Pedestrians told to switch off to avoid car accidents
Police in Victoria, Australia blame distracted walking for uptick in pedestrian deaths.
Use of walkway over the Hudson steady as week begins
Thousands turn out on foot, bike, and segway to celebrate the opening of a new footbridge over the Hudson in Albany, New York.
Pedestrian safety drive a success
Traffic safety officials in Dubai credit a pedestrian safety campaign for a 29 percent drop in pedestrian fatalities.
Traffic signal puzzle for pedestrians
A lack of proper signals and other protections make crossings especially dangerous for pedestrians in Calcutta.
DART restores left turns, forms safety program
To help protect pedestrian safety, Des Moines, Iowa buses are required to honk, then pause, before making right turns over crosswalks.
"Luxury Intersections" could save lives
Canada looks to traffic innovations in Sweden as a model for improving its own pedestrian safety.
10th International Conference on Walking and Livable Communities
Walk21 holds its 10th conference in New York.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Happy International Walk to School Day!
Grab a kid and join the nearly 3,300 schools across the country who are participating in walking events today. Here's a rundown of some of the fun activities kids in LA area schools will take part in.
Serrania Elementary in Woodland Hills
Classes will track walking routes to count how many kids walk and bike to school today.
Edison Elementary in Burbank
We will have parent volunteers stationed at each corner outside our school handing out Clif Bars, Twisted Fruit snacks, WTS pencils, water, activity sheets, etc. to promote walking to school. Participants will sign a WTS banner. We are looking to create a 100 Mile club to promote fitness at our school throughout the entire year.
Robert F. Kennedy Elementary in Compton
Students, parents, teachers, and other staff will be walking from opposite directions to school. A special breakfast will be provided and nutrition and physical activity pamphlets will be given out once on campus. Incentives will include cookbooks, pens, and jump ropes. Those walking will have posters and banners promoting healthy living.
Repetto and Ynez Elementary in Monterey Park
Repetto and Ynez School's administrators, teachers, students and parents meet together at a nearby park. Our District's Network for a Healthy California, Monterey Park Fire Department and local city officials kick off the morning with an inspiring message as our schools begin walking to their respective schools. It's a great morning to "walk for health!"
Hermosa View Elementary in Hermosa Beach
We will be having meeting points along our safe walk to school routes to have kids meet and walk to school together. We will also encourage kids to decorate their shoes for walk to school day. We will encourage city officials to join us for our Walk to School Day to encourage our kids!!
La Mariposa Elementary in Camarillo
We are trying Walking School Buses this year. This event kicks off out Walk or Wheel Wednesday Program.
Serrania Elementary in Woodland Hills
Classes will track walking routes to count how many kids walk and bike to school today.
Edison Elementary in Burbank
We will have parent volunteers stationed at each corner outside our school handing out Clif Bars, Twisted Fruit snacks, WTS pencils, water, activity sheets, etc. to promote walking to school. Participants will sign a WTS banner. We are looking to create a 100 Mile club to promote fitness at our school throughout the entire year.
Robert F. Kennedy Elementary in Compton
Students, parents, teachers, and other staff will be walking from opposite directions to school. A special breakfast will be provided and nutrition and physical activity pamphlets will be given out once on campus. Incentives will include cookbooks, pens, and jump ropes. Those walking will have posters and banners promoting healthy living.
Repetto and Ynez Elementary in Monterey Park
Repetto and Ynez School's administrators, teachers, students and parents meet together at a nearby park. Our District's Network for a Healthy California, Monterey Park Fire Department and local city officials kick off the morning with an inspiring message as our schools begin walking to their respective schools. It's a great morning to "walk for health!"
Hermosa View Elementary in Hermosa Beach
We will be having meeting points along our safe walk to school routes to have kids meet and walk to school together. We will also encourage kids to decorate their shoes for walk to school day. We will encourage city officials to join us for our Walk to School Day to encourage our kids!!
La Mariposa Elementary in Camarillo
We are trying Walking School Buses this year. This event kicks off out Walk or Wheel Wednesday Program.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Pedestrian and dog killed in Montebello
The LA Times reports that the 84-year-old wife of a former Montebello mayor was killed last night crossing the street at the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Alfred Place. The intersection has no traffic signal or stop-control, and the crosswalk was unmarked. The driver fled the scene and has not been aprehended.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Silent but Deadly
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has released a report comparing the difference in pedestrian and bicycle crash rates between hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEs).
The analysis shows that HEVs are more likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes while performing certain manuevers, namely slowing or stopping, backing up, entering or leaving a parking space, and turning. The authors hypothesize the higher HEV crash rates may be due to HEVs' quiet crusing at slow speeds; when traveling straight (presumably at higher--and noiser--speeds) HEV and ICE crash rates are comparable.
