12 year old girl hit by car

[Willy]

http://ludingtoncitizen.ning.com/group/bumps/forum/topics/anatomy-o...

I'm replying to the post by X regarding the 12 year old girl.

The reports are to conflicting to make an accurate judgement because according to the WWMT report  both vehicles were moving in the same direction while the WOOD report says one car was heading west while turning south, that would put the accident on the east side of the intersection and the WHTC report claims the car was heading east while turning left which would be north and would put the accident on the west side of the intersection.  It's a little confusing, like trying to figure out who's on first.  But in either case all the reports claim the girl crossed against the light and the vehicles had the right of way so until a more detailed and accurate report is forthcoming It seems that the girl caused her own problem.
 

[XLFD]

And Lisa, BTW, the UTC has serious consequences for not driving safely around someone who appears to be visually impaired:

R 28.1715 Rule 715. Stopping for blind pedestrians; violation as misdemeanor.

(1) Any driver of a vehicle who approaches within 10 feet of a person who is wholly or partially blind, who is carrying a cane or walking stick that is white or white tipped with red, or who is being led by a guide dog wearing a harness and walking on either side, or slightly in front, of the blind person shall immediately come to a full stop and shall take precautions before proceeding as may be necessary to avoid accident or injury to the wholly or partially blind person.

(2) A person who violates this rule is guilty of a misdemeanor

[Sweater Cows!]

I would assume the driver who hit the girl was looking for pedestrians, but in the crosswalk where they belong, not darting out from behind a car at the stop light.

For some reason I have a hard time noticing people or vehicles when they are behind/blocked by other vehicles and cannot be seen.

[Sweater Cows!]

Willy, I edited the typo in your title of the thread. It said !2 instead of 12.

[Willy]

Thanks When. I have a habit of starting a sentence with a capital letter, so I must have held down the shift key when I typed a 1.

[XLFD]

The main point I had in posting this story was to continue a running dialog that I have been trying to show in the BUMPS thread about the lack of rigor that is applied in traffic accidents involving BMPs (bicyclists-motorcyclists-pedestrians) by law enforcement and the media outlets that report them.  Unless the BMPer being hit is in law enforcement the cops and media are quick to shield the motorist from blame and blame the victim.  I drive a vehicle, as well as being a BMP at times, and I see motorists driving without a clue around schools and around clusters of pedestrians, not slowing down and not paying attention.  But on the same day this took place I checked the following blog that collects car-ped collisions.  Here's what they had; look at the video at this link. 

A legally deaf and blind woman crossing a side street, hit by some moron turning out of a parking lot.  Notice that this woman in leg braces "darted out" from across the street in front of the vehicle which was turning on to the road from the parking lot.  The poor guy was having chest pains afterwards and received no tickets.  Where did I hear the phrase "darted out" before?  Just about every story I read, when the motorist describes their total lack of culpability while the one they hit is dead or in the hospital. 

[Lisa O'Brien]

Nobody is saying that all accidents are the fault of the BMP's fault - but sometime's it just is. My roommate was hit by a vehicle while crossing the street a little over 2 yrs ago. He waited for the walk signal - proceeded to cross the street and a vehicle made a left turn running him over. In this case it was the drivers fault. Had my roommate not waited for the walk signal and just tried to outrun a vehicle that had the right of way - it would have been his fault. In my opinion BMP's have more responsibility in following the rules of the road and making sure it is safe - in the end it is their lives in harms way.

[XLFD]

I have pointed out some accidents in the BUMPS group that were the fault of the BMPs, and have reported on those too, assigning blame when it was due.  Many motorists have forgotten the exercise of exercising due care in the presence of BMPs, and it seems to never be part of the education and enforcement of vehicle behaviors.  Their needs to be more advocacy for the unprotected users of the road, not less.  But it's not popular, as I am finding out a little here, LOL.

