About two weeks ago, I was nearly hit by an RTD bus on the corner of 2nd Place and Union in Lakewood, Colorado. Just to make sure that I was in the right, I asked my bus driver who had the right of way. He described several scenarios to me where a bus driver or other vehicle could drive in front of a pedestrian. He emphasized that, in any scenario, if a pedestrian crosses the median on a two-lane road, he MUST WAIT for the pedestrian to finish crossing. He also emphasized that this is the rule and LAW for any vehicle, whether it be a car, bus, truck, semi or motorcycle. Any vehicle must yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
Fast forward to tonight... I was crossing using a crosswalk at the corner of 9th and Auraria in LoDo right next to the Auraria Campus. I had started crossing and almost got to the median when a car making a left-hand turn had to slam on its brakes to avoid hitting me because he didn't see me in the crosswalk. I was wearing a hot pink North Face jacket and was walking in the middle of the crosswalk at a well-lit intersection.
The most important thing the bus driver from before told me is that if you hit a pedestrian with your car, you automatically are at fault with almost no excuse otherwise. There is NO EXCUSE to hit a pedestrian because the pedestrian always has the right of way.
I'm not sure how many times I need to be nearly hit by a car and yelled at as if it were my fault when I'm following the pedestrian crossing laws and the vehicles aren't following traffic laws.
The next time you're at an intersection with a crosswalk, YIELD TO PEDESTRIANS! If you don't, you may end up hitting someone or worse, killing someone. If you do, it's manslaughter. Waiting a few seconds for a pedestrian to safely cross can potentially save a life and save you from heavy fines and life in a jail cell.
Showing posts with label public transportation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label public transportation. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
So a chicken crosses a road...
Every day, I walk to the park and ride near my apartment community. There are two intersections with lights and crosswalks on the route. Most days, I cross and get to my gate to board the bus downtown for class on time with no problems. Unfortunately, I ha a very big hiccup about a week ago that prompted me to help my fellow passengers of public transportation in and around Denver.
Around 2:41pm on that day, I was waiting At the second light on my journey. It sits at the intersection of 2nd Place and Union in Lakewood. I pushed the button for the crosswalk and waited. When the little man on the sign lit up, I started to cross. After passing the median (there are two lanes going either direction at the intersection), a large semi (part of the park and ride construction) passed in front of me with time. Then, one of the RTD buses started turning and slammed its brakes right before he hit me. He honked, waved his arms, flipped me off and yelled at me before he just decided to turn. I had to walk around the bus as it turned, out of the crosswalk, and reached the sidewalk (FINALLY) right after the timer ran out. Luckily for the driver, I didn't get hit and no other car hit me as a result of his actions.
Fired up from this encounter, I walked straight to my gate to catch my bus. When I boarded, I was curious about the RTD policy for drivers concerning the right of way for pedestrians. According to my driver, all vehicles (bus or otherwise) have to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk. The caveat is that cars can turn while pedestrians are crossing if the pedestrian has not crossed the median in the road before the vehicle wants to turn. If the pedestrian has crossed into a lane after passing the median, an RTD must stop and wait for the pedestrian to finish crossing before turning. The driver also told me that he had no idea why the driver would be in such a hurry to turn when the lights switch back within 3 minutes on average.
Given this information, I reported the driver with RTD. I'm not looking to get him fired, but I do want him to know the law. Preventing a potentially life-threatening situation is goal because no commuter using public transit should worry about losing their life. Our only worry should be missing our bus.
Around 2:41pm on that day, I was waiting At the second light on my journey. It sits at the intersection of 2nd Place and Union in Lakewood. I pushed the button for the crosswalk and waited. When the little man on the sign lit up, I started to cross. After passing the median (there are two lanes going either direction at the intersection), a large semi (part of the park and ride construction) passed in front of me with time. Then, one of the RTD buses started turning and slammed its brakes right before he hit me. He honked, waved his arms, flipped me off and yelled at me before he just decided to turn. I had to walk around the bus as it turned, out of the crosswalk, and reached the sidewalk (FINALLY) right after the timer ran out. Luckily for the driver, I didn't get hit and no other car hit me as a result of his actions.
Fired up from this encounter, I walked straight to my gate to catch my bus. When I boarded, I was curious about the RTD policy for drivers concerning the right of way for pedestrians. According to my driver, all vehicles (bus or otherwise) have to yield to pedestrians in a crosswalk. The caveat is that cars can turn while pedestrians are crossing if the pedestrian has not crossed the median in the road before the vehicle wants to turn. If the pedestrian has crossed into a lane after passing the median, an RTD must stop and wait for the pedestrian to finish crossing before turning. The driver also told me that he had no idea why the driver would be in such a hurry to turn when the lights switch back within 3 minutes on average.
Given this information, I reported the driver with RTD. I'm not looking to get him fired, but I do want him to know the law. Preventing a potentially life-threatening situation is goal because no commuter using public transit should worry about losing their life. Our only worry should be missing our bus.
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