Pedestrian Struck In 7th & H St Intersection Yesterday Morning

Any chance that DC will ever start enforcing laws by ticketing cars instead of just pedestrians. I’m so tired of cars sitting in the crosswalks at intersections and forcing pedestrians into traffic. And when will DDOT ever improve the intersections along Mass. Ave. NW???????

7th & G is also a dangerous intersection. I can’t even count the times I’ve almost been hit there (walking with the light, staying aware, etc.). It’s drivers trying to beat a yellow light or just plain blowing through a red one.

It never ceases to amaze me how a city as large as DC can be so un-pedestrian friendly. I have to believe its the drivers from Maryland and Virginia venturing into the City who aren’t used to pedestrians or bicyclists. They don’t seem to understand the concept, that while they may have a green light, so does the pedestrian crossing the street and that the pedestrian crossing the street has right of way over a car turning on green. Maybe $6.00 gas will get them out of their cars and onto Metro… oh wait they live in Gaithersburg…

Hmmm–white vehicle? Was there a giant “M” located on each side of the vehicle?

3:12 am sound suspiciously like a driver who maybe shouldn’t have been driving leaving a club that closed at 3am…..

(This is purely speculation of course, no substantive basis for the assuptions)

My apartment overlooks 4th & H streets. This weekend I saw 3 different vehicle collisions at this intersection. It got to be that every time I walked by the window there was a different pair of crumbled cars below.

The problem seems to be that eastbound traffic, starting at 5th, rapidly accelerates on the broad avenue (well above 25 MPH). But the light at 4th is timed very short so it is quite common for cars to speed through rather than screech to a halt. For at least 3 cars this weekend that didn’t work out to well.

Since I often cross here on my way to Judiciary Metro I’ve learned to wait 10 seconds before venturing onto the crosswalk. Metro busses are some of the worst violators.

Metrobus drivers are the worst. They believe that a Yellow signal means SPEED UP AND RUN THE LIGHT! Even from a dead stop. That has to be cracked down on. You listening WMATA? You’re happy to take my extra dime, but what do I get in return? Fear of crossing the street?

I drive and walk in the area and pedestrians are just as, if not more, careless as the drivers mentioned by previous posters.

A few cities have solved the pedestrian/vehicle problem nicely, with the latter being the most effective:

1..speed bumbs with flashing lights across the pedestrian walk

2…All vehicular traffic is stopped at once while all pedestrian traffic cross, and so forth. The best part is that the crosswalks also go diagonally across the street. This moves pedestrians and traffic effectively.

Personally, I find the cabbies to be the worst drivers. I am often tempted to wack their car as they drive dangerously close to me.

Don’t be afraid to give a swift kick to a car that cuts you off in the crosswalk… a nice dent will remind them to be courteous next time.

I may be the only one who thinks that DC is rather pedestrian friendly, in relation to other large American cities. I don;t have any car free friends in Miami, Dallas, Phoenix, or even smaller cities like Richmond or Annapolis. There aren’t many cities can you reasonably expect to live in comfort without driving very often. We could use some improvement in the areas of driver and pedestrian education and expectation, but its not all bad.

Hit and run is the worst, too. I put hit and run right down there with drunk driving. Reprehensible.

I believe that the distraction from the video signs had a direct correlation to the accident.

Anon #12 – Why do you believe that the video signs were a direct correlation to the accident and not alcohol (most likely since the accident was a hit and run) or sleepiness or the driver was talking on the cell phone? Admit it, you just say this because you don’t like the signs.

anon # 12, if you monitor traffic, at the corner of 7th & H, you can visibly see a change since the signs went up. If you are a drunk or drowsy driver the distraction from signs just contributes to poor driving.

To #10 – I wholeheartedly agree. If cops won’t enforce traffic laws then its up to the pedestrians to discourage cars from breaking them. I’ve definitely smacked a couple of hoods when drivers keep inching up in the crosswalk, trying to “push” pedestrians out of the way so they can make their right turn.

To #11 – DC is far more pedestrian friendly than the newer cities that you mentioned, but compared to an older cities and its quite unfriendly in comparison. Wide streets make crossing a harrowing experience, and L-O-N-G traffic lights frustrate drivers and encourage them to run the yellow and even the red to avoid waiting at the next one. I spent the holidays with my family in Philly and was amazed at how much safer I felt crossing streets. Most of them are narrow…maybe half as wide as the typical DC avenue. Lights are short, so drivers don’t feel like its do-or-die to make the light. This city could learn a lot from our brother to the north.

Yes, Chris #15, you’re right. I do think a lot has to do with narrow streets and lead times for walking across a wide intersection.

Bummer that our city was designged when the mode of trasport was horse-drawn carriage and at worst, all one had to worry about was dodging horse byproduct and not speeding 3000 pound cars.

I can’t say I’m surprised, but I am disappointed that people responding on this blog are supporting, and even recommending, committing crimes in response to an issue in the nighborhood, especially when one of the issues we have in this neighborhood is crime itself. If anybody thinks that committing crime is a way to improve the neighborhood, I have to say I plainly disagree. This is almost like beating someone up for looking at you the wrong way or not being polite enough – ‘a nice beating will remind them to be courteous next time’. If I’m not mistaken, attacking someone’s car while they are in it constitutes battery, although I’m confident nobody has to be concern that the MPD will charge them with anything more than distruction of property, if that.

