Letter to the Editor
Careless drivers
Published Thursday, May 22, 2008
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Stumble It!May 16, 2008
To the editor:
I would like to express my concern about the problem already mentioned by one of your readers, the crossroad of Geist Road and Fairbanks Street. I cross it on foot every day, and cars simply never stop when the pedestrian light is on.
On May 15, a silver car with four teenagers in it drove right up to me when I started crossing on my light. I waved at them but the driver looked right in my eyes and laughed at my face, obviously enjoying my fright. I was lucky to jump backward in time. I memorized the car’s license plate.
The next day, May 16, another car, driven by a woman, did exactly the same thing. The crossroad is constantly used by pedestrians and bikers, often with little children. What are we to do? To wait until one of us gets killed since people refuse to recognize our priority?
Yelena Matusevich
Fairbanks
Community Discussion
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The answer is obvious. Start driving. Yes, it's expensive, but walking is un-american. By not driving, you are in fact weakening the American economy and by association, you are supporting terrorism around the world. Pedestrians just slow us down anyways.
Wow kornmonkiedotcom, I guess it just goes to show you that sarcam is only good when its funny.
Does the "pedestrian light" not operate in conjunction with a traffic signal? When I lived in Fairbanks there was a traffic light at that intersection.
Don't mind kornmonkie. He heard that sarcasm is the lowest form of humor, and took it to heart.
If he ever finds out it's not sarcasm but politics, he'll be running for president.
My complaint as a driver is that YOU pedestrians cannot seem to makeup YOUR mind if you are going to walk or not when YOU are supposed to.
so thanks for telling him Mcghee! Seriously though, it does seem that someone has to die in this town to justify a new light. The upside to this is the article in today's paper about the bond issue this fall to resolve that very intersection. I can guess which way Yelena Matusevich will vote, if she is registered to vote that is.
Wow, blue5011, how that change the fact that pedestrians have the legal right-of-way?!? Can you blame their hesitation when they almost get run over by people?
Ahem, how *does* that change the fact...
I was sitting at that light yesterday and watched a lady on a bike pull right in front of a big truck while he was turning right and the pedistrian sign hand the red hand up, last time I checked that meant don't go. But she went with no regards to the truck or any other vehicle, maybe if pedestrians would yeild when supposed to drivers wouldnt have the 'no care' attitude about it.
Not saying all drivers have that attitude of course...
Kornmonkie is right though-- in our culture the car is privileged and pedestrians (and bikes) are not. It's obvious in the way we spend millions on carefully planned roads but we implement sidewalks and bike paths haphazardly and after the fact.
It's much less civilized than some places in the world, and it's also shortsighted.
Pedestrian = on foot
On a bike does not equal pedestrian.
pedestrians do have the right of way, but they really should look both ways before they cross the road. Isn't that what your mom told you when you were a kid? Whats really bad are the drunks haphazardly crossing on cushman.
I have a problem on this particular street (Fairbanks Street) where people walk in the middle of the road instead of the sidewalk. I always yield for the pedestrians crossing appropriately at appropriate times but geez, use the sidewalk already!
Well its not like the signal to cross is ever long enough, you can barely get half way across before the red hand starts flashing. I dont walk slow, but if I had a young child with me I couldnt make it all the way across the road before the traffic started moving again.
kornmonkie, you are the most unamerican person i have ever heard. i don't think you understand the art of sarcasm at all! as for walking in this town, it is dangerous! vehicles have absolutely no regard for pedestrians crossing the street, especially turning vehicles, you may have a green light, but the pedestrians also have the sign to walk, all it takes is a quick glance to make sure no one is in the crosswalk, but that would mean you would actually have to slow down and pay attention to your driving. this town has the worst drivers i have ever seen in my life and i have lived in four different states. absolutely no regard for traffic laws, traffic signals or pedestrians.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=RjrEQaG5jPM
There may be aspects of that location's design that reduce pedestrian safety and encourage -- or effectively cause -- dangerous driving.
