Mary Newsom, the associate editor of the Charlotte Observer, wrote a great piece on pedestrian safety today that should interest all of us. It's entitled "Walk this way. If you can" and includes a list of obstructions and safety concerns she discovered while walking to work once a week since mid-March.
These include unkempt sidewalks with overgrown plants, mud and leaves; sidewalks blocked by garbage bins; what she refers to as "baffling pedestrian lights", some of which are too long a wait or too few and far between; and 'sidewalk closed' signs. A photo shows how a sidewalk is narrowed by growing ivy.
What's interesting about this piece is how many of the same concerns pedestrians share, whether on foot, in a wheelchair, with a guidedog or cane, or pushing a carriage. Many of these issues go unnoticed when people drive by in cars every day. They're unaware of impassable or nonexistent sidewalks and wonder why pedestrians resort to going into the street.
I echo her observation about how property owners don't seem to realize the need to keep their sidewalks clear. This not only includes snow and leaf removal, but protruding bushes and branches and other objects which narrow the walkway so much that it's impassable. Minor overgrowth is one thing- thorny bushes that eat up more than half a sidewalk width need attention.
Finally, Newsom mentions that drivers "can be oblivious to pedestrians. Many ignore the state law giving pedestrians the right of way in crosswalks". She also notes that no pedestrian advocacy group exists.
I also want to mention that drivers need to be aware that areas which are under construction present dangerous pedestrian issues. Sidewalks are often blocked. Street lines may not yet be repainted. Alternative pedestrian routes aren't marked the way alternative driving routes are in these situations, so a pedestrian is left stranded trying to figure out the safest way to get around.
This kind of awareness helps to keep all of us safe. Although I often write about it from a wheelchair user's point of view, this article is a great reminder of how many pedestrian issues we all share in common.
It's certainly sad to see in the comments that people fail to realize that there are pedestrians who have no alternative transportation, like many in the disability community. As paratransit cuts continue to bite into the right to mobility for many, these concerns need to be addressed.
Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/06/27/1527127/walk-this-way-if-you-can.html#ixzz0s3lWGZRQ
Showing posts with label wheelchair pedestrian accidents. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wheelchair pedestrian accidents. Show all posts
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
A Place Where the Sidewalk Ends
As I took a walk this morning, I was reminded of Shel Silverstein's poem "Where the Sidewalk Ends"
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white
because suddenly the sidewalk ended and a very green yard lay before me. I stopped my power chair (aka The Beast) and sat there. I couldn't cross the street because there were no curb cuts in sight and the curbs exceeded the height I can safely jump.
So I turned around until I reached a driveway that was pretty close to a driveway across the street and was going to cross, but saw that there wasn't a sidewalk on that part of the street across the street either.
A jogger ran past me in the street. A bicyclist rode by in the street. I decided to go back the same route I traveled rather than go into the unmarked street. It was safer, especially since this section of road had a blind curve. I see too many headlines about wheelchairs being hit by cars to do that. I wonder, however, whether drivers see joggers and bicyclists on that blind stretch of the road. They are taller. I suppose they can also swerve out of the way (maybe) better. Maybe not. Last year a teen on a bicycle was struck a few blocks away.
It doesn't take long when you travel as a pedestrian to figure out that "sharing the road" is a concept not easily accepted by some drivers. They resent pedestrians of any kind who get in their way, even at well marked crosswalks. And this attitude, ultimately, in addition to not being able to see pedestrians because of road design that fails to take pedestrians into account, can lead to accidents.
Kids get it.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
Check out just the first few minutes of this "wheelcam" video by a wheelchair user going for a cup of coffee and the obstructions he encounters.
And if you've ever wondered what it's like trying to cross poorly planned streets with a guide dog, take a look at this:
If we're going to have mobility for everyone, we need to learn to share the roads.
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins, And there the grass grows soft and white
because suddenly the sidewalk ended and a very green yard lay before me. I stopped my power chair (aka The Beast) and sat there. I couldn't cross the street because there were no curb cuts in sight and the curbs exceeded the height I can safely jump.
So I turned around until I reached a driveway that was pretty close to a driveway across the street and was going to cross, but saw that there wasn't a sidewalk on that part of the street across the street either.
A jogger ran past me in the street. A bicyclist rode by in the street. I decided to go back the same route I traveled rather than go into the unmarked street. It was safer, especially since this section of road had a blind curve. I see too many headlines about wheelchairs being hit by cars to do that. I wonder, however, whether drivers see joggers and bicyclists on that blind stretch of the road. They are taller. I suppose they can also swerve out of the way (maybe) better. Maybe not. Last year a teen on a bicycle was struck a few blocks away.
It doesn't take long when you travel as a pedestrian to figure out that "sharing the road" is a concept not easily accepted by some drivers. They resent pedestrians of any kind who get in their way, even at well marked crosswalks. And this attitude, ultimately, in addition to not being able to see pedestrians because of road design that fails to take pedestrians into account, can lead to accidents.
