This morning various news organizations across the state reported some alarming news: pedestrian fatalities are up 80 percent this year.
Three pedestrian deaths last week across the state brought the 2010 total to 52 fatalities, whereas by this time last year 29 pedestrians had been killed by car drivers.
In a far-too-timely incident, this morning Portland police reported that three pedestrians on North Lombard, including a two year old child, were taken to a hospital after being struck by a roughly 70-year-old car driver who was turned right from Interstate onto Lombard. The two-year-old is in critical condition with life threatening injuries (KATU has a sad photo from the scene).
The Oregonian article quotes the Oregon Department of Transportation official Julie Yip noting that in most fatalities, drivers just didn’t see the pedestrians. ODOT is in the midst of a “Be Safe, Be Seen” campaign, encouraging pedestrians to wear brightly-colored or reflective clothing.
I think it’s a little absurd to recommend people wear reflective clothing if they plan on walking anywhere. The troubling fact about pedestrian deaths is that the only thing that seems a surefire way to reducing fatalities is to have less people driving—Yip attributes 2009’s dip in fatalities to the snowy winter that kept more people off the roads.
It’s not a matter of safety vests and dark clothes; our roads are dangerous by design, many of them (including North Lombard) are built for cars, with pedestrian safety as an afterthought. Add to that lax local and national laws that usually slap drivers who accidentally kill people with only a ticket, and we understand how traffic fatalities have become an epidemic that’s written off as the cost of doing business.
Update: If you’re interested in making our streets safer for pedestrians, I just found out about this pedestrian advocacy meeting tomorrow night. Willamette Pedestrian Coalition is hosting the forum on building a national pedestrian movement Tuesday night, Nov 9th, at Full Life Cafe (3301 NE Sandy Blvd) from 7:30-9:00 p.m.
Update 2: Portland’s Bureau of Transportation has year-to-date stats on pedestrian fatalities, but can’t break down it’s data from previous years to see if we’re at an increase over last year around this time. I uploaded a pdf of the stats for Portland bike, pedestrian, and motorcycle fatalities here.
I walk roughly 5-7 miles a day in SW, and as I’ve mentioned numerous times on this blog, it is rather rare when a week that goes by where a driver doesn’t almost hit me.
The vast majority of the near-misses are drivers that are pulling out of a driveway or cross street and they are looking to their left (for cars) but turning right. They frequently never look to their right (where a pedestrian would be approaching.)
I’ve seen this so often I just basically avoid crossing when I see cars approaching, assuming they will not stop/slow down to turn right.
Any discussion of pedestrian safety should include an examination of injury incidents not just deaths. The number of deaths is low enough that it will bounce around, just like cyclist deaths in portland. We need a larger sample size to know if things are actually getting better or worse and looking at serious injuries will do that.
i try to look back at traffic before crossing driveway or intersection… i assume cars would not stop at cross walks or interesection… you just never know…our body are not made in steel… yes drivers must watch out for everything… but they can be reckless at times… :/
It’s tragic, and I hope someone can suggest some good fixes.
But one line in that article made me think – you complained that our roads were designed for vehicles, with pedestrian users merely an afterthought. Don’t pedestrians make up a very small percentage of road users? We sure can’t keep the dangerous designs that we have now, but maybe the solution isn’t pedestrian-friendly but pedestrian-free or pedestrian-discouraging thoroughfares.
‘The troubling fact about pedestrian deaths is that the only thing that seems a surefire way to reducing fatalities is to have less people driving. ‘
This is not a ‘fact’ – it’s your anti-car fantasy which is not going to happen if the population grows.
Just because you can utter the words does not automatically make them true.
Pedestrians are, however, quite a high proportion in the places where most of the incidents happened. We already have pedestrian-discouraging thoroughfares – they’re called freeways. Very few of these incidents happened there. They’re at places like Interstate & Lombard, where there’s a transit center and a Fred Meyer.
Visibility helps, for sure. But it shouldn’t only be on the pedestrian to be responsible for it (even though they have a role to play). The street lighting in many places in this city is abysmal, either because of trees or just total lack of lighting. If the city spent more on that instead of just making the roads marginally smoother, it would be far safer out there for everyone.
I’ve had enough close calls of this nature (including a very short ride on a car hood) that I now instinctively always look to make sure a car isn’t turning right against the red into the crosswalk with a walk sign I’m about to enter.
It seems to me that just plain common sense would have you wear either light colored clothing or a reflective vest if you are going to be walking where there is car traffic. Especially during periods of low visibility.
@uifoyt when is the last time you wore a reflective vest? Not to mention the fact that the accident she is referring to happened at 11:45.
