January 17, 2007
Pedestrian Struck and Killed By Metrobus
NBC4 is reporting that a woman was struck and killed by a Metrobus around 10:30 last night in Mount Pleasant. Officials say an H8 bus was making a left turn onto Park Road from 16th Street when a pedestrian ran in front of the vehicle. A portion of 16th Street was closed for a time, but all lanes have since re-opened. No further information about the victim or the driver involved has been released and so far Metro's Web site has no details.
This is the second serious accident for the Metro system in as many weeks. The derailment of a Green Line train on Jan. 7 is still under investigation by Metro and NTSB officials. No one was seriously injured in that incident.
We'll keep you updated as further details become available.
Photo by DottieboBottie
|
Can we classify WMATA as a weapon of mass destruction?
Can we classify WMATA as a weapon of mass destruction?
You can't make a left hand turn from 16th St. onto Park Road. At least cars can't and I don't know why buses would be able to.
Busses should not be allowed to turn there! The sign states no left turns, with out any exception for busses, as noted on other street signs.
The report says the pedestrian "ran in front of the vehicle." Where did this statement come from, the bus making an illegal left turn? How is the pedestrian going to know something may be coming from the wrong direction?
The Post confirms that the bus was turning left onto Park Rd. from northbound 16th St.
Have some empathy for these drivers (both bus and metro operators). Their job is not an easy one—especially when people intentionally run in front of a bus or jump off the metro platform. It is not clear from this post whether the accident was the fault of the driver or an intentional run-in. No need to assume the accident was the fault of the driver just yet...
Everyone should complete the DC gov pedestrian survey. It doesn't give the option of listing WMATA as safety offender, but there is an 'Other' section with comments field
http://www.tooledesign.com/projects/dc/
I was in the wrong place at the wrong time (16th and Park at, like, 10:38 last night!) and it was not a pretty sight. The least they could have done is clean up the blood stains from the curb this morning, but no, there are even bright orange circles delineating where pieces of this woman's skull were scattered across the road.
Pretty sickening, and yes, buses are allowed to turn onto Park despite that cars are not.
The reason that buses are allowed to make a lefthand turn across traffic when cars aren't is that in a car you can bear right before the intersection, go in front of the Catholic Church, make a left hand turn onto Park Road at a controlled intersection, and then proceed straight through the red light across 16th street. This is the ideal situation, because you never end up crossing a lane of traffic. However, because the turn onto Park Road is a tight one, it's not possible for a bus to make. The only way for buses to be able to make that turn would be to make the entire feeder road no parking, an elimination of 10-20 spaces.
The real issue is that any bus route requiring a left hand turn where it's otherwise illegal needs to be redesigned. If it's not safe to make a left hand turn, it doesn't get any more safe just because it's a bus making that turn.
And to "tm", I think it's entirely appropriate to assume that the bus driver was at fault. If you had made the left hand turn and hit the pedestrian, it would be legally assumed to be your fault regardless of the pedestrians action, because in making the turn you were breaking the law. Once again, it doesn't make any sense to treat a bus driver differently, just because they're a bus driver.
Leading to a whole different rant about "No left turn, except taxis."
I can't remember the last time I've driven through Mount Pleasant or Columbia Heights, or down 14th ST NW for that matter, without multiple people crossing in front of me in the middle of the block, out of the crosswalk, or against the light.
I remember an item in DCist a few months ago implying that the high level of pedestrian deaths was due to a racist/classist lack of investment in signage, lighting, etc. in some DC neighborhoods. I don't think that correlates with my own experience. I think it's A) more people walking, period, in neighborhoods that have something to walk *to,* and B) people not watching out for their own safety.
Let's all keep in mind that some percentage of people's accidental deaths are their own fault.
If the bus was making the left hand turn going north on 16th, it would be safe to assume that the northbound light was green. Which would mean that the pedestrian cross signal would also have been walk.
scary shit. i almost got hit by an L2 running last night. which was not making a turn through my 9 more seconds to cross light, just zoomed straight through what very much looked like a red light.
Yes, being a bus driver is an easy job and there are certainly good bus drivers out there.
Yes, buses are an integral part of public transportation.
