scary!! The diver was 100% in the wrong.

At the same time, bikes should be WALKED across traffic lanes. Is this not a thing anymore? Her parents should have also accompanied the small child across the road.

If the plates are legible, can the police ticket the car?

Also, I notice that the dad crosses the road while the intersection is not clear.

True. And, the video starts several seconds before the car arrives at the crosswalk, so you can tell that there is a fairly decent stretch of straight road approaching the crosswalk. That SUV driver had plenty of time see the family ahead, but the parents also had plenty of time to see the SUV approaching and to make sure it was actually going to stop.

Which they did, and that's the only reason the child isn't dead and the driver isn't facing a vehicular manslaughter charge.

No, that vehicle had to already visible to mom when the little girl started to cross. She shouldn’t have even been in the crosswalk until the SUV was clearly stopping.

thissssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
x100000000000000000000
I am a careful driver, very careful and I live near a bike trail and crosswalk. My attention would have been on the dumbass dad and thought...oh all done...looking at road in front and not seen a small child lower than my damn bumper.