Tribune story on plight of pedestrians in crosswalks

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/automotive/traffic/ct-met-...

 

Something to bookmark and refer to when people tell you how it's bicycles making life tough for pedestrians downtown.  This problem impacts cyclists a lot as these reckless drivers don't seem particularly concerned about our right-of-way either.

 

Hard stats go a long way, it's unfortunate they didn't link the actual study.

 

"About 80 percent of vehicle-pedestrian crashes in Chicago occur at intersections and commonly involve people crossing the street with the walk signal, according to a new city study.

The exceptionally high rate of pedestrians being struck, predominantly by turning vehicles, while they are inside the presumed safe haven of crosswalks was an unexpected finding that will prompt increased police enforcement of the No. 1 cause of pedestrian accidents — drivers failing to yield, officials said. More traffic safety technology is coming too, they said."

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Permalink Reply by Liz on August 15, 2011 at 3:53am
"Klein said the majority of taxi drivers in Chicago pose a public safety menace. He vowed to implement strict reforms with the help of the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, which regulates the taxi industry.

"It isn't just a few bad apples," Klein said. "The overwhelming number of taxi drivers, unfortunately, speed on a regular basis and set a pretty bad example for everybody else. They hit the gas at every green light and slam on the brakes at every red light a block later."

Klein urged taxi customers and others who see reckless driving by cabbies to call 311 to report incidents, noting that a cabdriver who receives three complaints will be investigated."

 

Hopefully this study will lead to taxi drivers being reprimanded and having their license suspended after several incidents. I'm not surprised by the statistic, I often have taxi drivers trying to intimidate me or speed around me at crosswalk downtown when I have the walk signal.  When they do stop, they act as if they are doing me a favor and being nice, instead of doing what they are legally supposed to do. 

 

Its also reassuring to know that phoning in complaints is not a waste of time, it easy to feel cynical when you call in 10 cab drivers, only to have a close call with another the next day. 

Permalink Reply by Chris B on August 15, 2011 at 5:09am

They need to streamline the process for reporting cabs. I reported a cab once, and it took 3 phone calls, and more docs were sent to me a month later to fill out.

 

A month later? If I did not grow up with an attorney and work at police stations (i.e. the average person), I would not have written down everything immediately, and would not have the details handy to fill out the form a month later.

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 15, 2011 at 5:31am
Crossing a busy street in this city,  even in a crosswalk with a signal, is taking your life into you own hands.  For the most part riding a bicycle is much safer than walking IMHO.   Cars will not slow down or give you any consideration whatsoever. It's like they don't even recognize that there are other humans around them -just pixels in some huge video game and they are trying to get the high score/low time in getting wherever they are going.
Permalink Reply by Eric R on August 15, 2011 at 6:19am

Even with traffic calming devices put in place, such as the intersection at Hoyne and Chicago, it does not get motorists to stop at crosswalks for pedestrians. A ped basically has to walk out into the path (with enough awareness and space to NOT get hit) of the cars to get them to stop, which I honestly find to be a little fun.

 

Vigilante pedestrianism - Releasing pent-up cycling aggression as a pedestrian. My way of not making cyclists look bad but everybody walks so no harm done.

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 15, 2011 at 7:19am

Last week I was crossing Dearborn in River North - legally, with the walk signal, in the crosswalk, in daylight, wearing bright colored clothing.  I think the only way I could have been more visible would have been having flashing lights on me.

 

A driver making a sweeping left turn came within a few feet of hitting me.  He appeared to be oblivious and actually looked startled when I waved and yelled at him. 

 

Usually looking straight at a person who's driving towards me gets their attention.  This loser was talking on his phone.  Before he turned, it looked like he saw me.  Guess not.  Apparently his brain was overtaxed by driving and talking at the same time.

Permalink Reply by David Barish on August 15, 2011 at 8:56am

I agree with the article.  Drivers are getting worse.  I know that many will disagree but...

 

...I am a long time walker biker and driver.  I find that pedestrians are by far the worst at following traffic signals in the loop.  They never stop when the white signal becomes and orange hand.  I stop and have people bump into me and look at me like I'm nuts.  Yes, taxis are becoming more aggressive and other drivers are simply unaware, lost or stupid. However, pedestrians feel its their intersection until the light turns red. It just ain't so.  The only way for evereybody to efficiently move in the loop is for all of us to oby the pedestrian as well as traffic signals.  We share the green light with turning vehicles.  Pedestrians get the first part and the drivers get the last part. This is one area where cyclists are by far the most conscious participants in the dance of city traffic.  Pedestrians ignore the signals and are often clueless lemmings.  Drivers act like the roads are solely theirs and are increasingly distracted. Even if cyclists may be blowing off lights and riding aggressively, they do so with knowledge, with a plan and without distraction. 