Still, at what point (maybe now?) is someone going to recognize how dangerous and cavalier Metro bus drivers are? How many bus incidents have there been in the last 6 months? I've lost count. I've also lost count of how many times I have personally had seriously close calls with Metro buses, both on foot and driving. I can't say if bus drivers are willfully malicious or just completely oblivious, but given how ubiquitous the problem seems, it needs to be addressed.
Bus drivers are particularly bad with cyclists... and I'm talking about cyclists who are riding legally. Just this morning, at 16th and P St, I watched a bus driving no more than 2 feet behind a cyclist. The bus then changed lanes to pass, nearly hitting the rider's rear wheel. This would be beyond unacceptable for a car and more so for a bus or truck that has far less stopping power. And I regularly see busses overtake cyclists, only to pull in front of them, through bike lanes, in order to get to their stops that much faster. Meanwhile, the cyclist has to slam on their brakes or cross into a traffic lane to pass. Unacceptable.
According to Metro's website, the H8 is supposed to make a left turn off of 16th onto Park Rd.
http://www.wmata.com/metrobus/maps/dc.pdf
I am also about 90% sure there is a no left turn except for buses sign at that intersection.
Also, for the record, being a bus driver is a pretty fucking difficut job, at least more difficult than posting jackass comments on DCist from your office.
So the general consensus here seems to be that no matter what, it's the bus driver's fault. Even though no one knows anything about the accident, and one report indicates that the woman killed had "ran into the roadway" in front of the bus. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she's at fault. I'm saying no one knows yet (the Post does not say she ran, so maybe she didn't).
Just as I've seen plenty of bus drivers do stupid things, I've seen plenty of pedestrians do stupid things near buses as well. My favorite being a guy running to try and catch up with the bus he just missed and almost tripping and falling under the rear wheel.
If you think that the bus driver is at fault because he was making a left turn that the rest of us aren't allowed to make, take your beef to the city or Metro. This isn't the only intersection in the city where a bus can make a turn passenger vehicles cannot.
Though I will say, am I the only one who noticed in the NBC report, as the reporter was talking a bus was behind her at the intersection apparently preparing to turn left, but had it's right turn signal on?
DC has a lot of pedestrians who are especially bad at doing things like crossing at sidewalks and cutting in front of traffic. Coupled with cyclists who hate cars, ghetto folks who ride against traffic without helmets and lights and hipsters on ancient bikes who slalom through traffic, traffic is a nightmere.
We could all hope and pray for an aggressive jaywalking/ticketing campaign to try to get people to follow traffic rules, but I'm sure that would be decried as racist/ethnocentric/classist/whatever. I bet if cops would start ticketing on the big streets and neighborhood thouroughfares, there'd be a lot fewer deaths.
Buses and trucks have far more stopping power than cars. However, due to their increased mass, a bus or truck will commonly have a longer stopping distance, which is a better measure of braking ability.
And I certainly have to agree with 16th st. or bust. Unless you've operated a large vehicle in city traffic while carrying passengers, please reconsider your comments.
Steiny: Maybe you lost count because you aren't counting. The number is 7 deaths in two years. When you consider the amount of passenger-miles travelled over that time period by Metrobus, that's a hell of a good number (and that includes the guy running for the bus who fell).
Obvious, that's quite an opinion. There's a major difference between motorists and cyclists/pedestrians, that being the latter group doesn't have airbags and seatbelts attached to them.
While ALL groups share responsibility, it is the primary responsibility of the motorist (be they in a car or bus) to slow, yield, give room, and follow the law. Don't make this a case against minorities or cyclists or pedestrians. Drivers are plain aggressive in this area and while it doesn't help if a cyclist doesn't have a helmet (as if that somehow makes it ok for drivers to speed next to them) or they go the wrong way (stupid, I agree) or they change lanes (100% legal), the driver of the 2,000lb car or 2-ton SUV MUST be the one to accept the majority share of responsibility for everyone's safety.
I'm sorry, but since I see bicyclists break the law an average of 10 times every day during good weather, usually running red lights, bike riders have zero credibility on the streets and should be treated as such. I'm not even talking about helmet laws or warning bell laws, I just mean not running red lights on 16th st.
Luckily for me the winter has meant fewer bicyclists and a markedly easier commute.
My heart goes out to the woman's family and the bus driver. We don't have the details in the news yet, so we don't know the story.
I think it's imperative that Metro reach a "zero death" goal for 2008 and that should be the only goal worth fighting for. No deaths by metro are acceptable and there's every reason they can reach that goal.
