Crosswalk question/rant

kaos16 · May 2015

In NY you have to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. I was just shopping on my lunch break and walked in a properly marked crosswalk with a big sign that says "STOP for pedestrians in crosswalk" and a woman missed me by inches as she flew through it. Ignoring the fact that she was flying in a busy parking lot, is the crosswalk rule different in other states? One of these days I'm going to get hit.

JennyColada · May 2015

I thought that in NY cars had the right of way?

And yes, the laws are different in various states.

lyndausvi · May 2015

You are required to stop if anyone is on the crosswalk here in CO. I live near a park and town center-type place. People are really good about stopping for people.

Other states not so much.

theartistformerlyknownas · May 2015

In Michigan you have to stop whenever someone is in the crosswalk, even if they're not in front of you. My dad got a ticket for that once - the woman had already passed his car so he moved through, but she wasn't all the way to the other side yet.

However, I nearly got killed about 60% of the times I crossed the street in Birmingham. Anecdotally, it was always the really expensive cars that nearly ran me over.

luckya23 · May 2015

I think if you see a car coming and rely on "the law" you are taking your life in your hands. I would always wait and see if they intend to stop.

southernbelle0915 · May 2015

We had some friends that were visiting Chicago last year and got hit crossing the street. The driver was on her phone. Nice work, asshole.

I think the laws are different everywhere, but I'm pretty sure it's universally accepted that if you have the white walking person, you're supposed to be able to cross without getting run over. I still look because....idiots abound.

kaos16 · May 2015

southernbelle0915 said:
We had some friends that were visiting Chicago last year and got hit crossing the street. The driver was on her phone. Nice work, asshole.

I think the laws are different everywhere, but I'm pretty sure it's universally accepted that if you have the white walking person, you're supposed to be able to cross without getting run over. I still look because....idiots abound.

that's awful. Is your friend ok?

jenna8984 · May 2015

luckya23 said:
I think if you see a car coming and rely on "the law" you are taking your life in your hands. I would always wait and see if they intend to stop.

Me too. In a shopping plaza, I always wait and look the person in the eye until they slow down or stop.

thespeshulestsnowflake · May 2015

lolo883 said:
In Michigan you have to stop whenever someone is in the crosswalk, even if they're not in front of you. My dad got a ticket for that once - the woman had already passed his car so he moved through, but she wasn't all the way to the other side yet.

However, I nearly got killed about 60% of the times I crossed the street in Birmingham. Anecdotally, it was always the really expensive cars that nearly ran me over.

Grosse Pointe is bad in some places. People will cut across the street in the middle of blocks.

sarawifenow · May 2015

lyndausvi said:
You are required to stop if anyone is on the crosswalk here in CO. I live near a park and town center-type place. People are really good about stopping for people.

Other states not so much.

This. I have lived in CO my entire life and I have never had a problem with people stopping at the crosswalk when I am crossing.

I would probably get ran over in another state that didn't have this rule because I am just so used to it!

southernbelle0915 · May 2015

kaos16 said:

southernbelle0915 said:
We had some friends that were visiting Chicago last year and got hit crossing the street. The driver was on her phone. Nice work, asshole.

I think the laws are different everywhere, but I'm pretty sure it's universally accepted that if you have the white walking person, you're supposed to be able to cross without getting run over. I still look because....idiots abound.
that's awful. Is your friend ok?

Yes, they're both ok now. Thankfully. One got it worse than the other and did PT for 6 months or so.

4forluck · May 2015

Hawaii has a big problem with pedestrians getting run over by cars. So far the solution has been to put up random crosswalks on the roads. Not at intersections or with a light. Just painted lines going across a busy street with a sign that says "Crosswalk." Surprisingly, these lines have failed to get motorists to stop and pedestrians are still getting hit. FI complains about how dangerous it is all of the time.

afox007 · May 2015

I hate walking around downtown. No one seems to pay attention to anyone. Pedestrians technically have the right of way and we have share the road laws for bikes. Downtown ends up being a cluster fuck, pedestrians decide they are just going to cross in front of a car with no crosswalk because the car HAS to stop. Drivers are so annoyed with it that they try to drive as close to each other as possible to prevent pedestrians from crossing.

The cyclists are the ones that are gonna eventually run me over. They are supposed to maintain the same laws as cars if they are on the roads. Yet everytime I try crossing at a stop sign where the car is patiently letting me cross some asshole on a bike tries to take me out.

theartistformerlyknownas · May 2015

southernbelle0915 said:
We had some friends that were visiting Chicago last year and got hit crossing the street. The driver was on her phone. Nice work, asshole.

