Saturday, November 15, 2014

Drivers ignore fact that pedestrians have the right of way

From DNA Info:

Dozens of complaints have been made about reckless drivers in Kew Gardens and Forest Hills this year, and parents say they're increasingly fearful to cross the streets with strollers.

A group of several mothers from Central Queens, an area with a growing population of young families with children, said crossing the street with kids can be a terrifying experience, especially along Queens Boulevard and Kew Gardens Road.

Michael Cohen, a spokesman for Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz, said reckless drivers are a big problem in the neighborhood. In this year alone, he said, the office received about 75 complaints from residents being concerned “either with lack of observance by motorists or the need for enforcement or the need for new or modified traffic restrictions.”

One of the most dangerous spots is Queens Boulevard at the intersection with 71st/Continental Avenue, where two pedestrians were killed in the past two years. Some 28 pedestrians were injured there between 2008 and 2012, according to the DOT.


The good news is that DOT is reviewing the intersection.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

There iscusually a cop on 71st av , in the late afternoon,he is completely useless. Cabs in the bs stops, cars on the corner of astin st in the no standing zones,etc. The bottom line is there are too many people in the area.....

Anonymous said...

The idiot pedestrians just have to get their heads out of their asses for two seconds at every intersection to cross safely. 95% of deaths would be avoided if they'd just do that.

JQ said...

idiot drivers need to get their heads out of their asses and slow down when they turn also(one of the first things you learn when you get your license).

what needs to be done is to have a regular armed police officer directing traffic and not the white hat traffic cop(they don't get respect).but the only time you see that if foreign leaders or the president is in town.

everyone has got to contribute to vision tunnel,i mean zero.especially our men and women in blue.

Roger said...

I was surprised to see how pedestrians yield to cars when I moved to NYC. Even when they are walking in a crosswalk on a green signal. But I found that pedestrians can't walk on the green and expect cars to yield to them. After a few close calls, I now look out for the cars rather than the other way around.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget Rego Park. Motherfuckers in Rego Park will actually speed up to zoom past you when you're already in the intersection. So to the poster who said "idiot pedestrians just have to get their heads out of their asses", I guess what you mean is that pedestrians just need to wait till there are no cars in sight, then walk. Thanks, douche.

JQ said...

you wanna see criminal behavior by pedestrians go to 8th ave between 34th and 46th street,times square and herald square.this wanton reckless shithead behavior is even spreading downtown.

mayor fun size's street destroyer patsy jeannie kahn's pedestrian plazas and bike lanes have made jaywalking pratically legal.I am going to film this soon.

wait for it.

Anonymous said...

The inner dialog of these drivers is :

"I'm moving and they (the pedestrians) are stopped or walking slowly across the intersection (with the light or a stop sign facing me) --- Since they see me and can stop, they SHOULD STOP and yield to me because I can't make the effort to safely brake my vehicle because I'm lazy, distracted, and/or I never learned these crazy American rules about yielding to pedestrians.

And if they continue to cross, then they die and I live."

Anonymous said...

The idiot pedestrians just have to get their heads out of their asses for two seconds at every intersection to cross safely. 95% of deaths would be avoided if they'd just do that.

I guess this 3 year old is simply part of the 5%. watch the video.
http://www.streetsblog.org/2014/11/07/new-york-state-dmv-dismisses-tickets-to-driver-who-killed-toddler-allie-liao/

Anonymous said...

Her grandmother wasn't paying attention and she should have been. If the driver did something wrong why'd the DA ignore the case? Why'd the DMV dismiss the tickets given out for political reasons?

Anonymous said...

Drivers love to glide through stop signs around here. There needs to be a speed bump at every stop sign.

Anonymous said...

Do speed bumps get drivers to stop? Maybe it would be better to ban parked cars the last thirty feet before a crosswalk and tall vehicles (more than five feet ?) - SUVs pickup trucks vans etc...within a hundred feet. Then peds and drivers can see each other at least.

Anonymous said...

How is the grandmother not paying attention? She had the light and was crossing? The SUV never stopped or slow down to yield? Was she to see thru the back of her head and read his mind to know that he would not yield?

Anonymous said...

It's simple. Pedestrians have the right of way, period. It's against the law to force a pedestrian in a crosswalk to stop walking. If a driver has to wait a few seconds to get to their destination, tough.

Anonymous said...

DOT appears to be caving in to driver pressure regarding the recent no left turn signs at the corner of QB and Yellowstone. Poor inconvenienced drivers and idiots on 69th that don't want cars to use "their" street.