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Pedestrian struck and killed in South Boston
By adamg on Tue, 01/26/2016 - 10:18pm
Around 6:15 p.m. on Old Colony Avenue at Gavin Way, John Duffill reports.
State Police report:
Preliminary investigation indicates that the pedestrian was crossing Old Colony Avenue at the time he was struck.
The pedestrian, a 66 year old male from Boston, was pronounced at the scene. The operator of the motor vehicle, a 38yr old male from Stoughton, stayed at the scene.
State Police say an investigation continues and that that will determine whether any charges are brought.
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Comments
in front of my house
I Was sitting there and then heard a bang. like a car to car impact (a hard one)went on my balcony looked out seen a man in the street not moving ,in front of a small work van with heavy front end damage and shattered windshield,it looked as if he was crossing the street near a crosswalk, he looked to be a dark skinned male, in his 40's,he was deceased on impact..r.i.p it was tough to see,people went to over to help but quikly realized there was nothing they can do.
A terrible area for pedestrians.
Any of the crosswalks around there are dangerous.
Poorly marked and lit, I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often.
RIP
Poorly marked and poorly lit?
There's a crosswalk there and a light. Not sure what else one can do to make it safer other than retractable gates that go up to stop traffic.
They could permanently take
They could permanently take away licenses from dangerous drivers. Start with the ones who kill pedestrians in crosswalks and go all the way down to people with numerous speeding tickets. Many lives would be saved.
How do you know
The pedestrian was in the crosswalk? It doesn't say that in the blurb Adam posted.
Read the eye witness check in
First comment.
I did
It said he was crossing the street "near" a crosswalk.
Wow
I drive on Old Colony every day and have for years. I never realized there were 2 traffic lights. That is my fault and I need to be more observant.
However I think the reason I never noticed them is because they are on permanent green. I never once saw a red light. I have however seen lots of pedestrians crossing at will, sometimes using the crosswalks(some have lights, some do not), sometimes not using the crosswalks. And most of the pedestrians don't use the pedestrian overpasses either.
Maybe the lights need to be set on "traffic calming" timed red lights, like Quincy Shore Drive. This would also be a good place to station a cop with a radar gun like they do on Morrissey Blvd. I never saw a speed trap on Old Colony.
If a pedestrian presses the button
It turns red. That's not a major intersection, it doesn't need a permanent red/green light.
Here's the problem
There is a "demand" crossing light on Mystic Valley Parkway.
Because it doesn't cycle frequently, motorists either forget that it is there, or choose to pretend that it is not there.
I have been rear ended stopping for that light. I have also taken video of how many cars typically run that light before anyone stops. The second half is particularly dangerous, due to obstacles that prevent motorists who choose not to see the red light from seeing a pedestrian in the crossing.
Long story short: occasional lights can be very dangerous.
Well known problem with well known solution
being high intensity crossing lights.
Lights that are almost always green get ignored by drivers, so extra attention beyond regular traffic lights must be given to them to get noticed when red.
Another well known problem is that red traffic lights cause rear-end collisions. In other words, if a car had not stopped for one then it would not have been rear-ended. This is why there are rules for minimum traffic flows and cross traffic needed to justify signals so that the risk of rear end collisions is lower than the risk of other collisions being reduced by the signals.
So, your example crossing light needs to be upgraded to have high intensity lights.
The Colon is Opaque
Even high intensity lights are unlikely to get drivers to slow and stop if they are driving with cranial rectal impaction. Especially when many are exceeding the speed limits to start with and likely cannot stop in time.
I would like to see the whole area get rumble strips, if not speed tables - this isn't the only on-demand crossing in that stretch and there have been deaths.
I live on Old Colony Ave.
I live on Old Colony Ave. There are 2 lights there and yes they only turn red when you push the button to walk across. But even still people run the lights and lately there has been Boston Police out there more frequently. But on the down size they are usually by the park or in the parking lot by the park not at the set of lights.
Hows about.....
Raised crosswalks, rumble strips, and embedded
LED blinkers just to name 3 off the top of my head.
Ya know, like other 'World Class' cities.
I much prefer new ideas vs. your plan of "Derp, ders a light and so dats dat."
Condolences to the victim
Feeling pretty cynical about Marty's commitment to this, but for what it's worth...
Share your safety concerns http://www.visionzeroboston.org/
Very dangerous area for pedestrians
Bad area. We have an apartment complex directly next to a highway where cars routinely speed at 60+ mph. And there is a park where children play on the other side of the highway. There is no fence, and there's parking spaces for cars on the highway. A couple of pedestrian bridges are hardly ever used by anyone.
I believe Old Colony needs some traffic lights. Flashing yellow most of the time and available for pedestrians as needed.
Whoever the driver was obviously drove too fast.
Whoever the driver was that hit and killed the unfortunate victim with his car was clearly driving too fast for existing conditions (which is how most vehicular accidents, whether they involve pedestrians or not.) or he wouldn't have hit the guy.
If indeed the crosswalk was poorly marked and poorly lit, that's negligence by the state and/or the city. Maybe if crosswalks were marked with the kind of materials or paints that glowed a bright color at night, that might help things a little bit, as well.
Sorry that the victim was struck and killed. Without knowing the victim personally, I offer condolences to his family and friends.
Here's an afterthought, however:
Without knowing what color clothing the victim was wearing (be it a dark or a light color.), I can say that common sense has fallen by the wayside. When I drive at night, I notice that an incredible number of walkers and bicyclists alike don't go out of their way to make themselves visible enough, or visible at all. Many people who walk or cycle at night, fail to wear or at least carry something dark-colored that will enable them to really be seen at night.
Negligent drivers, however, are the biggest culprits, and they have to learn to slow down so they won't injure or kill a pedestrian who's trying to cross the street.
Oops....my bad! I meant LIGHT-colored! Sorry about that!
:(
It's not obvious
That the driver drove too fast, or anything for that matter. The only thing obvious is that someone was hit and lost their life.
Regarding drivers vs. pedestrians, however:
There is a definite pecking order there! For starters, the posted speed limits are the fastest that one can drive under ideal conditions: i. e. a sunny, dry day, with no snow/ice on the ground. Nighttime, for example, is a less than ideal condition, as are wet, icy or snowy roads and streets. Drivers are obligated to drive slower than the speed limit, under less than ideal conditions. Whatever mistakes pedestrians make (and nobody's disputing that there are plenty of them!), pedestrians must be protected from their own stupidity. it's a driver's obligation to do that.
Just wrong
Drivers are not obligated to drive slower than the posted speed limit at night.
Drivers are obligated to
Drivers are obligated to drive at a safe rate of speed at all times.
Maybe not, but
they (drivers) should also realize that nighttime is when the visibility is reduced, and therefore, driving slower at night than one would during the day makes more sense.
Regional Plan for Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety:
1. Wait for someone to die.
2. Wait some more.
3. Talk big about doing something useful.
4. Wait again.
5. If the victim is prominent, implement half-assed measure at one specific location that does little or nothing to improve safety. Otherwise do nothing.
6. Return to Step 1.
Everyone knows most DCR roads are inhospitable to any activity other driving fast and there is little to no speed enforcement. So sad and unnecessary.