Vehicular Mayhem (again) in Hoboken
18
July
7/18/2008:
Not sure if any of you knew this, but I took a couple days off from 411 this week, and tonight I’m chilling out and relaxing after my brief trip.
So as typically do, I have the damned Live Hoboken Police and Fire Scanner on (continually) in the background – even when I catch the game on TV.
Tonight there seem to be an unusual amount of car accidents/hit pedestrians in town. A couple downtown near Newark ST., and something involving 2 hit pedestrians uptown.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM EXACTLY?
Driving (you did pass the test, right?)
- I’ve never even come close to ever getting into an accident in my over decade living here.
- Why do cars SPEED through our densely-packed city? What’s the rush?
- How about obeying “no turn on red” signs?
Walking (like that’s hard to do)
- I always cross the street when I’m CERTAIN there is no risk.
- Why do pedestrians feel the need to BUM RUSH the intersection and play “Frogger” through traffic? Even when the light is red? Is it a game? Do you feel left out if one person crosses and you don’t?
- Or just cross the side-street like they’re super-entitled, and EXPECT that the driver:
- Is paying attention?
- Isn’t experiencing mechanical problems?
- Isn’t drunk or elderly or asleep or road-raging?
- Again, what’s the rush? If you want to get wherever you’re going sooner, figure out how to WALK FASTER! I’ve seen instances where the pedestrians ahead of me rush the intersection, cars honking… and half a block later I pass them easily. What gives?
Maybe we’re over-populated without proper “infrastructure” or provisions to handle the increased activity. And everyone (myself included) is guilty at one point of “jaywalking,” but there’s a difference between crossing the street at 4am with zero traffic, and playing chicken during rush hour dangering yourself and others for your own personal gain. There are two things that can be done to may put an end to this crap.
Just like the $1000 public drinking tickets issued during St. Patrick’s Day, why not create the following with the same fine:
- Rush-hour jaywalking tickets on Washington & Hudson Streets. People completely just crossing when they’re not supposed to.
- Intersection parking tickets that create limited visibility for dangerous intersections.
How hard can this be?
July 19th 2008 - 18:55:03 |
Katie_Scarlett wrote:
Knowing what you can’t see results in doing what you can about it. I frequently turn my head all the way towards my blind side. So if you ever see a woman walking down the street looking about constantly, it might be me.
About the rest I try to move quickly, I’m not so good at right now but I female cabbie was being really impatient. I was only about 5 feet from the sidewalk when the light turned.
Speaking of the lights, I like the ones with the count-down. I wish there was more of them, that way I know how much time I have to get across and don’t bother if it low number.
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July 19th 2008 - 19:09:25 |
Actually I was just thinking about my first required training session with a mobility instructor from the Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Even thought I was being a bit of a smart @ssed teen that thought she know how to walk from point a to point b, if I had show any signs of not paying attention I think it might have been drilled into me.
My next time with a mobility instructor was at my request because I had a friend that didn’t want to use a cane, but her dog was in real need of retraining. I made a bet with her. If I could find my way around the campus of Drew University with a blindfold and cane, so could she.
I still use some of the things he taught me. My iPod is set so that I can still hear the traffic before I’ve even reached the line of sight. If your on Adams approaching 1st you can really hear the cars way before you can see them. You can tell how fast cars are going by the sound.
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July 19th 2008 - 19:53:26 |
Journey wrote:
I know that’s true. I’m close to legally blind without my contacts, and I was pretty blind already by 13. I got my first pair of glasses at 14 (well I had them at 6, but I was diagnosed as farsighted at six when I’m nearsighted, go figure). I remember I knew who people were by their walk and the glasses made it so much easier to tell who was who, I was floored.
I find that I still know people that way today. And I always listen for cars as well as look for them. That’s why I rarely walk with an ipod on. I need to be able to hear to feel safe even though I can see perfectly well with my contacts in.
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July 20th 2008 - 18:50:26 |
oceanbloo wrote:
Go to the light at Park and 15th. That’s what I do.
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July 21st 2008 - 07:18:07 |
Katie_Scarlett wrote:
You say some really foolish things. I guess you took a road test at some point in your life and had to read the driver’s manual.
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Point Schedule – 39:4-35 Failure to yield to pedestrian in crosswalk. (2 points) – apparently some people, smarter than you realized that some drivers are so stupid that they should penalize them if they don’t drive in a manner that protects the public.
I think you talk a really big game, but yield, don’t say anything and go about your business until you have time to come on here and talk like a tough chic.
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July 21st 2008 - 08:48:41 |
King of Rock wrote:
Nah, next time you see a girl in a silver convertible yelling at you to move your fat ass, rest assured, that’s me.
ps- I didn’t take the jersey road test, I took the PA test. While I’m sure they have laws about pedestrians too, I’m equally sure that I lived the burbs and have NO IDEA what those rules were b/c they were irrelevant to my life.
PS- people in the crosswalk going against the light aren’t protected, one of these threads has a post with the rules of driving w/peds. Pedestrians have a duty not to jump out in front of cars – up to and including – not jaywalking.
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July 21st 2008 - 09:45:08 |
Well, at least we know these people weren’t homeless, right?
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