Don
If any of the guys who regularly drive that route was behind the wheel at the time, this is hardly surprising - I live on Park between 16th & Mt. Pleasant and they routinely *floor* it recklessly when driving down our block.
I almost had a jogger step right into the street in front of my car. I had a right turn arrow and was ready to go into my turn. She and a fellow jogger were alongside me on the sidewalk and nearing the crosswalk, which had a clearly displayed DON'T WALK sign. I saw that she simply wasn't going to stop and wasn't going to look for traffic turning right into the lane. I slowed down and her friend jerked her to a stop, so tragedy was avoided. Still, I couldn't help thinking what a total idiot the woman was -- she clearly was paying no attention to what she was doing and was assuming that she could just continue running, no matter what the traffic signals told her.
I bear very little responsibility for the safety of those who run in front of my car; I won't, you know *speed* or *be drunk* or *run lights,* but saying I bear a disproportionate share of the responsibility is only true as long as people are obeying their obligations to give me an effing chance by at least using the crosswalk or obeying the lights 1 time in 10.
So Don--does your statement include all cyclists, including those of us who religiously stop at red lights? It might be easier to go through, but I always stop, I guess I'm just scared of being run down, without a whole lot to protect me.
Then I guess I have zero credibility and should be treated as such. Gee thanks. Give me your plate numbers so I now to get off the road if I see you coming.
Don - I'd imagine that Metro's goal is always zero deaths. However, I don't think that's a good goal to announce publicly because it isn't always within their control. Do you really want to start blaming Metro for suicides?
Don,
From my bicycle saddle, I see drivers in DC talking on cell phones, not stopping at limit lines (or completely at stop signs), not yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks (mostly in maryland), and double-parked (or driving) in bicycle lanes. If you're going to generalize all bicyclists as deserving zero credibility, don't be surprised if someone generalizes motorists the same way.
I don't mind if you complain about the idiots out there (and there are some on bicycles), but if you pass on your frustration to me (or advocate that others do the same), don't be surprised if I pass it right back.
Don,
I hate to say this, but this issue peeves me and your opinion proves you're a bit of an ass. Do cyclists run lights? Sure. Is that illegal? Most certainly. Is it always dangerous? No. I have a much better view of the roads I am riding through that pedestrians or drivers, and I have run many a red light without the least threat to myself or a driver. Just because you've had a few bad experiences (and trust me, those won't even compare to the number of bad experiences I've had with irresponsible and aggressive drivers) with cyclists, it doesn't mean you can declare open season on them. Cyclists should absolutely ride safely and responsibly, but one or two of them dangerously running red lights doesn't make us all threats.
And for all of you that complain about cyclists, just look back on the times you've sped, run a light, failed to yield, or switched lanes without looking. You're driving a two-ton piece of metal powered by an engine. You think cyclists are a nuisance? At least we don't kill people if we have accidents.
DC drivers are, generally speaking, morons. I say this as a native Chicagoan who's lived in NY and Massachusetts. I think 75% of all drivers making a turn are yakking on their cell phones in this town. People are aggressive, dismissive of others, and just generally rude. The fact that DC has lots of winding, narrow streets once you get out of downtown doesn't help matters either.
Probably not the best day for DCist to be running an ad that looks like a guy who's about to get run over by a bus... I kinda don't want to see what happens next after reading this.
ok, so after digesting all of this, I think the consensus is that Bus drivers sometimes suck/sometimes are good, bikers/pedestrians sometimes suck/sometimes are good, drivers sometimes suck/sometimes are good.
And our opinion probably changes depending on which form of transportation we happen to be using at the time.
Regardless, if we weren't there, how can we be sure that the bus driver was at fault?
Most DC bus drivers need to be sent to re-education camp. For example, yesterday evening, as I tried to cross Columbia Road just north of Belmont, in one of those crosswalks that has the big yellow sign indicating that motorists are supposed to stop for peds, the 42 bus driver looked right at me and just sped up. After the recent bus/pedestrian tragedy in the neighborhood, you'd think they'd at least be trying harder this week. Oddly, cars heading in both directions actually did stop -- a rare occurance in Adams Morgan. If cars/buses are not going to stop at those crosswalks, why have them -- they just invite accidents.
Good old MetroBus. On top of their awful service they might just get you killed:
destruct-of-columbia.blogspot.com