I think the laws are different everywhere, but I'm pretty sure it's universally accepted that if you have the white walking person, you're supposed to be able to cross without getting run over. I still look because....idiots abound.

I got hit in a parking lot last year! Dummy was parked parallel to the curb in front of the door. I walked BEHIND her to get to the lot, and she slammed it into reverse while I was behind her. I screamed (an obscenity) and kind of flailed my arm into her window. Thankfully I was nearly past her car so just her corner clipped me otherwise she would have run me right over. And it was an SUV so it didn't just take my knees out like a low bumper would have. Why the hell would you go BACKWARDS? There was nothing in front of her.

jenna8984 · May 2015

So I'm part of a residents forum FB page for my town. Normally I try not to say much on there, but the other day I just had to.

This guy posted "OK- you all need to slow the hell down! Get off your phone, turn down your rap music, and pay attention. My girlfriend takes our baby for a walk and this is the 4th time that she's almost got hit by the Dollar Tree/ Panera Main Street entrance. If she gets hit, I will find you and kill you."

One person posted a meme of "keep calm and listen to rap music" which I thought was hilarious. Then another person said "threatening death on FB- that's bright". I said "I'm not arguing that people need to slow down but clearly she should walk a different route" (as it sounded like she was doing it for recreation and not like to get to work).

He got all pissed off and said WTF is wrong with you?! I said "She's the one who continues to put herself and child in a situation that's proven to be dangerous time and time again...but what's wrong with me?!" He was still pissy saying "that's fucked up man". And I'm just like ok but which is going to be more beneficial to your girlfriend- you making a FB post, or her walking a different route?

bethsmiles · May 2015

In Idaho you are required to stop for pedestrians in a marked crosswalk. It really pisses me off when people just choose to walk across the street wherever they want, whenever they want and are surprised when a car almost hits them. I know that's not the situation in the OP, it just happens so much where I used to live.

princessleia22 · May 2015

In AZ state law requires that you stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk. Whether people actually do that depends on where you are. I've seen some areas that are very good about stopping and some areas where people don't stop at all. In Tempe, they have started putting blinking red lights at some crosswalks along a pedestrian trail, so when a person wants to cross, they press the button and it gives cars blinking red light to stop until crosswalk is clear. That seems to be pretty effective and I wish they put more of them up. But, it's not effective to put them everywhere either.

kaos16 · May 2015

bethsmiles said:
In Idaho you are required to stop for pedestrians in a marked crosswalk. It really pisses me off when people just choose to walk across the street wherever they want, whenever they want and are surprised when a car almost hits them. I know that's not the situation in the OP, it just happens so much where I used to live.

bethsmiles said:
I totally agree. I hate when people just wander into the middle of the road and expect cars to stop. Today I was in an outlet mall. There are well marked crosswalks all over the place. When I said well marked, we are talking stripes on the ground and the signs. . . I was in one of them.

KatieinBkln · May 2015

I think cars are technically supposed to yield to pedestrians nearly everywhere. Different places vary in how intensely they follow this, though (my little tiny smalltown growing up was a great place to walk, and therefore a shit place to drive, since so many people couldn't be bothered to walk 50 feet to the next marked crosswalk rather than just stepping out in front of cars because they could).

I did find that both CO and San Fran were extremely pedestrian-oriented in this way. NYC is ok, but you have to pay attention and realize that you jaywalk at your own risk (with all the traffic, including auto, pedestrian, and bikes, things only keep moving if everyone goes when they're supposed to and stops when they're supposed to stop. As a pedestrian or bike, you can sometimes catch a lull and go against the light, but god help you if you do so and cause a car/bike to stop or slow down, because you basically just fucked 100 other people who would've been able to keep going, but now can't, and back up the whole system).

I wonder if car culture vs. walking or bike culture is especially correlated. I think it's clear that in pedestrian-heavy places (like NYC, or my tiny hometown, or where I went to college and everyone walked) the cars tend to stop. But what about elsewhere? Anyone have experience with a place that is generally car-oriented but particularly good about yielding to pedestrians? I cite All the European cities as the converse--people walk everywhere, en masse, but the day I jaywalk in Paris is the day I die. Dem Puegeot drivers are maniacs!

arrippa · May 2015

In Boston, we cross wherever we want, as long as it's clear of cars. We don't need a crosswalk.

thisismynickname2 · May 2015

We had some friends that were visiting Chicago last year and got hit crossing the street. The driver was on her phone. Nice work, asshole.

