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Remembering pedestrians and bicyclists killed in crashes

White ghost profiles in Boston Common

Greg Cook attended Sunday's World Day of Remembrancemarch from Copley Square through Boston Common and vigil in front of the State House.

Many of the walkers carried white outlines with the names of people who died in crashes. Activists have begun putting these markers at the crash locations. Not everybody is a fan of the idea.

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Comments

I saw one of the cutouts in Medford near a dangerous intersection where drivers often ignore the pedestrian signal. With no text the cutout makes a powerful statement and it also has the add bonus of making people aware pedestrians might be nearby.

Anyone who claims these are "distracting" lives in a hole and has never driven on any road with LED billboards. The ones near the union offices on the southeast expressway are particularly bad.

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I agree with the "distracting" claim....

The 311 report citing that "this sign alone is causing distracted driving" is a thinly-veiled excuse to make the reporting person feel less guilty. It's almost certainly a resident of a nearby building/condo near there who just wants to keep their street nice & pretty.

The only thing wrong with the sign is that it's on the pole across the street from where Jess Campbell & Jack Lanzillotti were killed by a driver who wasn't paying attention to the road at all. Heaven forbid a cardboard cut-out make someone pay attention to the road in an area where there's been multiple accidents & issues within the last few years.

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The sign in the 311 report was removed.

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i get what you're saying, but just because one thing is distracting doesn't mean another thing isn't also distracting to some degree.

that being said, LED billboards aren't designed to mimic the shape of a person, at a crosswalk.

yet.

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Are not the ghost bikes enough?

Cripes. (And, yes, get off my lawn.)

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PLEASE STOP KILLING PEOPLE WITH YOUR CARS AND TRUCKS.

Thank you.

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I've been a pedestrian/mass transit commuter, a bike commuter, and a car commuter. My husband's been a pedestrian/mass transit commuter, a bike commuter, a motorcyclist, and a car commuter. We've lived in various environments, urban, suburban, and rural (him).

I do agree that raising awareness about bike/pedestrian/motorcycle accidents is important, because the damage done in those accidents is far more serious than the average fender-bender involving two cars. However, the responsibility is shared both ways. I frequently see pedestrians wearing dark clothing in the dark, jaywalking by running out of the trees and bushes on a median strip on a six lane, 40 mile an hour road near my house. I frequently see bicyclists run stop signs or red lights, or pass a car that's in the middle of a right turn on the right while going straight, placing themselves right into the car's blind spot as they don't slow down. I frequently see motorcyclists weaving in and out of lanes, speeding, in shorts and t-shirts.

Your legal or simply perceived "right of way" is not going to protect you from an accident. It's not a magical force field that surrounds you and defies the laws of physics to keep you safe. Everyone needs to be more careful on ther road with their life and the lives of others.

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Thats the funny thing about rants like this, filled with anecdotal victim blaming but always devoid of mentioning the countless amounts of dangerous driving you no doubt witness daily.

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That these are our more vulnerable people on the road because they are not enclosed in a vehicle. And no one is placing Ghost Cars or Car Driver Silhouettes: that's not what this article is about.

Car drivers drive like maniacs. That is a given and it should change. But everyone can only control and protect their own safety. If you're the "little guy", even more so.

But you are welcome to continue jaywalking and running red lights and motorcycling without a helmet if you feel this is victim blaming. I'm sure the sanctimony will prevent you from injury.

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No one should even walk on the street unless they're wearing full protective padding + helmet (in high-viz, no less) - after all, you never know when a car will jump the sidewalk. At what point can we finally put the responsibility on the people hitting others rather than the victims being hit?

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I wear a helmet and obey the traffic laws.

Should I start riding with bubble wrap to protect my safety even more? Maybe I should walk? Oh but thats kinda unsafe too since I don't control cars, never know when a car might jump the curb. Maybe take the bus? Oh but the bus could be hit by an inattentive driver and I could fall over and hit my head, thats not safe. Maybe I should wear a helmet on the bus? Maybe just remote to work and never leave the house? After all, everyone can only control and protect their own safety. If you're the "little guy", even more so.

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When I'm on a bicycle or walking, I'm not endangering the lives of others. There's a reason people focus on car behavior - because it actually kills or injures people.

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Why don't we have "ghost cars" and cutouts of cars and trucks for these victims as well?

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Go ahead - nobody is stopping you, and others might join you.

But that means getting out of their cars and walking ...

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Also, you see plenty of candles/flowers/memorials when someone finds a way to kill or be killed by a car. Don't act like you've never seen them before.

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You need a safe space to avoid thinking about one of the leading preventable causes of premature mortality?

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The November-December issue of Bicycling magazine has its 50 best cities list: http://www.bicycling.com/culture/news/the-50-best-bike-cities-of-2016
Boston has dropped 16 places since their last ranking and is now 17th. I don't know when the last one was done. Cambridge is listed separately at number 8. Still quite good, and not nearly as bad as some others, with some dropping more than 30 ranks. Take it with a grain of salt though - their criteria seem a bit too murky to me and include some dubious ones like "the number of cyclist-friendly bars." I want to state for the record that I personally do not condone people boozing before riding a bike, or for that matter any other activity. Try to stay on point, will you Bicycling ? Median home price is also among the stats given. Still trying to figure that angle out.

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