Kelby – I am sorry you disagree with my point but about a month ago while crossing at 6th and H heading to the Metro a woman on a cell phone nearly ran me over taking a turn at 20 mph. I am sorry I had absolutely NO problem putting a dent in the side of her car with my umbrella… in fact it felt pretty damn good.

I personally think both drivers and pedestrians are equally to blame. I can’t tell you how many pedestrians cross the street totally disregarding the don’t walk sign. So using David’s logic I recommend all drivers run the pedestrians over to make themselves feel good.

I think a BIG part of the danger for pedestrians is the ability to turn right on red lights (meaning at the same time the pedestrians have a walk sign). People turning right on red don’t stop behind the cross walks and feel that they have the right of way. In NYC itself, there are no right turns on red at any intersection.

be careful who’s car you hit. I know a pedestrian who was slugged by a driver who didn’t appreciate having his window slapped by an indignant ‘in-the-right’ pedestrian. Not sure having your windsheild slapped merits punching someone in the head and giving them a concussion, but the dc cops didn’t charge the assailant because they determined that the pedestrian instigated the situation.

I am a part-time pedestrian and part-time driver and always feel that pedestrians should take the high road since they are much more damage-able than a big, heavy vehicle.

I think many pedestrians need to put aside their entitlement and realize they can get really hurt by cars if they’re not careful. Whether the car is being careful or not – you are in control of your own destiny! Yeah, it would be NICE if you got the right of way but don’t take it at risk to your life and limb just to prove a point!

Several of you have mentioned people on cell phones driving in PQ – which is completely illegal in the District. I wish that law would be enforced more here in the District until people REALLY didn’t talk while driving.

While I understand the urge to strike a car after nearly being hit (it’s happened to me several times while crossing Mass Ave with my dog), I would think twice before striking a car for two reasons: 1) It does constitute battery and you could be arrested and 2) You never know how the person in the car may react – it could be more than an extended finger. While not nearly as satisfying and sometimes impossible due to the reckless speed of certain drives, the best course of action is the take down the plate number and report it to MPD (who will most likely do nothing, but that’s a different topic…).

It is a city!!! Walk quickly and be alert. Almost getting hit happened at least 5 times a day when I lived in NY.

DC is extremely walkable in my opinion. I gave up my car 4 years ago and have not had a problem.

See you all at the ANC meeting tonight.

Slightly off-topic but pertains to how pedestrian-friendly our hood is . . .

The pedestrian cross-walk signal at both 9th/I and at 7th/I both have some weird problems. Twice I noticed the the numbers reset just as it is about to expire (i.e. it flashes 5 . . . 4 . . 3 . . . then jumps to 50). I once didn’t notice it and tried to cross the street thinking I had 50 seconds–BAD IDEA.

Pedestrians have the right of way when both have green PERIOD so I will continue hitting cars when they are in the wrong… MPD is too lazy to do anything involved paperwork. Good point #20 about no turn on red in NYC… I have seen too many District drivers turn on red without even stopping.

Although I don’t have the guts to hit a car, I absolutely disagree with DCGirl. Pedestrians do, in fact, have the right away and drivers need to be the ones who pay more attention because they are the ones who are legally in the wrong, notwithstanding the injury differential. The attitude that pedistrians can be more hurt and should pay more attention is precisely the problem with DC drivers. I live in PQ and walk to work in PQ so I experience those perils on at least a twice daily basis.

Just to clarify the information in the post, because it’s not explicitly stated: the car basically ran through a red light and struck the pedestrian.

While there are lots of good suggestions in this thread, they would probably would have been ineffective in this specific case.

1. There’s a bill pending before the DC Council, sponsored by Mary Cheh and eight other council members, which will raise the penalty for failing to stop for a pedestrian from $50 to $500. I don’t have the bill number, but it’s available on the DC Council website.

2. Whenever a discussion like this starts, somebody always points out that there are dumb/jerky pedestrians, too. And it’s true. Thing is, I think they are the same people as the dumb/jerky drivers — they drive where they’re going and then they get out of the car and walk and their behavior is just as bad standing up as it is sitting down.

Regarding the accidents at 4th and H, I noticed this as well, and I have also witnessed several near misses with both cars and pedestrians. The signal controlling eastbound H St. traffic on the SW corner of the intersection has not been working for over a week now, and it looks like drivers in the right-hand lane of H St. sometimes do not see a red light on the other side of the street, driving straight through the intersection. I sent an email to DDOT yesterday but haven’t heard back, so I just sent another email to Councilman Wells. We’ll see what happens, but it’s just a matter of time before somebody gets seriously hurt there, and we all know it’s dangerous enough without adding to the risk with non-operating traffic control signals.

Correction to my comment…it’s the light on the SE corner, not the SW.

Maybe I missed something, but I did not see any comments that indicated MPD had apprehended the hit and run driver, so I wrote the Commander asking if they knew who did it and, if so, if he or she had been at any of the neighborhood nightclubs.

Since it occurred after 3am and since a number of nightclubs and restaurants in the area close at 3am, I wondered if the hit and run driver was inebriated and had frequented a club or restaurnant in our neighborhood.