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Glenn Cook
No, you don't get points for hitting pedestrians
Updated: Dec. 5, 2011 | 10:47 a.m.
It's one thing to not pay attention to the news. It's another to not pay attention on the road.
But I was blown away Monday by one of the most unsettling displays of disregard for pedestrian safety that I've ever seen -- and that's saying something in Las Vegas.
As anyone who reads a newspaper or watches TV knows, pedestrian safety has been one of bigger local stories of the past two months. At least a half-dozen pedestrians have been killed since October. The valley is closing in on 30 such deaths this year.
These accidents were more newsworthy than usual because three of them involved children, including a Las Vegas middle school student killed by a drunken driving suspect while trick-or-treating on Halloween and 6-year-old who was run over in a North Las Vegas crosswalk with two friends.
Police have been pushing a balanced message ever since: both pedestrians and motorists need to be alert and patient. Drivers need to slow down, and pedestrians need to use crosswalks and keep in mind that a vehicle might not stop for them.
Because of these developments, I've been especially mindful of pedestrians when driving. Which is why I took notice of a man trying to cross Town Center Drive last week.
I was waiting at a stop sign at Town Center, a block south of Charleston Boulevard. The man was standing in the crosswalk median, having just crossed three lanes of northbound traffic, waiting for cars to clear before he walked across the three southbound lanes.
I was about to make my turn away from the crosswalk when I noticed why he had waited for so long in the median. As soon as he took his first step, it was clear the man, probably in his late 50s or early 60s, was severely disabled. One of his arms was tucked against his torso, and he could barely lift one foot off the ground. His shuffle was painfully slow.
I immediately guessed it might take him a full minute, maybe longer, to get across those three lanes.
And because of that, I immediately feared I might witness another pedestrian fatality.
Sure enough, southbound traffic started to clear Charleston and speed toward the crosswalk. The man still hadn't made it across the first travel lane.
The lead vehicles noticed the man and began to slow down. They stopped well before the crosswalk. Other cars pulled up behind them.
I watched the drivers' expressions and gestures. The pedestrian was just about to enter the second lane. A couple of drivers were visibly frustrated. They knew they were going to be stuck for a while -- at least, if they intended to adhere to the law and wait for the man to clear the crosswalk before proceeding.
But there's always one driver. And in this town, it only takes one.
The lead motorist in the left travel lane decided he couldn't wait any longer. So he hit the accelerator. Hey, the disabled man wasn't in his lane anymore, right? The car whizzed past the disabled man as his small strides brought him into the middle lane. Another vehicle followed.
The man had just reached the third lane when vehicles in the center lane decided they needed to be on their way, as well. Good lord, what if the man fell over backward? At this point, the pedestrian's head turned to check out traffic and see if he was about to be hit.
The drivers stuck in the right travel lane, who had waited the longest, weren't about stick around and see if the man made it safely across. They swerved to their left to get around him.
Every single car in that traffic pack had driven through the crosswalk while the man was still in it.
Thankfully, the man made it across Town Center, but he wasn't happy about what he had just seen. And neither was I. I don't know how many times I've had a car speed just a couple of feet behind me before I've exited a crosswalk.
"I think drivers have been desensitized to pedestrians," said Las Vegas police spokesman Bill Cassell. "There will never be a time when we can't stress pedestrian safety too much."
Believe me, I know how easy it is for drivers to simply not see pedestrians. Especially at large intersections or four-way stop signs at busy, converging six-lane roads, you're so focused watching signals and other vehicles that you can forget to check that the crosswalks are clear before turns.
But a man using a crosswalk in broad daylight, and stopped drivers making the decision to go anyway? What are those drivers thinking?
Probably two things. First, as one driver told North Las Vegas police while being cited in a crosswalk sting: "I saw them. I wasn't going to hit them." Second, everyone had lots of time to make sure no police were around. How many people make that calculation every day while speeding in residential areas and blowing through stop signs?
The driving culture in this city is terrible. And it's pretty clear that no number of pedestrian deaths is going to change that. Unless the valley undertakes a major initiative like more signage and lights or the installation of flag baskets, such as those used in Salt Lake City, it's going to be up to police to change that culture -- one ticket at a time.
Glenn Cook (gcook@reviewjournal.com) is a Review-Journal editorial writer.
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Here's what I don't like...yes, the "I'll sue if you hit me" attitude every other person crossing in front of me has. Also, the west-coast culture of waiting to turn because the person has put one foot in the crosswalk on the other side of the road from you. There's enough space there to barrel roll a flaming Ford F-150 through there. Just go!
