This week starts out with two stories that prove the point that vehicles truly can be considered potentially deadly weapons. First, there was the Redding pedestrian struck twice by same driver (on purpose, of course). Then we learned that a Seattle cab driver rams pedestrian who complained about his driving.
As if the intentional crashes weren't enough for pedestrians to contend with, the region was hit (no pun intended) by several unintentional crashes, including a Fatal traffic collision in Fillmore and a Mother, 3-year-old hit while crossing Ventura street.
With all this mayhem it's no wonder that Glendale mayor says distracted driving at 'epidemic' level in Glendale, citing charge in pedestrian death. But it wasn't distracted driving that led to the death of three young men on train tracks in Commerce. Still, Why 3 youths killed by train were walking on tracks remains a mystery.
Speaking of mysteries, blogdowntown posted a story this week that clears up the mystery of the City of LA's hefty new jaywalking fines. In Breaking Down the Cost of Jaywalking: Where Does Money from a $190 Ticket Go?, the blog explains that the vast majority of the money (wait for it) doesn't go to improving pedestrian safety. Fortunately, this week a Senate vote adds noise to silent electric cars, hybrids--so maybe there's a little hope left for pedestrian safety after all.
Or maybe not. This week one Vancouver paper published a clearly anti-ped editorial complaining that Pedestrians are nearly impossible to see at night. Most cringe-inducing quote: "If a pedestrian is wearing dark clothing and is struck mid-block after dark, I propose that ICBC automatically rule that the pedestrian is 100-per-cent liable for their injuries and for damage to the car. It's called walking without due care." Given attitudes like this, I guess it's no surprise that Torontoist nominated Blaming Pedestrians for it's 2010 villain of the year.
But to end the year on a positive note, this week in Georgetown, Massachusetts, Police earn pedestrian safety award for 30 years without a pedestrian fatality in the town. I'm thinking of moving there.