Kids get it.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
Check out just the first few minutes of this "wheelcam" video by a wheelchair user going for a cup of coffee and the obstructions he encounters.
And if you've ever wondered what it's like trying to cross poorly planned streets with a guide dog, take a look at this:
If we're going to have mobility for everyone, we need to learn to share the roads.
Monday, June 29, 2009
In search of....curb cuts?
In this video, Wheelchair Kamikaze, our host of past NY tours, goes in search of the Spirit of Audrey Hepburn statue in New York. However, he winds up spending quite a bit of his ride through NY city looking for curb cuts and facing some mighty big trucks head on....
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Police identify wheelchair user run over on NY road
[photo via newsday.com]
A man run over and killed while riding his motorized wheelchair along the shoulder of a Long Island road has been identified.
Police say 51-year-old veteran Ranford Beckford was a Coram (KOR'-uhm) resident. They say he died in his hometown Sunday morning after being rammed from behind by a drunken driver who didn't bother to stop.
via newsday.com
A 24 year old female driver, Lauren Dean, apprehended a few miles away, has pled not guilty to driving with a suspended license, leaving the scene of an accident and driving while intoxicated. She told police she thought she hit a curb.
[visual description: A male police officer takes a picture of a smashed blue power chair with an American flag on the back while a female police officer appears to write down notes on a highway. A light covering of snow is visible on the sides of the road.]
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The markings look great
So during my lunch break I was very happy to see new markings on the crosswalks of several streets I regularly cross. They were the big white ones shown at left.
I found approximately three, perhaps four, streets with these new markings. This is good because crossing streets around here is dangerous. I've devised ways of getting around that involve the fewest number of intersections.
As I approached one intersection with new markings, I saw a truck speeding rapidly toward the crosswalk, and next thing I knew, it came up on the sidewalk with me. Its back wheel went up, down, several feet from me on the sidewalk, and then the truck continued into the parking lot. Two young guys were in the truck. I think they were high or something because they were laughing. I probably looked funny- you know, the way someone looks like when they think they might die.
You can see why I'd clutch a St. Christopher's medal if I had the dexterity.
I figured I was good to go for the rest of the day without incident. Sure enough, I ran my errand, started home and nothing else happened.
Not until I got to the last corner I have to cross to get back. I saw no cars coming and started to cross on the new, clear markings. I got halfway across and cars approached from both sides. Going forward or back wasn't safe, since they didn't look like they were stopping.
And, sure enough, they didn't. They both kept coming, leaving me stranded in the middle of the street on those nice new crosswalk markings, smelling their tires and fumes.
But hey those markings? They look great.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Crosswalk crush
Crosswalk crush - when drivers from two sides pull up and block the crosswalks, even when pedestrians are already in the crosswalk - drivers making a left or right turn into the crosswalk also ignore the pedestrians in the crosswalk as well as drivers directly facing pedestrians at the intersection they are crossing. So pedestrians already in the crosswalk have two cars to deal with, are going directly in front of vehicles rather than at legal distances, when they were already in the crosswalk and legally have the right of way.
Pedestrian safety involves awareness on both the part of the pedestrian and the driver as to the laws that apply to sharing the road, including the crosswalk areas, sidewalks, driveways, etc. Some tips can be found here.
Apparently, from this crosswalk post I ran into from St. Louis, drivers ignoring crosswalk right of way laws are commonplace. Here's another piece from Westbrook, Maine, where a visually impaired pedestrian has been hit twice due to crosswalk violations by drivers. In Provo, Utah, a plainsclothes undercover officer went out to teach drivers a lesson about crosswalk violations. 52 citations in an hour and a half in Spokane were reported....50 citations in three hours in Riverside, California. See also Crosswalk Sting Nets 800 in Montclair. Police are using decoys as pedestrians to cite crosswalk violators.
One good thing for visual purposes is that a geometric brick pattern crosswalk was recently installed at a shopping center near me, where I had great difficulty crossing in my wheelchair since drivers just raced through the crosswalk, not even recognizing it. I once waited there twenty minutes trying to cross with cars whizzing by. It remains to be seen, however, if the brick will buckle, causing problems traversing the area for wheelchair users and pedestrians.
As you can see in this photo, it has two wide white lines on each side and the distinctive brick red color is eye catching, making it stand out from the street.
Crosswalks, to some drivers, are just part of the street, I've discovered as a wheelchair pedestrian. Anything that can be done to distinguish them from the streets is a good idea for the safety of those on foot, pushing carriages or wheelchairs, jogging or biking, as long as ADA requirements are followed.