For example, Geist Road is five lanes across: two lanes each way, plus a turn lane. Regardless of speed limits, people generally drive as fast as feels safe. Wider streets encourage motorists to drive faster.
Wide turn radii encourage people to turn faster, since they don't need to slow down to make the corner. They also increase the distance pedestrians must cross and the time they must spend in the intersection.
While within that block there is a decent amount that can be reached by foot (http://fairbankspedestrian.wordpress.com...), that intersection and Geist generally have very little human activity. There is almost nothing to make drivers slow down and take interest in their surroundings, nothing to make drivers feel that they are guests in somebody else's neighborhood. The intersection of Geist and Fairbanks offers no reasons to *be* there, only reasons to *leave* there -- and the faster the better. (On civic architecture that encourages people to leave, see http://fairbankspedestrian.wordpress.com....)
If the intersection of Geist and Fairbanks were designed to be a little less accommodating to cars and of more interest to human beings who might want to *be* there, it would be less perilous. Reducing the corners' turn radii would be a start. So would narrowing Geist Road.
But the best move would be to line Geist densely with retail, commercial, and civic establishments that encouraged the locals to come, walk, and spend time on the street. Their increased presence would have a calming effect on the traffic, once drivers realized that the neighborhood was meant for human habitation, not for a raceway to more interesting places.
I certainly don't mean to excuse the dangerous choices of individual drivers. But, no matter what your laws, the architecture of the street will influence drivers' behavior. Design matters.
--Paul Adasiak
"The Fairbanks Pedestrian"
I maybe wrong or the law changed, but when I took my drivers test Alaska law stated Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way here. The reasoning behind it was that due to weather conditions such as ice on roads it is the pedestrians that are suppose to stop, because if roads are icy a car cannot make abrupt stops. Either way it's better to be safe than end up like a bug on a windshield.
From the Alaska DMV Drivers' Manual (http://www.state.ak.us/dmv/dlmanual/dlma...
At a green light:
"Yield to pedestrians and vehicles still in or who enter the intersection with the right-of-way, such as pedestrians traveling across the roadway with the green light."
At crossings:
"Crosswalk lines need not be painted at all intersections nor do they need be in place to indicate where pedestrians have the right-of-way. Pedestrians have the right-of-way at marked crosswalks or at intersections. Do not drive so as to make a pedestrian yield to you; the motorist should always yield to the pedestrian."
SHARING THE ROAD
PEDESTRIANS
Approximately 20% of all traffic fatalities are pedestrians. Most of the pedestrians killed are children, elderly persons, or persons who have been drinking. It’s a good idea to reduce speed and create a larger space cushion when you see pedestrians on or near the street.
As a driver you will find pedestrians making errors. Don’t sentence them to injury or death because they make mistakes. Study the following rules and put them into practice when you drive and when you walk.
Your responsibility as a DRIVER
1. Slow down, yield, and be prepared to stop when approaching pedestrians who are walking on or crossing the roadway.
2. Stop for all blind persons (white cane or guide dog) regardless of the traffic signal or traffic situation.
3. Do not drive through a pedestrian safety zone when occupied.
4. Do not pass a vehicle that has stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross the street.
5. Be especially watchful for children near schools and residential areas.
6. Check mirror before exiting your vehicle. Older people are often handicapped by poor vision, slow reaction time, and inability to move fast. Children are quick and see well, but they are not familiar with traffic patterns and often underestimate the destructive force of a motor vehicle.
Your responsibility as a PEDESTRIAN
1. Cross only at crosswalks.
2. Obey all traffic laws and signals.
3. Never cross a street on a “stale” green traffic light that has about run out of time or when a steady or flashing “Don’t Walk” appears.
4. Look for turning vehicles before crossing the street.
5. Walk on the left side of the highway facing oncoming traffic.
6. Do not solicit a ride from anyone on or along a highway.
7. Wear light-colored clothing when walking on or alongside the roadway at night.
8. Do not drink an intoxicant or be intoxicated on or along a highway.
It's called the tonnage law. He who weights more has the right of way.