@ujfoyt: It seems to me that just plain common sense would pay attention to where you’re pointing your car when driving where there is pedestrian traffic. Especially during periods of low visibility.
@DemonJuice – Who taught you to cross the street? How many of those ‘close calls’ did it take you before you started looking to see if you were about to step in front of a moving car? People here are joking about ‘plain common sense,’ but geez!
@ D. Agree that there’s no evidence it’s the number of cars on the road correlating strongly to more deaths – it’s usually the quality of the drivers.
My grandparents always told me to “always assume that everyone driving a car is either drunk, stupid or asleep at the wheel.”
Cars, bikes & peds: Never assume a car is going to do what it’s “supposed” to do, when it’s your safety at risk if you’re wrong.
Things I see people doing while driving their cars:
Exceeding the speed limit
Using cell phones
Not signaling turns
Not stopping for pedestrians in crosswalks (marked or unmarked)
Stopping beyond the stop line and in the cross walk
Not yielding to pedestrians on sidewalks
Driving in the rain or other low-light conditions without headlights
I could go on, but ODOT’s analysis that it’s up to the pedestrian to look out for themselves just sends the message that drivers are above reproach. Pathetic.
pedestrians should wear neon reflective jumpsuits, monitor their pedometers, and carry front, back, and headlights. same goes for bikers, ESPECIALLY during non summer months.
@econoline. For one, I don’t walk very far, my bad back won’t allow it. I have a bright orange sweatshirt (actually 2) that I wear most of the time in cold or bad weather. My job requires me to wear this when I am directing traffic. I’d rather wear a reflective vest (or safety orange) and feel much safer, than not wear one and wind up in the hospital, or worse. I’ll grant you that todays drivers are getting worse, but it isn’t always the fault of the vehicle operator.
as a driver, my close calls with pedestrians have been when they are not paying attention and breaking a law. I have seen people walk in front of city buses when they have the red hand telling them to stop. Also, living by NW 23rd I rarely see pedestrians stop and look before they cross a street.
Drivers are not the only ones who need to pay attention, as well as not talk/ text while traveling. Yes, a driver does have a higher risk of an accident, but that does not mean that cellphone related pedestrian deaths have not occurred.
My point is that it is not just the drivers who are the problem in this, we all need to pay more attention.
I work on Interstate and Lombard and often cross Interstate. Last year a coworker got hit by an elderly woman and suffered serious injuries. Just because the sign says walk does not mean that it is safe to cross. Pedestrians should take the extra time to look out remember cars are bigger than you. Elder drivers should be required to take tests to ensure that they are drive worthy. I’d rather look odd in reflective clothing than to look odd in a wheelchair.
As a pedestrian that’s been hit by a car (when I was 8), I can assuredly say that drivers aren’t always paying attention. This is definitely a two-way street – pedestrians should be more conscious of their surroundings. Neither point should cancel each other out and debating it is useless.
I think the salient points from this post is the relatively weak laws we have in place protecting bicyclists and pedestrians from a legal POV and the need to construct city roads that better meet the needs of a city that encourages bicycle and pedestrian activity. Well lit roads and increased build-out of pedestrian controlled crosswalks in busy areas will go a long way to fix these problems. Personally, I’m a fan of any measure taken to reduce automobile speed, especially at or around mass transit areas (the max overpass on NE 60th is particularly brutal). /rant
My friend was hit-and-run this summer. He easily could’ve been killed. The car that struck him slammed into him with such force that it shattered his left arm and shoulder (and he’s left handed, unfortunately) and threw him through the air in such a way that he’s lucky he didn’t suffer a head or spinal injury. The driver sped away and all witnesses were so anxious to lend aid to the fallen man that they didn’t get a lot of details on the car, driver or the license plate. So, while my friend could’ve easily died, the driver simply went home.
It’s almost enough to make me think that Orwellian surveillance on every street corner might be the key.
Since pedestrians account for all of society and traffic mishaps are technically an act of physical violence, we can thus only conclude that…
ODOT is coercing all of society to wear ugly rave gear via the threat of physical violence.
Hey pedestrians….mainly cyclists….how about being on the defensive, using side streets, wearing your bike helmets, and not thinking that you’re the same as a car? Because in the final equation a car will win if you’re being stupid.
OH SHIT! DOES ANYONE HAVE SOME MORE ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE TO PROVE THEIR POINT?!?
I FUCKING HOPE SO!!!
Also, lets use as many generalized statements about modes of locomotion as we can!!!
FUCK YOU PEDESTRIANS! IF I WILL CRUSH YOU ALL WITH MY AT-ST!!!