Resources: FHWA Improving Pedestrian Safety
National Safety Pedestrian Campaign
A Resident's Guide for Creating Safe and Walkable Communities
Accessible Sidewalk Videos (For various disabilities- wheelchair users are not the only ones who require accommodations)
For a discussion in the comments about using decoys to cite drivers at crosswalks see this blog post called Cops in a Crosswalk
Pedestrian safety involves awareness on both the part of the pedestrian and the driver as to the laws that apply to sharing the road, including the crosswalk areas, sidewalks, driveways, etc. Some tips can be found here.
Apparently, from this crosswalk post I ran into from St. Louis, drivers ignoring crosswalk right of way laws are commonplace. Here's another piece from Westbrook, Maine, where a visually impaired pedestrian has been hit twice due to crosswalk violations by drivers. In Provo, Utah, a plainsclothes undercover officer went out to teach drivers a lesson about crosswalk violations. 52 citations in an hour and a half in Spokane were reported....50 citations in three hours in Riverside, California. See also Crosswalk Sting Nets 800 in Montclair. Police are using decoys as pedestrians to cite crosswalk violators.
The beefed-up enforcement apparently is having an impact.
In conjunction with the crackdown, Ranjit Walia of the Alan M. Voorhees Transportation Center at Rutgers University has been sending out grad students as trained data collectors. At first, they determined a baseline of 11 percent of drivers who yielded to pedestrians in the crosswalk.
In Montclair, he said, that has since risen to 26 percent, and in South Orange, to 32 percent. via nj.com
One good thing for visual purposes is that a geometric brick pattern crosswalk was recently installed at a shopping center near me, where I had great difficulty crossing in my wheelchair since drivers just raced through the crosswalk, not even recognizing it. I once waited there twenty minutes trying to cross with cars whizzing by. It remains to be seen, however, if the brick will buckle, causing problems traversing the area for wheelchair users and pedestrians.
As you can see in this photo, it has two wide white lines on each side and the distinctive brick red color is eye catching, making it stand out from the street.
Crosswalks, to some drivers, are just part of the street, I've discovered as a wheelchair pedestrian. Anything that can be done to distinguish them from the streets is a good idea for the safety of those on foot, pushing carriages or wheelchairs, jogging or biking, as long as ADA requirements are followed.
Resources: FHWA Improving Pedestrian Safety
National Safety Pedestrian Campaign
A Resident's Guide for Creating Safe and Walkable Communities
Accessible Sidewalk Videos (For various disabilities- wheelchair users are not the only ones who require accommodations)
For a discussion in the comments about using decoys to cite drivers at crosswalks see this blog post called Cops in a Crosswalk
Friday, September 19, 2008
I'd rather be on the sidewalk
Common sidewalk issues for wheelchair users force some into the street, as seen in this video
Saturday, August 16, 2008
What's a bike box?
Before I set out this morning in my power chair, an article in USA Today about car-free Portland Oregon caught my eye. Known for its progressive urban mass transit, including the use of street cars, Portland has become attractive to those looking for easy ways to get around.
Among the smitten is Paul Kahn, a Philadelphia lawyer who recently arrived in Portland via Amtrak from Seattle. After hopping a MAX train for a seven-minute ride from downtown to lushly forested, 130-acre Washington Park, Kahn and his wife, Janet, are ensconced on a free shuttle bus that runs May through September between the zoo and two of the city's best-known attractions, the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden.
"We never considered renting a car, because it's so compact and easy to get around," says Kahn, whose appreciation of what he calls Portland's "edgy East Village" vibe extends to the tattoo of mountains and waterfalls that spreads across his middle-aged bus driver's right calf.
The city is also friendly to bicyclists and has added bike boxes, one of which is shown in the photo above. A bike box provides a lane running toward the front of the line of traffic that leads to an outlined box which allows a biker to go in front of stopped cars at an intersection to make a turn. Bike boxes are showing up in New York city and other urban areas, to make sharing the road safer. Cities like Washingon, D.C., New York, Santa Barbara, and the state of Virginia have developed park and ride your bike programs, ranging from offering discounts to those who use mass transit to weekly designated car free zones.
As a wheelchair user, I like the idea of a bike box as a buffer between me and the front of cars, especially trucks and SUV's since it helps solve the "height differential" issue that arises when drivers in high vehicles stop right in front of crosswalks and can't see wheelchairs. And it might even help clear up what can become a curbcut problem if bicyclists are given a space on the street to wait rather than be forced to wait near curbcuts, adding to pedestrian traffic there that blocks wheelchair users and parents pushing carriages.
This just goes to show there are better ways to share the streets - ways that make all of us safer.
[image description: An animated map courtesy of City of Portland, Office of Transportation, showing the increase in number of bicycle routes built over the years 1973-2003.]
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Flying the orange flag
When I think of orange, I usually think of Cheetos. I was even somewhat sympathetic when I read this story about police following an odd orange trail to catch alleged Cheetos thieves.
