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http://www.kval.com/news/local/128284813.html
Excerpt: "...On Wednesday, Governor John Kitzhaber will sign Senate Bill 424 into law. The law makes it so that when a pedestrian intends to cross the street, the pedestrian has the right-of-way. Current law required pedestrians to step out into traffic before having the right-of-way.
Under the new law, moving just the tip of a person's foot into the road with the intent to cross will require drivers to stop..."
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And the bad thing about this is......?????????
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08-27-2011, 04:37 AM
(This post was last modified: 08-27-2011, 04:40 AM by PonderThis. Edited 2 times in total.)
It's just another reason for us to be fined for non-compliance, because of course, no one can drive a car, watch out for all the other cars and potential hazards, and also keep track of whether some pedestrian somewhere might have a toe tip in the roadway, so of course some of us will be cited for this, and there won't be anything we can do as a practical matter to stop it. Some of us
will pay for this, and it will be sort of a random thing, with it being worse for people in cities.
I'm ready for a working mass transit system, myself - or, just stay home and order everything in. I almost like that idea better.
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I wouldnt mind an operable public transit system here, but I aint gonna hold my breath waiting for it either. When my wife was in Portland for 3 months attending the Oregon Commission For The Blind school for the blind, I would go visit her and park the van in the apartment parking lot and leave it there until it was time for me to come back. We did everything using the light rail and bus lines. It was great.
My main concern is that currently, pedestrians are more apt to be hit and injured by having to actually step out into traffic flow to indicate their desire to cross, rather than simply set foot in the roadway as the new regulation states. I cant tell you how many times my wife has had close calls with drivers who seem to not notice either her long white cane or her guide dog as she is attempting to cross a street....in a marked crosswalk.....with the crossing signal. At least this new regulation takes away the "Oh, well, I did not know she wanted to cross the street" argument drivers currently use when they do get caught violating her right of way.
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I don't know how to intermingle cars and people with disabilities. Even under the very best of circumstances this would make for a very uneasy truce. This will take wiser minds than mine to solve, and, perhaps this new law is the best that can be done.
During my most manic times I've envisioned a transportation system made up completely of magnets embedded in the roadway that do all the propelling of cars, they all go the same speed, and it's all done automatically by computers without input from the drivers. This idea of giving everyone complete control and then fining them for each mistake (which we all make as humans) seems basically oppressive to me.
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As a pedestrian I know how to cross the road. I prefer it on my terms. When you stand on a corner and a car stops you feel obligated to go..and what is the driver to do? If you don't. If it is a four lane road even worse, about the time you clear his front end and step into the next lane...splat!! Now be honest how many of you on a four lane road went by a car stopped in the right lane just to find out what you couldn't see (like who uses turn signals). A pedestrian hidden from view. Admit it you've done it. I will not make eye contact with drivers and wave them on...I cross when it is safe to do so regardless of right away.
Everyone should be taught that if they cross the street and it goes wrong you die...Go to Ashland were the tourist are, they just step out in front of you cause in California that's the way it is. They don't even LOOK!
My dog did that, he was a good dog.
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(08-30-2011, 01:23 PM)Willie Krash Wrote: If it is a four lane road even worse, about the time you clear his front end and step into the next lane...splat!! Now be honest how many of you on a four lane road went by a car stopped in the right lane just to find out what you couldn't see (like who uses turn signals). A pedestrian hidden from view. Admit it you've done it.
One time a car right ahead and to my side practically stopped on a dime. I went past him and the smart pedestrian lived. Of course, he would have had to run to get in front of me ... but it scared the hell out of me anyway. A dog would have died.
I'm that pedestrian that waves cars on. If they don't go I turn a 180. Of course, I did have a woman walk backward onto a road, so that may no longer be safe.
Good law, but don't be stupid.
