To the editor: I’ve by no means witnessed a pedestrian or bike owner being struck and injured or killed by a driver, however I’ve learn loads of articles about these crashes. In lots of them, the automobile concerned within the crash is listed as an SUV. (“San Francisco and L.A. failed to scale back pedestrian deaths. One woman’s killing reveals why,” Sept. 1)
What I’ve witnessed, nevertheless, along with SUVs, are electrical autos (largely Teslas as of late) and different high-priced autos being pushed aggressively and in extra of pace limits. The drivers reduce dangerously into site visitors, even throughout a number of lanes. Some make proper turns from the left lane and run crimson lights.
Do these recklessly pushed, highly effective and costly autos trigger a disproportionate quantity of damage and loss of life on the roads? What produce other cautious drivers in Los Angeles noticed?
Tony Litwinko, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Whereas the chances of a pedestrian surviving a 20-mph affect are higher than at increased speeds, a human physique will nonetheless most likely maintain pretty extreme accidents, particularly if a toddler is concerned.
Fixing this drawback (or at the least decreasing pedestrian deaths) is a reasonably easy matter of understanding fundamental physics.
The legal guidelines of physics say stopping a 2-ton automobile going 20 mph after the motive force spots a pedestrian would take roughly 40 ft of distance earlier than coming to a whole cease. A bigger truck would require a fair longer stopping distance.
Alternatively, a pedestrian paying consideration can react and take evasive motion in a fraction of the time that it takes the motive force of any automobile to see and react to them.
Through the years I’ve seen extra pedestrians blindly entering into the road with the expectation that it’s the duty of the motive force to one way or the other immediately cease.
As a substitute of spending taxpayer {dollars} on extra research, I really feel these funds would have a a lot larger affect in the event that they had been spent on extra repetitive public consciousness applications focusing on each drivers and pedestrians. Typically individuals overlook the foundations and simply should be reminded.
Karen Bryan, Leona Valley, Calif.
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To the editor: I imagine we must be contemplating extra than simply street design, particularly the widespread blatant disregard of security guidelines, and the poor enforcement of these guidelines. In fact, this is a matter not only for pedestrians, but in addition for different drivers too.
These embody:
- Extra rushing.
- Passing with restricted views of oncoming site visitors.
- Failure to cease for pedestrians in crosswalks.
- Turning proper in opposition to crimson lights or cease indicators with out stopping to search for pedestrians.
- Operating crimson lights and cease indicators.
These issues simply appear to be getting worse, probably as a result of there may be little likelihood of violators getting caught.
Edward Savage, Goleta
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To the editor: So long as automakers proceed to put giant screens in vehicles that require a driver to take their eyes off the street to, for instance, change a radio station, and so long as persons are wedded to their telephones whereas driving, there can be continued pedestrian deaths.
And so long as there may be little enforcement of site visitors legal guidelines, that is what we get.
Laurie Adami, Los Angeles