But I'm not flying an orange flag because I touched it after eating Cheetos, but because it's a safety flag. I live in a crowded area with groups of tourists, students and drivers who are from out of town - and lost. After having a near death encounter with a truck the other day in my power chair, I decided to give in and put an orange safety flag on my chair. And, although putting up the safety flag felt a bit like waving the white flag of surrender, I knew it was far better than finding myself under the wheels of a vehicle, in which case I risked never eating a bag of Cheetos again.
Luckily I had a safety flag on hand and Meredith was able to find a way to attach it securely. So it was time for the acid test. When I reached the part of town with the most traffic, what usually feels like playing the Need for Speed:Wheelchair edition video game resulted in only one car- a taxi - entering the crosswalk after I was already in it. The taxi went on its way, brushing past my wheelchair and the driver did see me- so visibility wasn't the problem.
Safety first. And the orange does go well with the decals I'm adding to the chair. Pictures to come after we get a chance to put them on.
But I'm not flying an orange flag because I touched it after eating Cheetos, but because it's a safety flag. I live in a crowded area with groups of tourists, students and drivers who are from out of town - and lost. After having a near death encounter with a truck the other day in my power chair, I decided to give in and put an orange safety flag on my chair. And, although putting up the safety flag felt a bit like waving the white flag of surrender, I knew it was far better than finding myself under the wheels of a vehicle, in which case I risked never eating a bag of Cheetos again.
Luckily I had a safety flag on hand and Meredith was able to find a way to attach it securely. So it was time for the acid test. When I reached the part of town with the most traffic, what usually feels like playing the Need for Speed:Wheelchair edition video game resulted in only one car- a taxi - entering the crosswalk after I was already in it. The taxi went on its way, brushing past my wheelchair and the driver did see me- so visibility wasn't the problem.
Safety first. And the orange does go well with the decals I'm adding to the chair. Pictures to come after we get a chance to put them on.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Just a very unfortunate incident...
Words said about a wheelchair user who was killed trying to cross the tracks on the very same day another wheelchair user was saved by a young man in a truck passing by.
So who was Darrell Allsup?
His days were spent with his friends at the offices of Yellow Cab Co. and his afternoons at the east side McDonald's enjoying iced tea.
Allsup will be missed, said Dianna High of Yellow Cab.
"He had no family and we fell in love with him; he was a family member down there (the cab stand). We all loved him," she said. "It's like losing the best cup of coffee you have every day. Nobody who ever met Darrell didn't love him. He was a kind and loving person."
Fernando Bonilla said he knew Allsup for about a decade; he described him as a generous man who gave Bonilla a place to stay when he needed it. via southernillinoisan.com
Allsup was a vet, a sharpshooter who was honorably discharged in 1969.
Yesterday I met my sister at a mall nearby since my power chair can't get into her car. As I was saying goodbye to head home, she looked around and asked "Where's a sidewalk? How can you be safe?"
Sometimes, no matter how careful we want to be, there is simply no place to go in our wheelchairs that is safe if we want to get out and be with those we care about and live our life.
I think as wheelchair users we all share a responsibility to practice safe wheelchair use, but the bottom line is that people will continue to find ways to get around until we make taxis accessible, our roads safer and accessible mass transportation more available and flexible enough to actually be usable. (These incidents are happening right under our nose although they get a lot more media coverage when the person survives and is rescued, I notice.)
h/t Media Dis n Dat
So who was Darrell Allsup?
His days were spent with his friends at the offices of Yellow Cab Co. and his afternoons at the east side McDonald's enjoying iced tea.
Allsup will be missed, said Dianna High of Yellow Cab.
"He had no family and we fell in love with him; he was a family member down there (the cab stand). We all loved him," she said. "It's like losing the best cup of coffee you have every day. Nobody who ever met Darrell didn't love him. He was a kind and loving person."
Fernando Bonilla said he knew Allsup for about a decade; he described him as a generous man who gave Bonilla a place to stay when he needed it. via southernillinoisan.com
Allsup was a vet, a sharpshooter who was honorably discharged in 1969.
Yesterday I met my sister at a mall nearby since my power chair can't get into her car. As I was saying goodbye to head home, she looked around and asked "Where's a sidewalk? How can you be safe?"
Sometimes, no matter how careful we want to be, there is simply no place to go in our wheelchairs that is safe if we want to get out and be with those we care about and live our life.
I think as wheelchair users we all share a responsibility to practice safe wheelchair use, but the bottom line is that people will continue to find ways to get around until we make taxis accessible, our roads safer and accessible mass transportation more available and flexible enough to actually be usable. (These incidents are happening right under our nose although they get a lot more media coverage when the person survives and is rescued, I notice.)
h/t Media Dis n Dat
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A Modern Day Good Samaritan
A 20 year old man saved a woman's life when her wheelchair became stuck on railroad tracks in Lodi, California.
[Her] frightening ordeal began as she was on her way home from a gathering on the other side of town about 10 p.m. She was heading west on Locust street in her motorized wheelchair and approached the Union Pacific tracks, a route she typically takes.
