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1. pam
   Member Profile

   Witnessed a car accident today (left name, number, made sure everyone was okay.....) - Just want to say it could have been avoided if the person who technically wasn't at fault would have stopped to yield for me and the kids at the unmarked intersection. But they didn't take that few moments to stop and now have $1,000'S of damage to their vehicle. This is why we always stop and look left, right, left and still wait until cars are actually stopped before stepping off the curb. Would rather be alive then right.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

2. KBear
   Member Profile

   I don't understand. You were crossing on foot at an intersection? And they didn't stop for you? How is the crash not their fault?

   Posted 1 year ago #         

3. WMO
   Member Profile

   Pam, It was very brave of you to put this out on the blog to make our streets safer for pedestrians and drivers.
   I wonder how long it will take for the "Right to Speed" crowd, you know the type, self absorbed, very important person, only one in Seattle who is busy, talking on the cell phone group blames you for the audacity to invade the pavement.

   I am glad you are ok, Cars can be fixed.

   OK, slay me for the run on sentence with poor grammar.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

4. JoB
   Member Profile

   KBear..

   i am guessing that the accident technically wasn't the driver's fault because the car that hit it illegally entered the intersection..

   maybe because they saw the pedestrians and assumed they had an opportunity because the other driver would stop.

   failure to yield to pedestrians at a crosswalk .. marked or not.. was their fault...

   though it's highly unlikely they were sited for that infraction in light of the ensuing accident.

   Pam...

   thanks for the post.
   unfortunately, those who most need the warning are unlikely to heed it:(

   Posted 1 year ago #         

5. FreedomFromSnark
   Member Profile

   Again? Already?

   http://westseattleblog.com/forum/topic/pedestrians-take-responsibility-for-your-own-safety

   Are we going to pretend that this thread is going to be any different? Can't we just preemptively stop this now? Pretty please?

   Posted 1 year ago #         

6. pam
   Member Profile

   I expect to catch some garbage - but I'm not going to give too many details since I don't know if there will be an investigation. We were on the curb, waiting to cross, on an arterial but unmarked intersection. We were waiting for the cars to either stop coming or stop for us when kaboom - a car was nosed out too far and the other car (who if she'd have stopped to let us cross) ran the entire side of her car across the nose of the car that was stopped but too far into the intersection.

   My point - if slowed down for two minutes to let us legally cross the street, other person would have been gone and accident wouldn't have happened. Hoping someone else slows down for a second to have a less stressful day for themselves.

   Posted 1 year ago #         

7. JoB
   Member Profile

   FreedomFromSnark...

   if all you see is a snark..
   you are unlikely to ever find yourself free of them

   Posted 1 year ago #         

8. FreedomFromSmSelfRighteousness
   Member Profile

   It's only a [mis-typed] pipe dream in Seattle...

   Posted 1 year ago #         

9. flowerpetal
   Member Profile

   

   Thanks for posting Pam. Glad that you and your family are safe. I guess there is a reason these are called accidents - and not "on-purposes"

   Posted 1 year ago #         

10. JoB
    Member Profile

    FreedomFromSmSelfRighteousness

    bet it would surprise you to learn that i share that pipe dream.

    misspelled or not

    Posted 1 year ago #         

11. Homer
    Member Profile

    

    Just think if they HAD stopped for you, then the person on their cell phone behind them wouldn't have noticed them stopped at a random intersection with no light or crosswalk, and then shoved that car that stopped for you, into you and your family......

    There are always two sides to a story....

    Posted 1 year ago #         

12. pam
    Member Profile

    honestly-I wait to make sure that person behind them stops too! Too many times having them swing around to pass the car that is stopped for some mysterious reason (like a pedestrian).

    It was an accident - pure and simple - but like in nearly (NEARLY) all accidents, could have been avoided. My last comment on the post I started.

    Posted 1 year ago #         

13. jayd
    Member Profile

    im confused. was it a crosswalk?

    Posted 1 year ago #         

14. KBear
    Member Profile

    Jayd, all intersections are crosswalks in Washington, unless they are specifically marked to prohibit pedestrians.

    Posted 1 year ago #         

15. jayd
    Member Profile

    heh, no kidding. Just looked that up myself. File that away in the "laws I disagree with but will angrily obey" file. I couldn't imagine stepping into an intersection without a crosswalk and expecting all traffic to stop for me just because I'm too impatient to wait for an opening. Thanks for the info, Kbear.

    Posted 1 year ago #         

16. KBear
    Member Profile

    Might as well stop thinking about them as "intersections without crosswalks", Jayd. They're "intersections with unmarked crosswalks".

    Posted 1 year ago #         

17. jayd
    Member Profile

    True story.

    On a quick tangent, when looking at that law I also saw that bicyclists are supposed to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks just like vehicles are supposed to. Someone could bear to tell that to those that ride alki.

    /tangent

    Posted 1 year ago #         

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