[XLFD]

Or this one on that same day in Middletown CT:  Brian Bomely, 52, was driving east on Larosa Lane at about 2:09 p.m. when he hit a 15-year-old high school student who was crossing between two school buses, Sgt. Scott Aresco said.  Police said the driver reported no injuries. The accident was still under investigation on Tuesday and no charges had been filed, police said.

Crossing between two school buses-- damn jaywalkers deserve what they get!  At the article's end, you get a sane voice (not a reporter or cop):  Nicole Worrell, a resident of the neighboring Enfield Apartment Complex, said Larosa Lane poses a host of safety concerns around school dismissal time.  "I frequently spoke with the director of the school here about having a traffic cop just between a quarter of 2 and 2:15," she said. "There's a lot of traffic along Larosa Lane. … The cars and the buses don't stop; they just pretend to ignore you and there's always a lot of traffic."

[Lisa O'Brien]

In this case the teenager should not have been crossing between 2 school buses. As far as having a traffic cop there - what would his job be, to state the obvious - cross at crosswalks. Why don't the concerned parents and neighbors sign on to be crossing guards. Why don't parents teach their children basic safety rules.

[Willy]

I've noticed that you don't approach pedestrian / bicycle accidents in a neutral mindset. You always assume that the driver was at fault and the pedestrian / cyclist had no responsibility in what happened. The truth is either the driver or pedestrian could be at fault or both. It just depends on the situation. I see the 12 year olds accident much differently than you but I'm going by the news reports, photos and video. Even tho the girl crossed against a traffic signal and a pedestrian signal you still insist that the driver was at fault. Did ever consider that if the girl had waited for the light to change we would not be having this conversation? Whose fault is it that the girl did not wait for the light to change? Are you going to blame someone else for that?

[XLFD]

You are right, Willy, I do not approach these with a neutral mindset.  But neither does the investigating officer in most situations.  I think a legally deaf and blind woman with leg braces crossing a side street should not be hit by someone turning out from a parking lot in their vehicle without repercussions.  I have seen a lot of jerks behind the wheel driving distracted at over 25 mph going past bus lines (in Scottville), so I totally believe the neighbor who says that's the case in Middletown.

And I will bet you carrots against navy beans that the car that turned left in the Holland incident was blocking the crosswalk, waiting for the car that eventually hit Justice to clear the intersection. 

Mind you, I am not giving the kids and blind/deaf/leg-braced a free pass to violate traffic laws, I am just saying we have over 5000 people getting killed and many more getting injured every year in America while just walking near or on the street legally on their legs and then being summarily blamed for it anytime a collision happens. 

The truth is often overlooked, because we can almost all commiserate with the pain the driver must feel.  I try to divorce that commiseration when I try to objectively look at such accidents, and commiserate with the hittee, who have often been blamed for the whole thing.

[Willy]

X. Everyday I see pedistrians crossing against lights, jaywalking and running across streets when traffic has the right of way and many times the adults have kids with them. I see bicycle riders [in good weather] running red lights, cutting thru traffic, riding against traffic ect. just as I see motor vehicle drivers running red lights, speeding, tailgating, ect. There's a lot of bad judgement on both sides. I don't know who your trying to convince by insisting that it's mostly motor vehicle drivers fault. You draw conclusions from assumptions, just as your assuming the driver was blocking the crosswalk, but you have no evidence to back that up. You claim that facts are skewed by the police and news media but unless your there, the only information to go one is what the police report says and what is reported in the news. Each traffic incident is unique and should be judged as separate entities.  I hear the same thing from motorcycle riders. They don't seem to realize that many times motorcycles are hard to see and that they are taking a risk riding on a motor vehicle unprotected in traffic. I agree with Lisa's last sentence. "In my opinion BMP's have more responsibility in following the rules of the road and making sure it is safe - in the end it is their lives in harms way." In the final analyzes a pedestrians has a much higher rate of risk when in traffic and should use every precaution.