She could hear the train coming from the south, but Jones said she thought she was still a block away from the tracks, so she kept going, expecting to have to stop and wait until the train passed.
Instead, her wheels buckled underneath her as she crossed, ejecting her from the chair, she said. She looked up as she lay on the tracks.
"I saw the flashing lights of the train, and I just knew I was going to die," Jones said. via recordnet.com
Seeing this in the rearview mirror of his truck after passing her, he ran back, pulled her out of chair and then jumped out of the way of the flying debris as the train struck the wheelchair. This video demonstrates what happened.
So what does he have to say about it? That he was glad to have an opportunity to save someone's life because we don't get a chance to do it that often.
The woman simply called him her angel.
***
That's the story covered on CNN and mainstream media. Here's the other side of the story:
Because of a lack of accessible transportation, more people using wheelchairs are using them as cars. This creates safety issues, especially when used on busy roads, at railroad crossings and other surfaces that may be designed safely for vehicles, but not wheelchairs.
And it goes back to the politics of mobility.
And why should all of us care about this "other" story?
Because, as my friend Greg writes, disability doesn't discriminate.
[Her] frightening ordeal began as she was on her way home from a gathering on the other side of town about 10 p.m. She was heading west on Locust street in her motorized wheelchair and approached the Union Pacific tracks, a route she typically takes.
She could hear the train coming from the south, but Jones said she thought she was still a block away from the tracks, so she kept going, expecting to have to stop and wait until the train passed.
Instead, her wheels buckled underneath her as she crossed, ejecting her from the chair, she said. She looked up as she lay on the tracks.
"I saw the flashing lights of the train, and I just knew I was going to die," Jones said. via recordnet.com
Seeing this in the rearview mirror of his truck after passing her, he ran back, pulled her out of chair and then jumped out of the way of the flying debris as the train struck the wheelchair. This video demonstrates what happened.
So what does he have to say about it? That he was glad to have an opportunity to save someone's life because we don't get a chance to do it that often.
The woman simply called him her angel.
***
That's the story covered on CNN and mainstream media. Here's the other side of the story:
Because of a lack of accessible transportation, more people using wheelchairs are using them as cars. This creates safety issues, especially when used on busy roads, at railroad crossings and other surfaces that may be designed safely for vehicles, but not wheelchairs.
And it goes back to the politics of mobility.
And why should all of us care about this "other" story?
Because, as my friend Greg writes, disability doesn't discriminate.
Friday, April 25, 2008
A curbcut, a bicyclist and a right turn on a red light
The other night after work I went out in my power chair for a walk. I crossed a street at an intersection in a residential area, obeying the traffic laws and waiting for the right time to cross.
It was a very nice night out and I noticed as I approached the curb cut on the other side that there was a bicyclist on it, blocking the curb cut. He didn't appear to be crossing, but was waiting. As I approached him, I asked him to move over so I could get up on the sidewalk and he started to respond, but he was straddling his bike so it took a few seconds and meanwhile I couldn't get up onto the curbcut. The light was still red however.
As this happened, a car whipped behind me to take a right turn on the red light and came within inches of my power chair. I heard the driver shout "Don't stop dead like that!" behind me. All I heard was a pebble from under his car tire zing up and hit my chair.
The bicyclist moved over and apologized profusely for blocking the curb cut and I got up on the sidewalk. He told me that he never thought about the etiquette of sharing curb cuts and asked me if it ever happened before. I explained that, yes, it had and drivers sometimes did not wait until I went up on the sidewalk as pedestrians or carriages or bikes or skateboarders moved to the side, not realizing I couldn't get my chair up on the sidewalk.
I also told him I attribute this to a lack of awareness by drivers that curb cuts may be blocked and, if so, a wheelchair can't immediately go up one.
And I have blogged about it before, but here goes again. Even if a few people see this, maybe it'll help everyone slow down just a bit more.
[visual description: A curbcut is shown at the end of a crosswalk marked in white lines. ]
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Road rage and wheelchairs: enforcing pedestrian laws
We've all run into drivers who show signs of road rage toward others. They overreact to whatever happens on the road, sometimes shouting, waving their arms, or even using their car as a weapon. There are cases where drivers have pulled guns on others for being cut off or otherwise "dissed".
It's tough enough to deal with when you're in another vehicle, but for a pedestrian it's even more difficult. And the more I use my power chair to get around in what is a somewhat congested area, the more I see how drivers with road rage present a problem for wheelchair users.
I don't cross major highways, but I do cross at intersections that run into highly trafficked areas, like a strip mall. There's no light, so I just wait for traffic to stop, trying to look behind me and around me before I do. However, cars are much quicker than power chairs, especially when you're going from a complete stop and once in a while, I start crossing as a car is coming up behind me. Most drivers wait a few seconds and then turn behind me, but there is the occasional person with road rage who leans on his/her horn, shouts, or turns their car into the intersection before my chair has cleared it, practically touching the back of my chair as they do.(This has also happened at less trafficked intersections, by the way, where people "push" my wheelchair with their front bender while I'm still in the crossroads.)
