In Fields Corner, some drivers don't think red lights apply to them

There's a saying that you hear sometimes in cycling and motorcycling circles that "your shadow points to the people that can't see you" which is a good thing to keep in mind when the sun is low.

that's not much of an excuse. Perhaps people use sunglasses or a visor?

the pedestrian didn't notice, or at least didn't heed, the Don't Walk signal when he started across the street. The signal turned to Walk when ped was about halfway through the intersection (at 0:12 of the video).

And, oh, by the way, there's a bicyclist chugging through the red light at 0:15.

If you want to be sticklers about cars, then be sticklers about bikes and pedestrians, too.

As a way to prevent red light running, pedestrian injuries and deaths, and box blocking... Pop up bollards that seal off intersections on light changes.

Unfortunately we know how maintaining infrastructure goes around here... so they would be as useful as that escalator that always breaks down at Star Market in Packard's Corner.

I walk most everywhere, and look both ways *four* times (due to my lack in faith of drivers) and cross where I'm supposed to, and I nearly get hit or buzzed by a car weekly at minimum. Sit at Bremen St Park in East Boston at the crosswalk and observe every second driver texting and doing California rolling stops at the busy crosswalks (and flip out when pedestrians have the gall to walk *in between* the two crosswalks at the main gate--how about you don't drive through the intersection until it's clear?). I've had to literally jump out of the way of an older driver turning left into a crosswalk by Santarpio's when I had a walk signal recently. If I were blind or staring at my phone (which would have been my right in that situation) I would have been gravely injured or killed.

If traffic enforcement cared more about keeping people safe in traffic, we'd be a lot better off. But they can't collect $50 from every pedestrian kept safe, so they just make traffic enforcement a revenue arm of the city. Though any common sense measures in major cities will face stiff headwinds from auto and fossil fuel lobbyists, and astroturfed backlash against any changes by the one person, one car crowd.

edit - clarity

populated areas, and it seems as if the driver in question here failed to do just that.

Perhaps this driver should not be operating a motor vehicle?

Ya think?

Perhaps this driver should not be operating a motor vehicle?

Perhaps when a driver hits a pedestrian (or otherwise demonstrates that they are incapable of safely operating a motor vehicle), it should be grounds for an immediate driver's license forfeiture until the driver can prove that they are fit to be operating a motor vehicle or other heavy machinery on a public way?

Agree with you about everything. Also, there is a person with a dolly and two boxes who is also waiting to cross. I think he saw the car coming and waited, but that may have been one more distracting factor to the driver....is that guy with the boxes going to cross in front of me?

But I watched the video twice. The pedestrian who was hit was already halfway across the street when the pedestrian signal changed from orange (don't walk) to white (walk).

Another point here: Because Dot Ave and Adams St meet at an oblique angle at Fields Corner, the distance between the stop line on Dot Ave on the north side of the intersection and the crosswalk on the south side of the intersection is a bit over 210 feet. The citywide speed limit of 25 mph equates to about 37 feet per second. Therefore it takes almost 6 seconds for a vehicle obeying the speed limit to pass through the intersection, and it would take longer for a vehicle traveling under the speed limit.

Given that the customary duration of a yellow light is approximately three seconds, and even assuming that BTD has built in some delay between when the traffic signal for Dot Ave turns red and the walk signal comes on, it's very possible that the car entered the intersection legally (i.e. within a second or so of the light turning yellow) and yet had not cleared the intersection by the time the pedestrian signal changed to "walk."

As others have pointed out as well, the shadows also might indicate poor visibility of the pedestrian to the driver; the car hits the pedestrian pretty much at the exact moment the pedestrian steps out of the shadow of the adjacent building. Also, this time of year, the sun is low enough even at midday to cause glare.

BUT... as a driver it's still your responsibility to avoid hitting people in the road if at all possible. Without knowing the exact timing of the traffic signal, though, it's entirely conceivable that the driver didn't actually run the light.

I never run a red light because I don't drive. That is the best way to not assault someone with a 4000 pound weapon. It is easy to never drive in Boston. Many thousands of people do it. Get people out of cars and onto sidewalks, bikes, trains, buses etc and you will have less criminal drivers killing and injuring people. Improve public transit and bike infrastructure, throw criminal drivers in jail and make drivers actually pay for the roads(raise gas tax and tolls and charge for parking permits)

If I found myself running red lights that regularly I'd probably turn in my license and just start taking Ubers everywhere. Doesn't that freak you out at all? What if there was a pedestrian or some other vulnerable road user that was crossing at that point?

I didn't used to always do that, was a militant strictly-to-the-rules-rider no matter what. I thgouth set a good example and maybe we'll be blessed with other riders doing the same and respect from motorists and new city bike infra. But I just don't care anymore, many of the roads on my commute aren't very safe, new bike infra is at a snails pace, sometimes running a red actually gets me ahead of traffic to make safer turn ahead because again, infra sucks around here and motorists still drive recklessly.

Now of course I'm not just blowing through lights, there is a deliberate and focused effort to run them without getting tagged or hitting a pedestrian. Call it "ethical law breaking", I think Waquoit said that before regarding jaywalking. However, if I'm driving a car I don't accidentally run a red, you made a point about people day dreaming and all that, which is terrifying.

But in general, I just stopped caring because its not like the police are gonna ticket me or anyone else on the road for that matter and like I said, I'm running lights in a way not putting myself or others at risk so screw it. I just don't care anymore, whats the point?

Walking across the street, yup I look both ways and its way too often that I almost have to wave/stutter step to get them to commit to stopping, even when they see me.