Last week, I penned this diatribe against the use of orange flags as a viable method for pedestrian crossing. The footnote to that story is that, sometimes, it just doesn’t matter what kind of pedestrian safety measure is installed — vehicles, sometimes with alarming frequency, strike pedestrians. To wit: ABC7 reports that two pedestrians suffered life-threatening injuries last night after a taxi hit both while they were inside a crosswalk on the National Mall. The collision occurred around 10 p.m. at 14th and Jefferson Streets NW, about one block away from the Washington Monument. But they weren’t alone: D.C. Fire and EMS says that, in the last 24 hours alone, pedestrians have been struck by vehicles at 2300 3rd Street NE, the intersection of 7th & P Streets NW and the intersection of 4th Street & New Jersey Avenue NW.