I consider this behavior road rage from my point of view as a wheelchair user. Honking one's horn , shouting loudly with/without profanities and turning one's car right behind a wheelchair user is dangerous. It startles the wheelchair user, who is trying to navigate across the crosswalk which may contain potholes, debris or other distractions requiring attention. And, of course, it creates an inherently dangerous situation because the driver's car may hit the wheelchair if it stops unexpectedly.
Wheelchair users are pedestrians who have the right of way while crossing the street. Drivers need to remember that people using wheelchairs have limits in physical function that can affect how fast they can get across the street. (That's, uh, why they're in a wheelchair.) I know this seems obvious, but you might be surprised to see how many times drivers ignore this and come right up behind my wheelchair as my quaddy little hand rests on the joystick. Power chairs are not other vehicles. They are wheelchairs.
After some near misses out there, I'm convinced that as more of us in wheelchairs take to the streets, we need better enforcement of pedestrian laws so we can safely share not only the sidewalks, but the crosswalks.
As cases emerge where wheelchair users are ticketed for allegedly violating pedestrian laws, I wonder: where are the tickets for these drivers? Crossing the street should not feel like a death wish.
It's tough enough to deal with when you're in another vehicle, but for a pedestrian it's even more difficult. And the more I use my power chair to get around in what is a somewhat congested area, the more I see how drivers with road rage present a problem for wheelchair users.
I don't cross major highways, but I do cross at intersections that run into highly trafficked areas, like a strip mall. There's no light, so I just wait for traffic to stop, trying to look behind me and around me before I do. However, cars are much quicker than power chairs, especially when you're going from a complete stop and once in a while, I start crossing as a car is coming up behind me. Most drivers wait a few seconds and then turn behind me, but there is the occasional person with road rage who leans on his/her horn, shouts, or turns their car into the intersection before my chair has cleared it, practically touching the back of my chair as they do.(This has also happened at less trafficked intersections, by the way, where people "push" my wheelchair with their front bender while I'm still in the crossroads.)
I consider this behavior road rage from my point of view as a wheelchair user. Honking one's horn , shouting loudly with/without profanities and turning one's car right behind a wheelchair user is dangerous. It startles the wheelchair user, who is trying to navigate across the crosswalk which may contain potholes, debris or other distractions requiring attention. And, of course, it creates an inherently dangerous situation because the driver's car may hit the wheelchair if it stops unexpectedly.
Wheelchair users are pedestrians who have the right of way while crossing the street. Drivers need to remember that people using wheelchairs have limits in physical function that can affect how fast they can get across the street. (That's, uh, why they're in a wheelchair.) I know this seems obvious, but you might be surprised to see how many times drivers ignore this and come right up behind my wheelchair as my quaddy little hand rests on the joystick. Power chairs are not other vehicles. They are wheelchairs.
After some near misses out there, I'm convinced that as more of us in wheelchairs take to the streets, we need better enforcement of pedestrian laws so we can safely share not only the sidewalks, but the crosswalks.
As cases emerge where wheelchair users are ticketed for allegedly violating pedestrian laws, I wonder: where are the tickets for these drivers? Crossing the street should not feel like a death wish.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Close Encounters of the Pedestrian Kind
Yesterday I spoke with my friend Sue and mentioned to her how many bicyclists I ran into yesterday who are riding on the sidewalk now. She was telling me that there have been a few fatalities as a result of motor vehicle violations of pedestrian laws, and more bike riders are using the sidewalks. And a few of them, she said, seem to be rather angry that they have to share the sidewalk with her because it slows them down.
Sue told me that she's been out with her guide dog Wonder when bicyclists come up behind her on the sidewalk - or around her -and she doesn't hear them. A few have been rude to her . "I can't hear them coming up behind me, " she told me. "They just keep telling me to get out of their way." She's been bumped into, jostled and disoriented by their behavior - and then they ride off.
It's not illegal where I live for people to ride their bikes on the sidewalk (except in certain towns where it's posted.) But still - sidewalks are for pedestrians. When people choose to use a bicycle on the sidewalks, they have to take into account that they're sharing it with pedestrians on foot, in wheelchairs, using guide dogs and slow walkers. Slowing down for other pedestrians is a reality of sharing the sidewalk safely.
On my way home yesterday (right before I spoke to Sue to hear her story) I was behind a woman with arthritis who was walking slowly along. I saw an adult bicyclist careen around her at a high speed. She reached out and clung to a fence near her and as I approached said to me "My balance isn't good and I just had this guy on a bike scare me so badly." I stayed with her for a while until she was more sure of her bearings, but incidents like this can result in serious injuries.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Perils for Pedestrians: Sidewalks and the ADA
Episode 138 of Perils for Pedestrian covers a subject dear to my heart as a wheelchair user: sidewalks.
