I sure hope the irresponsible SF pedestrians in this film did years in jail for their egregious infractions…
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You’re not going to argue with him? Proof indeed that you are NOT an idiot.
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just to clarify a little… I conceded LA is growing and it is not sustainable to continue to do so. I concede that cars are worse for the environment than walking and that every person walking is a person not in a car. I am not making an argument about whether people have a choice about commuting although I think most people do not think they have a choice.
I also admit I made an assumption that he was crossing against the light while a line of cars were waiting to turn – not farfetched since I see it all the time.
Given that – I have no problem penalizing somebody crossing against a dont walk light because they decided that their 2 minutes is more valuable than the whole line of people waiting to turn. This is not some abstract act of selfishness, like, say, buying a new Mustang vs a new Prius (not all people are enlightened enough to see how their actions will affect the generations to come). This is a very concrete act of selfishness; somebody that can look other people in the eye and say “F** you, I dont need to wait because MY time is more valueable than yours; I dont care that you might have somewhere to go; I only care that I dont want to wait for the light to turn green again so Im going to keep all you from getting home to your familes (or to your jobs)”
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I regret I have but one like to give for that!
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On Broadway in Seattle, it’s completely pointless to even try to turn left. Pedestrian footfall and traffic are so high that your only chance is right as/after your light turns red, assuming no pedestrians are cutting it fine, but lots of the lights have cameras on them too. So one car per light at best, and you’re risking a ticket anyway.
Always seemed odd to me that there was never a left turn filter.
When I lived around there I ended up finding a better route home.
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FWIW, in Chicago they have both left and right turn only lanes at intersections like that, with lights that specifically keep the red don’t-walk symbol for pedestrians so that at least a few cars can turn before (or sometimes after) the general green.
Conversely, there are a lot of intersections where the pedestrian walk symbol goes on about 10 seconds before the cars get a green, so that the pedestrians have a chance to get going before being cut off by aggressive turners.
And downtown there are even separate lights for the bike lanes, which is confusing until you get the hang of it.
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Ah yes, USA, land of the free.
I have to agree with the principle, if not the tone…
Just to clarify, the flashing/countdown signal means “Don’t START crossing”…not “Don’t be in the crosswalk”…
The goal is to clear the crosswalk while the traffic light is still green/just turned yellow, to allow cars to finish turns without endangering pedestrians…
And while the ticket prices are significant, and perhaps exhorbitantly so since there’s no assumption of financial foundation like a car ownership/lease/rental…this law does need to be enforced. It helps relieve traffic congestion and increases safety for pedestrians.
And posted signs like this one should be considered just as “lawful” as stop signs, or yield signs, or no right on red signs…
That sounds like trying to treat respiratory issues by smoking unfiltered deathsticks. Yes, there’s a problem. No, that isn’t a solution, that is only something that will worsen the problem. If the only time you allow people on foot to cross is when the light is white/ when people in cars are looking left and blindly turning right, you will get people killed and you will not solve the problem!
P.S. If you allow people on foot to wait until the people in two-ton weapons have passed, then you won’t get people killed.
No. I’m saying the legislature should minimize the need for police to have to use their own judgement as this makes obedience to the law difficult.
I’ve often wondered if pushing a hand truck loaded with cinder blocks in front of me would make drivers more likely to stop.
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Everyone else in the world thinks your jaywalking laws are insane, you know. Because they are. So there’s complicated notices on lampposts. So what? It’s still crazy to prosecute people for crossing the road.
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Or alternatively- “I know you won’t mind an extra 2 or 3 seconds of waiting, but I would be rather inconvenienced by having to wait 2 or 3 minutes”.
You know, just like when people drive through amber lights. Is it illegal there to drive into the crossing when the light is on amber?
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Look, I live in SoCal, too. And I especially hate pedestrians who cross late, or walk slow while texting or yapping on their cells, because the law states that it’s illegal to turn right when a pedestrian is still in a crosswalk. Factor in a “no right turn on red” or “no right turn during school hours” and drivers could wait through several traffic light cycles.
BUT the this law seems arbitrarily enforced AND the fine is no way proportional to the actual infraction. Technology is supposed to reduce costs, but the state of California allows all sorts of “processing” fees and extra penalties that really should be eliminated.
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I immediately thought of this, too. Remember when MTV actually played videos?
It is. That’s why ticket cameras in California can’t snap a picture of a car entering an intersection until after light has cycled to red.
Your post is reminding me of Madonna’s quick education on pedestrian right-of-way in Britain!
You sure do it differently there. One could even say: better.
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Funny thing: outside the movie studio where I work, they have a protected crosswalk signal that turns green several seconds before the cars’ traffic light turns green, so that pedestrians have a sporting chance to be on their way through the crosswalk before sneaky right-turn drivers can dash into the crosswalk ahead of them the instant the light turns green.
On the other end of the studio is where I frequently run into the rude crowds of peds (audience members from certain shows) that herd themselves through the crosswalk long after the hand has begun flashing and indeed often when it has stopped and the light’s about to turn yellow. They figure there’s safety in numbers, and just one more person won’t make any difference, and since they can’t be arsed to wait their turn for a new light cycle, they make the cars wait for a new one. The security guards occasionally intervene as crowd control, but only occasionally.
Wheeled or afoot, I wish more people were considerate of others.
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Processing fees are how the state makes money. Virginia has 'em too.
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