I think the article “Rules in place to keep us safe” should have been on the front page.
I live on 30th Avenue and regularly drive to the downtown area. People leap out to cross the street anywhere and everywhere.
When pedestrians are trying to cross they get to the crosswalk and start across the street instead of looking to see if it is safe to cross.
If the crosswalk has a light, they push the button and step out into the street to cross, again, not looking to see if it is safe. Cars, etc. take some time to stop.
Stopping distance is a factor in whether it is safe to cross the street. Cars cannot stop immediately to let a pedestrian cross in front of them.
Bikers are at fault here too. I was at a stop light waiting for green. The light changed, I looked both ways to make sure that the cars were stopped and started across the intersection, when all a of sudden, out of the blue, a young man on a bicycle streaked across the intersection in front of my car.
The bike had a red light but this cyclist paid no attention to it at all.
I slammed on my brake and did not hit the cyclist (who kept going).
After I quit shaking, I was able to get across the intersection.
This kind of thing happens all of the time. Pedestrians who step out into the street with no warning, who do not look to see if it is safe to cross the road, bike riders who ignore the rules of the road make it very hazardous to drive.
I believe that bicycles are supposed to follow the same rules as cars, but most of them do not.
If a car hit a pedestrian or a bicycle everyone would assume the car was at fault, but I think it would take a second look to find out what happened.
Well, I could rant about this for a while but I think you get the idea. Pedestrians and bicycle riders need to refresh their knowledge of safety and learn the rules of the road.
Susan Hays
Vernon