The Green Valley HS cross-walk on Warm Springs is an accident/tragedy waiting to happen. Cars going faster than the posted 25mph, cars blowing thru the crosswalk when kids are walking ... all because they are late getting somewhere or for some other reason.
I drop my kid off every morning and see the same cars/SUVs doing the same illegal acts. One lady drove so fast that I watched my child literally stop in the middle of the street not to get run over by her. Why was this scumbag driving so fast???
She had to take her little dog to the Petsmart on the corner for grooming. I followed this POS to tell her she almost ran my kid over. And she's b*tching about MY behavior????
And what was YOUR excuse this morning, Mr Ford Explorer - license plate ***W*X ??? Did you NOT see the 2 girls wearing hot pink coats before you almost ran them over?
If you don't like the school zone, either find another route or drive during a different time!
I would think that most 6 lane roads have a median so once the "pedestrian" gets to the other side of the median you could proceed. As long as they are on your side of the median you have to wait.
BTW why do people keep referring to the people being killed as "pedestrians" the news announced a few nights ago that out of all the fatalities that only two of these "pedestrians" were legally crossing the roadway. Please start reporing these stories accurately. IF THEY ARE NOT LEGALLY CROSSING THE ROAD THEY ARE NOT PEDESTRIANS.
About an hour ago, I was driving east on DI and approaching Decatur. Both the primary light, and the pedestrian walk-light, were red. I was going to make a right turn at the intersection. Two young girls, about 15, were walking east on the south-sidewalk approaching the intersection. They were both wearing sweatshirts, with the hoods up and covering the sides of their faces. Both lights turned green at the same time, and the girls continued walking right off of the curb and into the crosswalk/intersection, without ever looking either direction, and especially without looking back to their left where I was. One of the first things your momma teaches you is to always look back to the side to make sure that no vehicle is coming and intending to turn. The attitude of these two girls was so careless, that it irritated me enough that I gave them a couple of taps on the horn, just to remind them of what they did. Neither bothered to even look back, then. So, again, I want to say that don’t try to tell me that it is all the fault of the drivers. Yes, drivers in LV are, as a group, terrible. But, so are the pedestrians.
We need to reasess the laws regarding pedestrian crossing. I was at a light in the right turn lane. A larger vehicle, blocking my view was to my left. I took my foot off the brake and rolled forward to see if it was clear for me to make a right on red. A man flew through the crosswalk from the left on a bike. No lights, light color, or reflective clothing at 10 PM. There was no way I could have seen him from the position I was in. I hit the brakes as soon as I saw the whirl he created as he went by. The guy stopped and screamed at me, and then tried to attack me/my car by kicking the door.
It is important for BOTH drivers and pedestrians to be responsible for taking appropriate precaution in crosswalks. I walk often and see that many pedestrians have an, "I'll sue them if they hit me" attitude, and don't pay enough attention for their own safety. Well, it is hard to sue if you're dead.
I don't think that lowering speed limits is the answer. Nor is always blaming the drivers and giving pedestrians carte blanche to cross wherever whey want. In my opinion, the solution is awareness and training for both parties as well as more physical indicators, such as crosswalk warning lights to alert drivers.
@Coloma, Lawss got hit when an impatient driver passed on the right- not his/her fault. As far as waiting while the pedestrian is in the crosswalk- it's the law, even if you think it's ridiculous.
Say that you are in the far-right lane of a six-lane road. A pedestrian is walking in the crosswalk just ahead of your car, passing from right-to-left. That pedestrian clears your car. It is absurd to think that you should be required to sit there, in place, until the pedestrian clears the other five lanes and steps on the curb on the far side of the street.
Lawss:
If I understand what you are saying, it is that you cleared the first car and then continued on without making sure the rest of the roadway was clear. If you had just looked to see that the next lane was clear, you wouldn't have been hit. In collisions between vehicles and pedestrians, the pedestrians always lose. It seems only reasonable that a pedestrian takes the responsibilty on himself to make certain his path is safe.
I had a woman almost run me over in a parking lot, she was speeding and just didn't care. I yelled "slow down b*tch". She actually stopped so I proceeded over to her vehicle and asked her what her problem was and that she almost ran me over. She still wasn't phased in the slightest at what she almost did and was indignant at me for using the "B-Word". That unleashed a torrent of profanity I haven't used since my army days and took every fiber of my being from putting my boot in her door. Of course, if the cops were called it would have been all my fault and I am the one who would have wound up in cuffs.
Add to the $500 and include a mandatory drivers education class. See how these fools like to have their time wasted then.