As D pointed out above: ‘The troubling fact about pedestrian deaths is that the only thing that seems a surefire way to reducing fatalities is to have less people driving. ‘
One of the most deadly states for pedestrians is Hawaii. Lived there 6 years. TONS of people run over, and WAY fewer cars.
Number killed or injured
From 1996 to 2003, more than 230 pedestrians were killed and 2,500 injured in Hawai’i traffic accidents, making the state’s death rate the 15th-highest in the country.
Number hospitalized
For every pedestrian killed in Hawai’i, about nine others were hospitalized and as many as 80 were treated in emergency rooms.
Fewer people people means fewer cars, but doesn’t mean fewer deaths. It’s all about HOW the streets are laid out, how the pedestrians go about walking/crossing roads.. Fewer cars in PORTLAND would mean fewer deaths, probably. But otherwise your analogy isn’t up, Sarah. Sorry, love ya otherwise.
I also sorta feel compelled to point out that I’ve been driving in urban areas for 25 years, and have never EVER hit a pedestrian or cyclist. I’ve certainly had the chance.. honestly, I know why drivers complain about cyclists. I’ve had SO many blow through red lights in front of me (theirs, not mine), or balance on their bikes in an intersection in front of me, bouncing because they don’t want to put a foot down, and the bouncing takes them, NO SHIT, right the fuck out into the intersection! I know cyclists, and I like them. But even THEY joke about not having to follow the rules of the road.
A pedestrian is a pedestrian. The basic rule is to NEVER hit them. They can’t move fast enough, they’ll never win against a car. I mean, DUH. A cyclist? Obviously I apply the same “never hit them” rule but they are TONS harder to avoid. They are VEHICLES and they need to follow the rules of the road! My 83 y/o mother-in-law was HIT by a cyclist, and has yet to stop feeling guilty, even though she was stopped and the girl rammed into her (ignoring a red light).
I don’t care if people want to ride bikes, but they’ll have to start obeying stop signs and turn lanes eventually, right? Right??
POINT: All collisions are caused by pedestrians, it’s never the driver’s fault.
COUNTERPOINT: All collisions are caused by car drivers, it’s never the pedestrian’s fault.
COUNTERPOINT: All collisions are caused by pedestrians, it’s never the driver’s fault.
COUNTERPOINT: All collisions are caused by car drivers, it’s never the pedestrian’s fault.
Repeat until annoying.
How about–instead of drivers or pedestrians being at fault, let’s all just say that there aren’t enough crosswalks or lights at the crosswalks? In the winter, it’s just really hard to see pedestrians in the rain, and most of these accidents seem to be occurring on the east side, where the residences are more spread out, there are fewer sidewalks and less money (HARRRUMPH) to drain puddles, put in bike lanes and put up streetlights.
Pedestrians and drivers take turns being stupid. If the answer was for everyone to just be smarter and nicer to each other, we could all just pinky-swear to never have any more pedestrian fatalities.
I’ve seen just as many people yammering on their cellphones as they walk across crosswalks without even looking either way as I have people yammering on their cells as they fly thru a left without paying attention.
It’s the Portland “me” attitude and it gets pretty fucking old if you happen to be a courteous pedestrian AND driver.
@Reymont – I’m talking about looking all the way back behind me to make sure there’s no moving car about to whip right around the corner and hit me because they’re timing the lights. Yes, it took a few times of getting a walk signal, looking over, not seeing a car, entering the crosswalk, then almost (and once not) getting whacked by said car that wasn’t stopped at the light when I started into the crosswalk.
I don’t see many people stop and look all the way behind them when they get a walk signal. They usually just step right out as evidenced by lots of accidents including pedestrians. Which is my whole point. I know you like to be contrarian, but geez!
The driver was 70 years old, maybe he shouldn’t have been driving. I’m not ageist or anything, but after a certain age, drivers need to be re-certified often
Maybe Portland should put in a Death-O-Meter.
a la http://www.streetsblog.org/2010/11/19/eyes…
People are dying!
This whole thing is a huge disappointment. I moved here from Los Angeles thinking it would be a great opportunity to finally not have a car, so I sold it. I’ve been walking since Sept when I arrived in Portland, and I have almost been hit MANY times. I’ve met others who have been hit, and I’ve seen several news articles about people being killed by drivers. Last night as I was walking with my 6-year old we were again almost run down by a woman who started laughing once I yelled at her to stop. What is wrong with Portland drivers? I’m going to have to buy a car because I’m too afraid to continue putting my daughter and myself at risk of being run over. =(