In Illinois, pedestrians have right of way. In Chicago, they've been putting up more and more of those narrow yellow signs in the middle of crosswalks that show drivers they have to yield to pedestrians.

It hasn't stopped me from being nearly run over (like serious risk, very close calls, not exaggerating) four times, with two of the times people giving me shamefaced apologies through the windshield and two of the times the drivers screaming at ME. And of course, I scream obscenities right back.

Seriously, the one guy, after nearly killing me, was able to stop to lean out his door to yell at me. He couldn't stop from running me over, but he could stop to yell. Unreal.

lyndausvi · May 2015

kaos16 said:

KatieinBkln said:
I think cars are technically supposed to yield to pedestrians nearly everywhere. Different places vary in how intensely they follow this, though (my little tiny smalltown growing up was a great place to walk, and therefore a shit place to drive, since so many people couldn't be bothered to walk 50 feet to the next marked crosswalk rather than just stepping out in front of cars because they could).

I did find that both CO and San Fran were extremely pedestrian-oriented in this way. NYC is ok, but you have to pay attention and realize that you jaywalk at your own risk (with all the traffic, including auto, pedestrian, and bikes, things only keep moving if everyone goes when they're supposed to and stops when they're supposed to stop. As a pedestrian or bike, you can sometimes catch a lull and go against the light, but god help you if you do so and cause a car/bike to stop or slow down, because you basically just fucked 100 other people who would've been able to keep going, but now can't, and back up the whole system).

I wonder if car culture vs. walking or bike culture is especially correlated. I think it's clear that in pedestrian-heavy places (like NYC, or my tiny hometown, or where I went to college and everyone walked) the cars tend to stop. But what about elsewhere? Anyone have experience with a place that is generally car-oriented but particularly good about yielding to pedestrians? I cite All the European cities as the converse--people walk everywhere, en masse, but the day I jaywalk in Paris is the day I die. Dem Puegeot drivers are maniacs!

FYI - Not sure where in Brooklyn you live, but my SIL lives near Williamsburg. She 100% believes her VW bug has the right of way. Warning, if you are in that area, plan to use a cross walk and see a VW bug, for your own safety, do not cross.

Seriously, she should not have a license.

jenna8984 · May 2015

arrippa said:
In Boston, we cross wherever we want, as long as it's clear of cars. We don't need a crosswalk.

@arrippa YUP. When I moved to AZ, my friends screamed at me for "jay-walking". I was like wtf are you talking about- no one is coming so just cross. They were like nooooo you have to walk all the way down there to the crosswalk and you have to wait for the "walk" signal. I'm like yeaaaa people in Boston don't have time for that shit, we just bolt whenever and wherever we want! lol

ChemFanatic25 · May 2015

jenna8984 said:

arrippa said:
In Boston, we cross wherever we want, as long as it's clear of cars. We don't need a crosswalk.

@arrippa YUP. When I moved to AZ, my friends screamed at me for "jay-walking". I was like wtf are you talking about- no one is coming so just cross. They were like nooooo you have to walk all the way down there to the crosswalk and you have to wait for the "walk" signal. I'm like yeaaaa people in Boston don't have time for that shit, we just bolt whenever and wherever we want! lol

I live in the city and people park on both of sides of the road. Rather than using the cross walks people will pop out from between these cars and start walking across the road. I absolutely hate it because I'm driving the speed limit (or lower depending on where I am) and I could still get burned because some jerk couldn't use the damn cross walk that was established for the pedestrian and driver's benefit. So I just drive extra slow in case they want to cross at a random spot so I can avoid hitting them by accident. Oh and they will do it at night which makes it more dangerous. I have tried to find routes that avoid this but living in the middle of the city doesn't really help. I can't wait to move.

lovegood90 · May 2015

afox007 said:
I hate walking around downtown. No one seems to pay attention to anyone. Pedestrians technically have the right of way and we have share the road laws for bikes. Downtown ends up being a cluster fuck, pedestrians decide they are just going to cross in front of a car with no crosswalk because the car HAS to stop. Drivers are so annoyed with it that they try to drive as close to each other as possible to prevent pedestrians from crossing.

The cyclists are the ones that are gonna eventually run me over. They are supposed to maintain the same laws as cars if they are on the roads. Yet everytime I try crossing at a stop sign where the car is patiently letting me cross some asshole on a bike tries to take me out.