John Wetmore sent a synopsis of this episode and its air times. I've embedded a video above.
"Tuesday, November 27, The Universityhouse Channel will show Episode 138 of "Perils For Pedestrians" -- "The ADA and Sidewalks".
Contents of Episode 138 (2007):
--The Coordinator of Research at the US Access Board explains how the Americans With Disabilities Act applies to sidewalks.
--A lawyer in Barden v. Sacramento discusses the lawsuit, which determined that sidewalks are a government program covered by the ADA.
--A plaintiff in Barden v. Sacramento describes the negotiations that led to the settlement.
DISH Network Channel 9411 -- The Universityhouse Channel
Tuesday -- 9:30 PM Eastern, 6:30 Pacific
For other related issues, please click the label below.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Disabled Riders Coalition
If you live near or plan to visit the NY area, check out this group:
from their website:
"WHO ARE WE?
We are a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to promoting accessible public transportation throughout the New York Metropolitan area.
WHEN AND WHY DID WE FORM?
We formed in the Fall of 2004 in response to the TA's announced plans to increase fares and close token booths. As politicians were speaking of the impact that such actions would have on the disability community, many in the community felt that an organization needed to be formed to represent the interests of the community from within. Hence the Disabled Riders Coalition was born.
WHAT DO WE DO?
The Coalition attends MTA Board and Committee meetings and testifies on issues pertaining to individuals with disabilities. We meet with advocates, transit officials and politicians to lobby for greater access to New York's public transportation system.
In consultation with disabled riders and advocacy groups take positions on pressing transit issues facing New York's Disability Community. We then advocate those positions through position papers, testimony, press releases and press conferences.
Finally, we serve as a resource to riders with disabilities. We provide disabled riders with updates on subway, bus, ferry and commuter rail accessibility. We also take feedback from disabled riders and relay such feedback to the appropriate officials.
Our new website provides you with the ability to post questions, comments and concerns and to get feedback from Coalition leadership as well as fellow riders."
www.disabledriders.org
I posted the other day about a disabled woman who was injured when her chair became stuck and she was struck by a train. In a CBS video, a member of Disabled Riders coalition, Michael Harris, explained (and illustrated with his own chair) how wheelchair castors can get stuck in the gap between the platforms and the subway trains - and how the woman struck the yellow pylons which are situated close to the trains when the train started to move.
.
from their website:
"WHO ARE WE?
We are a coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to promoting accessible public transportation throughout the New York Metropolitan area.
WHEN AND WHY DID WE FORM?
We formed in the Fall of 2004 in response to the TA's announced plans to increase fares and close token booths. As politicians were speaking of the impact that such actions would have on the disability community, many in the community felt that an organization needed to be formed to represent the interests of the community from within. Hence the Disabled Riders Coalition was born.
WHAT DO WE DO?
The Coalition attends MTA Board and Committee meetings and testifies on issues pertaining to individuals with disabilities. We meet with advocates, transit officials and politicians to lobby for greater access to New York's public transportation system.
In consultation with disabled riders and advocacy groups take positions on pressing transit issues facing New York's Disability Community. We then advocate those positions through position papers, testimony, press releases and press conferences.
Finally, we serve as a resource to riders with disabilities. We provide disabled riders with updates on subway, bus, ferry and commuter rail accessibility. We also take feedback from disabled riders and relay such feedback to the appropriate officials.
Our new website provides you with the ability to post questions, comments and concerns and to get feedback from Coalition leadership as well as fellow riders."
www.disabledriders.org
I posted the other day about a disabled woman who was injured when her chair became stuck and she was struck by a train. In a CBS video, a member of Disabled Riders coalition, Michael Harris, explained (and illustrated with his own chair) how wheelchair castors can get stuck in the gap between the platforms and the subway trains - and how the woman struck the yellow pylons which are situated close to the trains when the train started to move.
.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Wheelchair user struck by train in NYC
Hat tip to Wheelchair Dancer for this post and story.
Yesterday a 52 year old woman in a power chair was struck by a train after her wheels got stuck on the yellow studded area.
"A woman was struck by a train and seriously injured after the back wheels of her electric wheelchair got stuck on the yellow studded area of a Penn Station subway platform, police said Monday.
The Manhattan woman, 52, who police did not identify, had just gotten off a No. 2 train Sunday evening when she turned around to see why her chair was caught, witnesses told investigators. As the train pulled away, a car struck her head and her chair hit another moving train car, catapulting her from the chair and into a column, police said."
-via amny.com/news
Have you run into a wheelchair pedestrian safety issue? Because we use wheelchairs and others don't, we are the ones who have this information. Sometimes despite the fact that a lot of money is spent, dangerous conditions remain.
Join a group or contact those in charge and relay your concerns. Remember that by making a complaint about a safety issue you've run into or a close call you've had, you might save someone else from harm and a serious accident.