The good news is that pedestrians are less likely to be injured if they are hit at slow speeds. Nonetheless, as HEVs become more prevalent we need to consider carefully how to address the problem of quiet cars. Over in Japan, Nissan has been giving this issue some serious thought, hiring a team of composers to come up with a "beautiful sound" to accompany their electric vehicle the Leaf.
For those feeling less poetic, Datasystem Co has developed a device that will emit your choice of 16 sounds, including a "boing" and a "meow"-- and for the less whimsical, a simple "Excuse me."
The analysis shows that HEVs are more likely to be involved in pedestrian crashes while performing certain manuevers, namely slowing or stopping, backing up, entering or leaving a parking space, and turning. The authors hypothesize the higher HEV crash rates may be due to HEVs' quiet crusing at slow speeds; when traveling straight (presumably at higher--and noiser--speeds) HEV and ICE crash rates are comparable.
The good news is that pedestrians are less likely to be injured if they are hit at slow speeds. Nonetheless, as HEVs become more prevalent we need to consider carefully how to address the problem of quiet cars. Over in Japan, Nissan has been giving this issue some serious thought, hiring a team of composers to come up with a "beautiful sound" to accompany their electric vehicle the Leaf.
For those feeling less poetic, Datasystem Co has developed a device that will emit your choice of 16 sounds, including a "boing" and a "meow"-- and for the less whimsical, a simple "Excuse me."
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
A Confession
I consider myself (this is not the confession) a pretty good driver. I hang out in the slow lane on the freeway, come to a complete stop at stop signs, have an only-normal-for-geeky-folk understanding of the California Vehicle Code, and above all I carefully yield to pedestrians in crosswalks...or do I?
After watching footage of a crosswalk sting in Sacramento (posted here on Streetsblog), I realized (this is the confession) I hadn't the slightest idea what "yielding to pedestrians" really meant. Had I been doing it wrong all these years? In an effort to alleviate my guilt--and perhaps bring a little enlightenment to others confused by this question--I did some research.
First, the law itself: California Vehicle Code 21950 states that "The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection."
People v. McLachlan (1939) clarifies that "yielding" doesn't necessarily mean stopping any time a pedestrian has a toe inside the crosswalk, "...it is clear that when a pedestrian crossing a roadway in a crosswalk is so far from the path of an approaching automobile and proceeding in such a manner that no interference between them is reasonably to be expected, the driver of the automobile need not wait for it to develop."
Moreover, once a pedestrian is walking away from a driver, the yielding point is moot, "It is equally clear that a driver, after having allowed a pedestrian to proceed undisturbed and unhurried in front of him and to reach a place safely out of the way of his automobile, with no apparent further danger of conflict between them, may proceed."
Just how far out of danger must pedestrians be before a vehicle can legally proceed through the crosswalk? People v. Hahn (1950) cautions that, "[the pedestrian's] right of way is not to be measured in fractions of an inch nor tested by split seconds. He is entitled not to just as much space as his body, clothes and buttons require, but to as much as will afford him a safe passage."
In other words, it might be okay to drive through a crosswalk if you give pedestrians ample berth--but whooshing past pedestrians so closely that their nosehairs flutter in the breeze isn't kosher. When in doubt, I suggest measuring according to this handy rule of thumb from the Hahn case, "The pedestrian's heart, as well as his body, should be free from attack."
After watching footage of a crosswalk sting in Sacramento (posted here on Streetsblog), I realized (this is the confession) I hadn't the slightest idea what "yielding to pedestrians" really meant. Had I been doing it wrong all these years? In an effort to alleviate my guilt--and perhaps bring a little enlightenment to others confused by this question--I did some research.
First, the law itself: California Vehicle Code 21950 states that "The driver of a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or within any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection."
People v. McLachlan (1939) clarifies that "yielding" doesn't necessarily mean stopping any time a pedestrian has a toe inside the crosswalk, "...it is clear that when a pedestrian crossing a roadway in a crosswalk is so far from the path of an approaching automobile and proceeding in such a manner that no interference between them is reasonably to be expected, the driver of the automobile need not wait for it to develop."
Moreover, once a pedestrian is walking away from a driver, the yielding point is moot, "It is equally clear that a driver, after having allowed a pedestrian to proceed undisturbed and unhurried in front of him and to reach a place safely out of the way of his automobile, with no apparent further danger of conflict between them, may proceed."
Just how far out of danger must pedestrians be before a vehicle can legally proceed through the crosswalk? People v. Hahn (1950) cautions that, "[the pedestrian's] right of way is not to be measured in fractions of an inch nor tested by split seconds. He is entitled not to just as much space as his body, clothes and buttons require, but to as much as will afford him a safe passage."
In other words, it might be okay to drive through a crosswalk if you give pedestrians ample berth--but whooshing past pedestrians so closely that their nosehairs flutter in the breeze isn't kosher. When in doubt, I suggest measuring according to this handy rule of thumb from the Hahn case, "The pedestrian's heart, as well as his body, should be free from attack."
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