YO DRIVERS

[etana.livejournal.com]

Dear Davis Square Drivers and Drivers-at-will:

STOP HITTING THE BLIND PEOPLE.  WE DO IN FACT BLEED.  AND NO, WE'RE NOT MADE OF RUBBER.  AND NO, YOU DON'T GET 50 POINTS FOR HITTING US!!!

thanks.

Comments

[gib.livejournal.com]

context?

[tikva.livejournal.com]

Borrow my cane for five minutes, and you'll get more context than you ever wanted. ;)

[etana.livejournal.com]

Today marks the second time I've been hit and/or sideswiped by an either impatient or distracted driver. The first time broke the tip off my white cane, this time just made me dump my tea on the ground. Damnit and it was good tea too!

[ifotismeni]

oh my god X_X i'm sorry to hear this is happening. i drive in the area but some people do go way way too fast through the square. augh.

[etana.livejournal.com]

This wasn't a matter of going too fast (though that could be an issue for some) or even me ignoring cross-walk regulations, but rather some driver getting "bored" or "distracted" while waiting for me to cross. Once I got almost half-way through, he floored it and nosed right into me. If he had waited 5 more seconds I would have been at least half-way across and out of his way. Well, I would have been completely across, either way.
Gah.

[ron_newman]

This would be a good topic to bring up with your ward alderman (Rebekah Gewirtz if you live in ward 6).

[etana.livejournal.com]

Ron - I beg to know why. And what am I to say? And what would be the result? The fact of the matter is that this is a problem of drivers regardless of where or what time of day, I'm just a little steamed about my most recent encounters.

[teratomarty.livejournal.com]

You would be perfectly justified in jabbing your cane through the side window and poking out the driver's eye.

[etana.livejournal.com]

oooooh if you knew me....you'd know I've already justified myself plenty 'o times....hehehe

[aki.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, no, but then the driver might go blind and then there would only be more blind people being hit in intersections! WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END?!

[two-stabs.livejournal.com]

I doubt enough drivers hit blind people to warrant a public service announcement. Still, if you were struck, sorry to hear it.

[ron_newman]

"If you see someone with a white cane, STOP and let them cross" is always a useful thing to reiterate.

[etana.livejournal.com]

Really? Are you a fellow cane/dog traveler? I would love to hear your personal experiences traveling as a blind person in the area, it's always refreshing to hear other people aren't having the problems that myself and those other blind folks I know are having...

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure it's only 25 points.

[etana.livejournal.com]

No man, it's gotta be like 10 or something, it's just too easy - we're like taking candy from infants propped up and strapped in with swaddling clothes and stuff...

[grapefruiteater.livejournal.com]

I certainly hope you called the police and filed a report. We appreciate the PSA, but law enforcement needs to know about this if you think it's a pervasive problem and want tougher enforcement of traffic regulations.

[etana.livejournal.com]

If I could have seen the license plate number, maybe I could have filed a report. Perhaps if the driver had stopped to make sure I wasn't injured or dead, I could have traded information. The Somerville cops wouldn't exactly be interested in taking a report that states "some random vehicle of unknown make/model driven by unknown gender/race/ethnicity hit me on this street..."

report it anyway!

[davelew.livejournal.com]

I once had the wheels of my car stolen, and the shop that replaced them said it was the fourth de-wheeled car they'd seen that week. When I reported it to the police, they said that mine was the first report they'd seen all year, so they weren't doing anything to look into a wheel-stealing gang.

The moral of the story is that, if more people report crimes, the police statistical unit could do its job. The police are there not just to catch criminals, but also to prevent crime, and they need your reports to be able to do that.

[avacon.livejournal.com]

I also had a similarly impatient driver almost hit me today,
and I'm fully sighted (well, with glasses).

I was very glad to see the police watching the crosswalk
on Holland last week. A car failed to yield for me
and the police cruiser chased after them and pulled them over.
The more the town knows about problematic areas,
the more they can do to try and prioritize making
those areas safer.

[etana.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying I haven't or don't plan on reporting it - I actually work for the police and I know the Somerville station fairly well. The point of this post was more a frustrated snark at the goof drivers who aren't paying attention. And I'm hoping that my hit-point-ratio either goes way higher or someone buys me a beer next time. I mean 50 points for you should equal a free IPA for me!!

[elements.livejournal.com]

I was nearly hit on Beech St near Porter today by a huge delivery truck making a very unexpected and unsignaled right turn onto Orchard street while I was crossing. I really don't understand why some drivers seem so blithely ignorant of pedestrians. If I hadn't been able to see the truck coming suddenly into my face, I wouldn't have been able to accelerate my pace enough to get out of his way. I wonder if some of the problem is that drivers expect pedestrians to be able to react visually and instantaneously to their capricious maneuvers, without regard to some people's not being able to see them or not being able to move out of the way fast enough.

When I got to Mass Ave that truck passed me again. The driver looked sheepish and quickly looked away when I met his eyes. I wonder if he'll have learned anything at all when he goes out to drive tomorrow.

All that a long rambly way of saying, as a fellow (albeit sighted) pedestrian, I hear you!

[etana.livejournal.com]

See - that's what I'm talking about! I go nuts about this junk!

[jadelennox]

There is a woman who is visually impaired in some way -- possibly you, for all I know -- whom I have seen almost get killed a number of times walking down the sidewalk on the Elm street side of the Porter Square parking lot because drivers pull into the parking lot and pull out of it at rush hour without paying any attention at all to, you know, the LARGE WHITE CANE and the SERVICE DOG.

[etana.livejournal.com]

That's why I walk up Hancock to Elm - it's got a "crosswalk" that sometimes people acknowledge. I'm a pretty paranoid street-crosser, so I wave the cars on first and attempt to ensure there are no idling drivers since it's not a lit intersection...but yeah, that place sucks mightily.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

People also absolutely careen up the cross streets off of elm, as well. I feel like an old fogie for suggesting this, but speed bumps may be in order in some places such as Willow and Elm

[conceptualpete.livejournal.com]

How do you know whether or not we get points? You're blind and we don't print the rule book in braille.

[etana.livejournal.com]

If I told you, I'd have to tie you up and keep you in my closet as a love slave....