Yesterday a 52 year old woman in a power chair was struck by a train after her wheels got stuck on the yellow studded area.
"A woman was struck by a train and seriously injured after the back wheels of her electric wheelchair got stuck on the yellow studded area of a Penn Station subway platform, police said Monday.
The Manhattan woman, 52, who police did not identify, had just gotten off a No. 2 train Sunday evening when she turned around to see why her chair was caught, witnesses told investigators. As the train pulled away, a car struck her head and her chair hit another moving train car, catapulting her from the chair and into a column, police said."
-via amny.com/news
Have you run into a wheelchair pedestrian safety issue? Because we use wheelchairs and others don't, we are the ones who have this information. Sometimes despite the fact that a lot of money is spent, dangerous conditions remain.
Join a group or contact those in charge and relay your concerns. Remember that by making a complaint about a safety issue you've run into or a close call you've had, you might save someone else from harm and a serious accident.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
ADA violations - on YouTube?
That's exactly what Roy did in this clip. He emailed about sidewalk hazards that he saw and videotaped a missing curbcut and broken sidewalk at Harvard University in Cambridge Massachusetts in mid-July (he updated the post August 1 indicating that a curbcut was being added and the broken up sidewalk was being fixed).
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Tennessee disabled vet fears for his life- back at home
Found this article over at Disapedia. Have you visited Disapedia? I do, all the time. It's a great site and growing- as we all add to it!
This story covers a potential wheelchair pedestrian accident - or even death. He lives near heavy traffic - with no sidewalks - and has to travel two miles in his wheelchair to get a bus.
"Outside McNeel's East Ridge home, he's stuck. "Where's the sidewalk, there is none," McNeel said. He fears heavy traffic racing down his street. In just one minute, fifteen cars drove up and down McBrien Road outside McNeel's house, posing a danger, he says threatens his life.
"I'm scared, they don't care, they don't slow down, some of them don't pull over into the other lane to let me by," he said. As recently as last month, McNeel says he was nearly killed. "A tour bus was coming up the hill, and the only way I could get away from the situation was go, guess where?" he said pointing three feet down into a ditch. "I had nowhere else to go," he said. It was his only escape. "I shouldn't have to do that," he said.
McNeel wants the city to take action. "It's moving too slowly," he said. He said he has the right to be safe. He warns, one more close call could be the last. "If I'm hit, I will have no recourse, other than to sue."
East Ridge city officials responded, saying they're aware of McNeel's troubles, but they're not required to provide sidewalks. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses and entities, which would be a city in this case, to provide access and transportation near it's site. The law is limited, though, and can't guarantee all access."
Via wrcbtv.com
This story covers a potential wheelchair pedestrian accident - or even death. He lives near heavy traffic - with no sidewalks - and has to travel two miles in his wheelchair to get a bus.
"Outside McNeel's East Ridge home, he's stuck. "Where's the sidewalk, there is none," McNeel said. He fears heavy traffic racing down his street. In just one minute, fifteen cars drove up and down McBrien Road outside McNeel's house, posing a danger, he says threatens his life.
"I'm scared, they don't care, they don't slow down, some of them don't pull over into the other lane to let me by," he said. As recently as last month, McNeel says he was nearly killed. "A tour bus was coming up the hill, and the only way I could get away from the situation was go, guess where?" he said pointing three feet down into a ditch. "I had nowhere else to go," he said. It was his only escape. "I shouldn't have to do that," he said.
McNeel wants the city to take action. "It's moving too slowly," he said. He said he has the right to be safe. He warns, one more close call could be the last. "If I'm hit, I will have no recourse, other than to sue."
East Ridge city officials responded, saying they're aware of McNeel's troubles, but they're not required to provide sidewalks. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses and entities, which would be a city in this case, to provide access and transportation near it's site. The law is limited, though, and can't guarantee all access."
Via wrcbtv.com
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Curb cuts - safety tips
This list was provided by a teen reader - thank you electroDude!
1. When you see a wheelchair crossing a street, pedestrians on the other side need to get out of the curb cut so the wheelchair user can enter it to get out of the street. If you see a disabled person stuck in the street at a crowded curb cut, alert other pedestrians to clear the curb cut.
2. Drivers - remember when a light changes that wheelchair users may not be able to get up the curb cut right away because it's blocked. Sometimes drivers move their car while a wheelchair is still in the street which can cause an accident.
3. Wheelchair/scooter users - check over your shoulder for drivers turning the corner (even on red lights) on busy streets who may not see you and stop. If there's a newspaper stand on a corner, that may block a driver's view! Crossing with other pedestrians who are on foot and taller is safest if this happens.
4. Do not distract a guide dog who is assisting a visually impaired person from doing his job by petting or talking to the animal. Do not walk so close to a visually impaired person that you interfere with her cane movement.
Get out there - stay safe!
[visual description: A woman on a scooter crosses a street toward a curb cut in a group of pedestrians.]
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