Permalink Reply by milesperhour on August 15, 2011 at 8:59am

This is what I do.  I am amazed at how many don't know that pedestrians have the right of way in a crosswalk, even when there are no signals, as evidenced by them blaring their horn at me and cursing, as if I'm in the wrong.

 

This is driver's ed 101.


Eric Roach said:

A ped basically has to walk out into the path (with enough awareness and space to NOT get hit) of the cars to get them to stop, which I honestly find to be a little fun.

 


Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 15, 2011 at 9:23am

Being in my mid-40's I can say that drivers have been getting worse since I started driving (and as a farm kid I started driving MUCH earlier than most city kids.

 

I think people just feel much safer in their cages of steel with their high-tech traction-control and ABS and crumple-zones and wall-to-wall airbages and other safety devices.  Heck the new cars even have buzzers and such when there is something in the road.  They hardly have to pay any attention as the car seemingly drives itself.  They also do not fear getting into an accident either.  What's the big deal?  Everyone is padded in their armored safety cages and airbags.  ABS will save their asses when they need to slam on the brakes when tail-gating the person in front of them while it is raining.

 

So they get in a fender-bender -who cares?  cars are replaced every 3-5 years these days anyhow and insurance will rebuild it until then.  Isn't that was insurance is FOR?

 

But that is WRONG.  Not all of us on the road, us bicyclists and ped alike, are in armored cocoons.  That behavior where they zoom past each other with inches to spare might be safe for THEM but it isn't very safe for us.  i think they forget we are real people with lives and friends and relatives that love us.  It's just one big video game that isn't real to them until something happens and it is too late.  Even then the "justice" system in this country lets them off with nary a slap on the wrist when it should be neglegent homicide. 

 

The system is broken. 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 15, 2011 at 9:45am
I agree.  Too many drivers seem to treat it like a video game, where they're insulated from the consequences of their actions.

James BlackHeron said:

Being in my mid-40's I can say that drivers have been getting worse since I started driving (and as a farm kid I started driving MUCH earlier than most city kids.

 

I think people just feel much safer in their cages of steel with their high-tech traction-control and ABS and crumple-zones and wall-to-wall airbages and other safety devices.  Heck the new cars even have buzzers and such when there is something in the road.  They hardly have to pay any attention as the car seemingly drives itself.  They also do not fear getting into an accident either.  What's the big deal?  Everyone is padded in their armored safety cages and airbags.  ABS will save their asses when they need to slam on the brakes when tail-gating the person in front of them while it is raining.

 

So they get in a fender-bender -who cares?  cars are replaced every 3-5 years these days anyhow and insurance will rebuild it until then.  Isn't that was insurance is FOR?

 

But that is WRONG.  Not all of us on the road, us bicyclists and ped alike, are in armored cocoons.  That behavior where they zoom past each other with inches to spare might be safe for THEM but it isn't very safe for us.  i think they forget we are real people with lives and friends and relatives that love us.  It's just one big video game that isn't real to them until something happens and it is too late.  Even then the "justice" system in this country lets them off with nary a slap on the wrist when it should be neglegent homicide. 

 

The system is broken. 

Permalink Reply by John Wirtz on August 15, 2011 at 9:48am
Permalink Reply by Carter O'Brien on August 15, 2011 at 10:31am

Thanks - very interesting.  In a few minutes of skimming I see that despite the media sensationalism, that Chicago is (surprisingly) well behind most major cities in terms of pedestrian accidents and that they are actually trending down.


John Wirtz said:

Permalink Reply by Dan Korn on August 15, 2011 at 1:53pm

The ironic thing here, to me, is that every time there's a discussion about cycling in the comments from a newspaper article or some other online forum, or even in real life, some yahoos almost always complain that cyclists are endangering pedestrians, and they have all these "almost" anecdotes about cyclists nearly running them down, or virtually causing a crash, or just about getting someone killed.  Yet despite all of these near-misses, fatalities in cyclist-pedestrian crashes are extremely rare, while cars continue to kill pedestrians at a rate of nearly one a week in the City of Chicago alone (a slight one-year drop in fatalities in 2009 notwithstanding).

 

Heck, even on the sidewalk, you're a lot more likely to be injured or killed by a car than by a bike:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-06-27/news/chi-cab-hits-bui...

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/5509270-418/multiple-ambulances-...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/07/a-73-year-old-driver-...

http://www.9news.com/news/article/190430/339/Man-drives-down-sidewa...

etc...

 

So why is it that so many people think bikes are the problem?

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