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At least one pedestrian seriously injured in Fort Point van crash
By adamg on Wed, 09/11/2019 - 9:42pm
UPDATE: WFXT reports the more seriously injured pedestrian, a woman, has died.
The Fort Pointer reports spotting the aftermath of a crash between a van driver and two pedestrians at Summer and Melcher streets, shortly before 9 p.m. At least one had injuries serious enough to warrant having the homicide unit respond. He reports the van was still at the scene of the crash.
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Comments
Driver speeding and ...
... or texting is the probable cause. Of course the pedestrians will be blamed.
Hey just look at how NYPD handles it
10 year old child struck and killed while standing on the sidewalk but instead its reported that "Police believe Farachio was looking at his phone and did not see the vehicle coming."
Why even highlight that? Because there is a way the police and NYPD specifically pre-exonerate the driver and blame the victim with these carefully worded narratives to the press.
Can't wait to hear the mental gymnastics about "bUt tHeY ArE jUsT rePoRtInG tHe FaCts!" Never mind that the driver has a history of speeding in school zones, we don't need to highlight that.
https://abc7ny.com/out-of-control-car-jumps-brooklyn-sidewalk-kills-10-y...
Look
Why didn't they highlight what the scaffolding was distracted with when he struck that too?
As a driver myself, I am
As a driver myself, I am appalled at the number of adults (not kids) behind the wheel looking at their phone. It's amazing there aren't more accidents. People don't even try to hide it any longer.
Bring on a ban of hand held devices in cars. I tell you, if I ever get hit by someone on their phone, I will make sure they pay dearly.
Other than that, I've noticed even in my little town the speeding drivers. We've had a number of pedestrians hit in crosswalks yet the state won't let the town reduce the speed limit, not that it would matter. How many more flowers on poles before the state takes it seriously?
Oh! Tell me about it!
It really is disgusting how many drivers (adults, as well as kids) pay more attention to texting and talking on their phones than they do to their driving.
I still remember the day that I barely missed being hit by a guy driving a pick-up truck while crossing the street at an intersection, not far from where I live, who was busy texting on his cell-phone.
"Slow the fuck down!" I yelled at him from the top of my voice! He did, but barely.
I walk to work from Southie
I walk to work from Southie to downtown every day and cross at that intersection. About 6 months ago they changed the stoplight/walk pattern so that cars turning left from Melcher onto Summer get a green arrow AT THE SAME TIME as the pedestrians get the walk sign to cross from one side of summer to the other. This puts the pedestrians right in the middle of the road when the cars get ready to turn. There's a near accident at least once a week, I'm actually surprised fewer accidents have happened. I thought the signals were wrong so I reported it to 311 and their response was that pedestrians have the right of way and the drivers have to yield. Well, great, that solves that. Now if we could only let all the drivers know (and pay attention) that would be awesome. The easy solution would be to give the pedestrians time to get across before the light turns green.
That's horrendously stupid
It's not like the city *promotes* walking across that intersection as part of its HarborWalk or anything...sigh.
Signals are not compliant
If you want to follow up, you could cite the MUTCD (the federal standards for traffic control devices), section 4D.17.05
link
Except
It's not a protected left turn movement. It's just a basic green light. The intersection is a T though so you have to turn left over the Summer St bridge or right onto Summer St into the Seaport. But the city's argument seemingly is that it's a "normal" intersection and thus the crosswalk is a concurrent signal and anyone making a left on green has to wait for pedestrians.
Do we even know if the van was coming out of Melcher though? Or was it on Summer? Were the pedestrians crossing Summer or Melcher when they were struck? Who had the green light/walk signal?
None of that excuses the driver from hitting them, but it would speak to whether the light in question is even at fault or something else is.
I'm not familiar with the
I'm not familiar with the lights at that intersection, I was basing it on the comment I replied to that said there's a green arrow, which should mean a protected turn.
And nothing will be done
Because forcing a driver to face a consequence of any type, at any time, would have a chilling effect on drivers doing whatever they want to do without fear of consequences
Since they added those extra
Since they added those extra curbs along Summer that traffic pattern has been has been changed so pedestrians have a walk signal the same time traffic turning left from Melcher onto Summer has a green arrow. It feels dangerous even during the day and being familiar with the intersection.
I could be mistaken
but doesn't a walk sign mean the pedestrian has a protected right of way? I know pedestrians theoretically always have the right of way, but a walk sign battling with a green arrow puts everyone at risk.
I always thought so. However
I always thought so. However interestingly, when I went to look it up, it seems that the MUTCD (the bible for traffic control devices in the US) has guidance that a right-turn protected arrow should not conflict with a pedestrian walk light, but I do not see a similar guidance for protected left-turn arrows.
source
I was wrong
Reading more (in a different part of the same page), 4D.17.05 does actually cover this case, and a green left arrow should not send traffic across a crosswalk with a walk signal.