Women convicted of vehicular homicide for j-walking

[Freak]

I know I don't have all the info, but it just makes me think..

I generally drive a little (about 5mph) under the speed limit sometimes in places I KNOW jaywalkers frequently occur, just in case someone is to pop out and dart across the street. Personally, I haven't had any super close calls yet, but I've had some close calls. But, driving slower helped me out for sure...But when you have Mr. Tailgater behind you when this happens, things don't go as well.

Again, luckily I haven't had anyone rear-end my car, but I have had people swerve out of the way into other lanes (or once, onto the sidewalk) uncontrollably because they were following me so closely and they weren't going to be able to stop in time.

So sometimes, even if I stop, there's always the danger of the car behind me hitting the person. And then people get mad at me because I'm driving slower...but I'm not doing it because I'm trying to piss you off, I'm doing it because I'm trying to be more vigilant and hopefully prevent someone being flattened.

But I guess it boils down to the fact that if the people weren't jaywalking there in the first place, you wouldn't have to worry about such things. Either way, what happened sucks. :( I don't have any opinions on what happened honestly...I feel bad more than anything.

*EDIT* And after re-reading the thread, it seems like I sound like a bad driver because I drive slower anticipating people darting out in front of me....

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I know I don't have all the info, but it just makes me think..

I generally drive a little (about 5mph) under the speed limit sometimes in places I KNOW jaywalkers frequently occur, just in case someone is to pop out and dart across the street. Personally, I haven't had any super close calls yet, but I've had some close calls. But, driving slower helped me out for sure...But when you have Mr. Tailgater behind you when this happens, things don't go as well.

Again, luckily I haven't had anyone rear-end my car, but I have had people swerve out of the way into other lanes (or once, onto the sidewalk) uncontrollably because they were following me so closely and they weren't going to be able to stop in time.

So sometimes, even if I stop, there's always the danger of the car behind me hitting the person. And then people get mad at me because I'm driving slower...but I'm not doing it because I'm trying to piss you off, I'm doing it because I'm trying to be more vigilant and hopefully prevent someone being flattened.

But I guess it boils down to the fact that if the people weren't jaywalking there in the first place, you wouldn't have to worry about such things. Either way, what happened sucks. :( I don't have any opinions on what happened honestly...I feel bad more than anything.

*EDIT* And after re-reading the thread, it seems like I sound like a bad driver because I drive slower anticipating people darting out in front of me....

I don't think that.

I was taught many years ago (never mind how many!) that you have to be a heads up driver. you should be looking for anything changing into a bad situation.

the old defensive driving is a smart way to go.

[MouseKiss]

*EDIT* And after re-reading the thread, it seems like I sound like a bad driver because I drive slower anticipating people darting out in front of me....

You are using common sense. Each driving situation calls for different responses.

I drive down an empty street with no houses in a newly completed subdivision I don't stop at stop signs because I can see hundreds of feet in all directions.

Going down a street crowded with parked cars on both sides and workers building houses and getting tools and materials and some new homeowners that may have kids... I go maybe 5 MPH.

Smart drivers change their driving to match the circumstances. Dumb drivers don't.

[TiggerHappy]

At an apartment complex near my university, we have a pretty big problem with people jaywalking at part of a road that's next to a strip mall. It go to the point where they later put up No Jaywalking signs every 8 feet on both sides of the street and a police car now patrols the area more regularly. I've seen a handful of people (most likely fellow college students) get ticketed for obstructing traffic with their jaywalking.

I for one am against jaywalkers for intentionally putting themselves in danger and for inconveniencing drivers trying to get somewhere. It happens very frequently in my hometown and seeing it still while going to school is aggravating. Convenience over self-preservation is not worth it.

I don't know what the story is behind this case, but a life was lost when it could've been prevented. Whether it's the fault of the mother or the driver, someone's going home with a guilty conscience.

[WEDFan]

I generally drive a little (about 5mph) under the speed limit sometimes in places I KNOW jaywalkers frequently occur, just in case someone is to pop out and dart across the street. Personally, I haven't had any super close calls yet, but I've had some close calls. But, driving slower helped me out for sure...But when you have Mr. Tailgater behind you when this happens, things don't go as well.

*EDIT* And after re-reading the thread, it seems like I sound like a bad driver because I drive slower anticipating people darting out in front of me....

Yup, congested residential areas you need to drive real carefully, and I'll never fault anyone for driving under the speed limit in a residential area.

I drive down an empty street with no houses in a newly completed subdivision I don't stop at stop signs because I can see hundreds of feet in all directions.

I still stop. :D:

[PatchOBlack]

I must confess, this isn't as clear cut as I originally thought. The fact that one apparently would have to walk nearly a mile to get to a crosswalk seems to be extreme. I do wonder, however, if that is the nearest legal place to cross, or just the nearest crosswalk? They are not exactly the same thing, as one can cross at an intersection in many cases even if there is no crosswalk painted. If that was the nearest legal place to cross, then some of the blame goes to the local government for bad planning regarding insuring safe and efficient foot traffic routes.

One thing that bothers me, though, is people keep saying that the child was just as likely to dash into the street while walking to the crosswalk as they were when they were jaywalking. I have my doubts regarding this. First, for a child to dash into traffic while walking on a sidewalk, they would have to go in a different direction, rather than just continue forward. Also, from what I understand, the child ran off while they were on a medium in the middle of the street. At least on the sidewalk, there is typically only one direction that leads into traffic, rather than having it on two sides.

[WEDFan]

One thing that bothers me, though, is people keep saying that the child was just as likely to dash into the street while walking to the crosswalk as they were when they were jaywalking. I have my doubts regarding this. First, for a child to dash into traffic while walking on a sidewalk, they would have to go in a different direction, rather than just continue forward. Also, from what I understand, the child ran off while they were on a medium in the middle of the street. At least on the sidewalk, there is typically only one direction that leads into traffic, rather than having it on two sides.

No way to know for sure, but for my part, the assumption is based on the child being old enough to know where they're going and not old enough to know about crossing safely. You may point them down the sidewalk, but if they know that home is across the street, they may be just as likely to run into the road from the sidewalk as they were to run into the road form the median. Like I said, that's just the assumption I made, though, and is possibly/likely wrong.

[PatchOBlack]

No way to know for sure, but for my part, the assumption is based on the child being old enough to know where they're going and not old enough to know about crossing safely. You may point them down the sidewalk, but if they know that home is across the street, they may be just as likely to run into the road from the sidewalk as they were to run into the road form the median. Like I said, that's just the assumption I made, though, and is possibly/likely wrong.

You make a valid point. However, I would say that a child may be more likely to run into the street if the parent has already moved them in that direction.

[Freak]

Well, someone just got hit in a crosswalk in a city near me... Here's the article.

I'm not entirely sure what happened, and the article doesn't reveal a whole lot (not even the victim's gender!), but the thing that stuck out to me was that this happened @ 4:30 PM, and I just drove by there around 15 minutes ago, and they were STILL there. And one side of the road was still closed. Wonder what was taking so long.