YES to all of this! Downtown Toronto is hilarious because drivers literally can't get anywhere because humans and bikes are just walking/cycling wherever they want and the cars can't do anything about it. As a pedestrian/cyclist I get around the downtown core much faster. BUT I hate most cyclists- they are so freaking dangerous because most of them only follow the rules of the road when it's convenient for them.

Biking with my SO is so infuriating because he NEVER stops at stop signs! Grr so dangerous.

kvruns · May 2015

I don't care what the law is, I never expect the car to stop. Now if you're halfway through the crosswalk and they come up on you, that's totally not cool, but if I'm not out in it yet I don't expect them to stop even if they are supposed to.

ashley8918 · May 2015

jenna8984 said:
So I'm part of a residents forum FB page for my town. Normally I try not to say much on there, but the other day I just had to.
This guy posted "OK- you all need to slow the hell down! Get off your phone, turn down your rap music, and pay attention. My girlfriend takes our baby for a walk and this is the 4th time that she's almost got hit by the Dollar Tree/ Panera Main Street entrance. If she gets hit, I will find you and kill you."
One person posted a meme of "keep calm and listen to rap music" which I thought was hilarious. Then another person said "threatening death on FB- that's bright". I said "I'm not arguing that people need to slow down but clearly she should walk a different route" (as it sounded like she was doing it for recreation and not like to get to work).
He got all pissed off and said WTF is wrong with you?! I said "She's the one who continues to put herself and child in a situation that's proven to be dangerous time and time again...but what's wrong with me?!" He was still pissy saying "that's fucked up man". And I'm just like ok but which is going to be more beneficial to your girlfriend- you making a FB post, or her walking a different route?

Gross. Victim (or, potential victim) blaming is not cool. Should a woman who almost got raped just not wear such short skits anymore, too?

jenna8984 · May 2015

ashley8918 said:

jenna8984 said:
So I'm part of a residents forum FB page for my town. Normally I try not to say much on there, but the other day I just had to.
This guy posted "OK- you all need to slow the hell down! Get off your phone, turn down your rap music, and pay attention. My girlfriend takes our baby for a walk and this is the 4th time that she's almost got hit by the Dollar Tree/ Panera Main Street entrance. If she gets hit, I will find you and kill you."
One person posted a meme of "keep calm and listen to rap music" which I thought was hilarious. Then another person said "threatening death on FB- that's bright". I said "I'm not arguing that people need to slow down but clearly she should walk a different route" (as it sounded like she was doing it for recreation and not like to get to work).
He got all pissed off and said WTF is wrong with you?! I said "She's the one who continues to put herself and child in a situation that's proven to be dangerous time and time again...but what's wrong with me?!" He was still pissy saying "that's fucked up man". And I'm just like ok but which is going to be more beneficial to your girlfriend- you making a FB post, or her walking a different route?
Gross. Victim (or, potential victim) blaming is not cool. Should a woman who almost got raped just not wear such short skits anymore, too?

Dude shut up. This has absolutely 0% to do with rape so you can just stop with everything single thing being "blaming or shaming". Sometimes you have to admit that people really are just idiots and get what they have coming (in case I need to clarify, that is not in reference to rape in any way).

ashley8918 · May 2015

jenna8984 said:

ashley8918 said:

jenna8984 said:
So I'm part of a residents forum FB page for my town. Normally I try not to say much on there, but the other day I just had to.
This guy posted "OK- you all need to slow the hell down! Get off your phone, turn down your rap music, and pay attention. My girlfriend takes our baby for a walk and this is the 4th time that she's almost got hit by the Dollar Tree/ Panera Main Street entrance. If she gets hit, I will find you and kill you."
One person posted a meme of "keep calm and listen to rap music" which I thought was hilarious. Then another person said "threatening death on FB- that's bright". I said "I'm not arguing that people need to slow down but clearly she should walk a different route" (as it sounded like she was doing it for recreation and not like to get to work).
He got all pissed off and said WTF is wrong with you?! I said "She's the one who continues to put herself and child in a situation that's proven to be dangerous time and time again...but what's wrong with me?!" He was still pissy saying "that's fucked up man". And I'm just like ok but which is going to be more beneficial to your girlfriend- you making a FB post, or her walking a different route?
Gross. Victim (or, potential victim) blaming is not cool. Should a woman who almost got raped just not wear such short skits anymore, too?