As far as being aware of whats around you, you can be 100 percent in the right and 100 percent dead at the same time. maybe they should
put in a round about for the pedestrians.
BE WARNED Pedestrians. It is well known that we don't hunt with guns up here we hunt with Ford or Chevys. Many grouse and moose thought they had the right of way, only to find themselves served at the Road Kill Cafe.
I'm pretty sure that's a nautical rule, and not for pedestrians and motor vehicles.
How about people just be aware of their surroundings? If I were crossing a road in front of a row of vehicles weighing anywhere from 1 to 5 tons I'd be wary of being hit by one. I would suspect that any one of them is probably some dork gabbing on a cell phone or doing something other than paying attention to the road, and thus a high potential for me getting hurt. Not to say the drivers are right, of course they're wrong, but if you can't force them to change, then why not be on the defense and watch for the crazies.
If we are going to gripe about the pedestrians, can I please bring up the folks that are running across Airport road in front of the theater? Why did the city take down the fencing that ran along the side of Airport road? Ever since then, I see kids and drunks and drunk kids climbing over the cement barriers and playing frogger with their lives and my car.
Instead of fingerpointing, it would be nice to see a sense of mutual looking-out-for-eachother.
Like many of commentors on this article, I am a driver, a walker, and even a bicycler. No, I'm not perfect.
As a driver I've had the occasion to come up on an intersection and be suprised by a bicycler(s) racing across the intersection like Jack-n-Box. Fortunatly, I've left myself room to react so no one gets cliped.
As a pedestrian I've been clipped by numerous bicyclers who don't realize that pedestrians can't hear a silent bike coming up from behind. Singing out a 'passing on the left' or even using a bike bell would aleviate much of that.
The only time I have any issues with cars, while walking, is if I'm strategically starting my way across the street, anticipating the car to drive on by, but instead the car suddenly slams on it's breaks as though I'm mindless enough to walk into it's path.
I should clarify also, that the above mentioned examples are rare for me considering how much of my time I spend on the streets of Fairbanks, walking, driving, or whatever.
-RK
with a little more practice, we will one day function like India does on their streets.. LOL!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tq1kUPYI5GY
This is just a common problem today & it doesn't just affect peds. People are in too much f a hurry to stop anymore. All stop signs are treated as a yield (if you are lucky). No one understands the concept "right turn on red AFTER stop."
It's good to read the FEW thoughtful comments here. Following the law, a little courtesy, and respect on the roads, intersections and bikeway/sidewalks will go a long way towards making Fairbanks an even better place to live and work despite all the design flaws of our roads and walkways.
A little courtesy and respect also goes a long way towards getting your gripes and comments read in a positive light in this forum; most anonymous comments only serve to illustrate ignorance of their source.
Some additional notes extracted out of Alaska Administrative code to supplement amgray's quotes from the driver's manual:
Crosswalks are not always marked and include road and street intersections; e.g. intersections with side streets on College Road, South Cushman, etc.
Bicyclists using a sidewalk or bikepath must yield to pedestrians.
"No pedestrian may sleep or loiter upon a highway" (That's my favorite)
I live and drive on Geist...and peds do NOT follow the don't walk signs and neither do bike riders....get off the bike and walk it across as the law states...and everyone follow the colored signs and round circles hanging above you! DUH! Or watch out...if you cannot walk or bike as fast as my car get out of the street. thank you!
I believe I witnessed the first of the two incidents that the original letter writer mentions. I was pulled up to the light and watched a woman nearly get run over by a carload of teenagers. She's lucky she's alive.
I mentioned the other day that I was once nearly hit in the same intersection. As I said, a state trooper watched the whole thing, looked at me, and yawned. Even the cops don't care (at least, that one didn't).
Obviously a few of you folks posting here consider the only good pedestrian to be a dead pedestrian. Fortunately, I know the majority of people in this town are thoughtful drivers, walkers, bikers, etc. Unfortunately, it only takes one bad apple. But thanks to the News-Miner's