Borough Park, Brooklyn, NY +Pedestrian Struck+

In Monsey and surrounding neighorborhoods, everybody wears reflectors over their outer-wear all the time. Adults, children, Chasidim included, it may be more popular there since many streets don’t have sidewalks or have inadequate ones. In Brooklyn and elsewhere where the sidewalks are adequate, it is up to the parents to educate their children where & how to cross. it goes without saying that adults not doing the right thing are setting bad examples and indeed may just be an “accident waiting to happen” chas v’sholom. I have seen adults, Rabbi’s and bachurim run across Ocean Pkwy in the middle of the block. What a chutzpah of those Rabbonim!!!

Many people around here seem to think that cars should make way for pedestrians. All the men, wearing black, walking in the streets at night, the kids playing tag running in and out of the streets between cars (unsupervised while their parents are inside), the women who push their carriages halfway into the street while waiting for the light to change, are all a setup for being hit.

I’ve seen many people who wait on the sidewalk long after the light turned green bec. there is a car “coming”. They pay no attention to traffic lights, crossing the streets when they want to–and often just after their light turned red!

I, too, once hit a child–I was driving down the block and he rode his bike straight out between 2 cars. The back of his head hit my windshield hard enough to spiderweb it, and he bounced off and hit the ground. B”H he was fine except for a large headache, I think I was more traumatized than him. A few weeks later I saw the same kid riding his bike, still without a helmet on.

I don’t know the answer, but the situation is very frustrating.

As a person who has been on both sides of the wheel (or the fender), I’d like to add my 2 cents:

A elderly man ran into an intersection as traffic began to move on a green (he had a red). I was in the right lane, so I went into him. Barch Hashem, he wasn’t at all hurt (not that prevented his lawsuit, settled out of court).

I was once crossing between cars stopped at a red light. A car whizzed by in the parking lane and hit me. Baruch Hashem, there was no injury. We were both wrong, and I asked his insurer to pay only for my coat and briefcase which had gotten damaged, and to cover the Emergency Room visit (they were delighted to oblige).

The biggest Chutzpah was that the doctor who hit me didnt even pull over until passersby chased down his car!

Unfortunately, I have the distinct privlege of hitting a pedestrian with my car. While the details of my incident are perhaps unique, no driver is waiting to see how many people they can mow down as soon as the light turns green thinking “get out of the crosswalk, I’m coming through!”. As happened with me, the pedestrian darted out between parked cars, running across the street not at an intersection but in middle of the block.
Some pedestrians are on their cel phones oblivious to the changing traffic light. Same goes for some listening to music on headphones.
How many people do you see crossing a street behind a car backing into a spot? Pedestrians, I dare say, that do that, don’t drive. Any experienced driver knows that you don’t cross in manners described above.

90 y