Dude shut up. This has absolutely 0% to do with rape so you can just stop with everything single thing being "blaming or shaming". Sometimes you have to admit that people really are just idiots and get what they have coming (in case I need to clarify, that is not in reference to rape in any way).

Whoa, excuse me?

It is blaming. You are blaming the mother for walking in a certain place (much like people blame rape victims for wearing a certain thing), instead of blaming the people who drive like fucking morons (much like when people don't blame the rapist).

So, someone who gets hit bay a car in a crosswalk "gets what they have coming"? HOW IN THE FUCK IS THIS NOT VICTIM BLAMING?

ETA and please refrain from telling me to "shut up" like a petulant child.

KatieinBkln · May 2015

kaos16 said:

KatieinBkln said:
I think cars are technically supposed to yield to pedestrians nearly everywhere. Different places vary in how intensely they follow this, though (my little tiny smalltown growing up was a great place to walk, and therefore a shit place to drive, since so many people couldn't be bothered to walk 50 feet to the next marked crosswalk rather than just stepping out in front of cars because they could).

I did find that both CO and San Fran were extremely pedestrian-oriented in this way. NYC is ok, but you have to pay attention and realize that you jaywalk at your own risk (with all the traffic, including auto, pedestrian, and bikes, things only keep moving if everyone goes when they're supposed to and stops when they're supposed to stop. As a pedestrian or bike, you can sometimes catch a lull and go against the light, but god help you if you do so and cause a car/bike to stop or slow down, because you basically just fucked 100 other people who would've been able to keep going, but now can't, and back up the whole system).

I wonder if car culture vs. walking or bike culture is especially correlated. I think it's clear that in pedestrian-heavy places (like NYC, or my tiny hometown, or where I went to college and everyone walked) the cars tend to stop. But what about elsewhere? Anyone have experience with a place that is generally car-oriented but particularly good about yielding to pedestrians? I cite All the European cities as the converse--people walk everywhere, en masse, but the day I jaywalk in Paris is the day I die. Dem Puegeot drivers are maniacs!
FYI - Not sure where in Brooklyn you live, but my SIL lives near Williamsburg. She 100% believes her VW bug has the right of way. Warning, if you are in that area, plan to use a cross walk and see a VW bug, for your own safety, do not cross.

Seriously, she should not have a license.

Dear god, I live in Williamsburg. Duly noted, steer clear of the VW bug!

I mean, I guess I'm being generous when I say cars always stop in NYC. They usually do in Manhattan where I tend to walk, but out in the boroughs it can get dicier, since there is a bit less traffic so people can speed. There's an elevated highway in my neighborhood and the frontage road that runs under it has had MANY an accident with cars hitting people, so i guess it's not exactly all rainbows and bunnies. But I would never cross that street against the light, especially in the dark. Cars go way too fast for that.

theartistformerlyknownas · May 2015

jenna8984 said:

ashley8918 said:

jenna8984 said:
So I'm part of a residents forum FB page for my town. Normally I try not to say much on there, but the other day I just had to.
This guy posted "OK- you all need to slow the hell down! Get off your phone, turn down your rap music, and pay attention. My girlfriend takes our baby for a walk and this is the 4th time that she's almost got hit by the Dollar Tree/ Panera Main Street entrance. If she gets hit, I will find you and kill you."
One person posted a meme of "keep calm and listen to rap music" which I thought was hilarious. Then another person said "threatening death on FB- that's bright". I said "I'm not arguing that people need to slow down but clearly she should walk a different route" (as it sounded like she was doing it for recreation and not like to get to work).
He got all pissed off and said WTF is wrong with you?! I said "She's the one who continues to put herself and child in a situation that's proven to be dangerous time and time again...but what's wrong with me?!" He was still pissy saying "that's fucked up man". And I'm just like ok but which is going to be more beneficial to your girlfriend- you making a FB post, or her walking a different route?
Gross. Victim (or, potential victim) blaming is not cool. Should a woman who almost got raped just not wear such short skits anymore, too?

Dude shut up. This has absolutely 0% to do with rape so you can just stop with everything single thing being "blaming or shaming". Sometimes you have to admit that people really are just idiots and get what they have coming (in case I need to clarify, that is not in reference to rape in any way).

Uh noooo. She doesn't deserve to get hit by a car just because she had reason to believe someone is going to continue to be a terrible driver. Bad drivers are a danger to EVERYONE on that street, not just her.

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