BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

charges won't be filed. Same as...

here: www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/11/16/2010-11-16_woman_with_stroller_hurt_as_lexus_suv_hits_her_on_sidewalk_in_astoria_child_esca.html

here: www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/breaking_news/pedestrian-struck-by-car-in-spfld

here: www.globe-democrat.com/news/2010/nov/19/pedestrian-killed-granite-city/

here: www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/109233094.html

here: gazettextra.com/weblogs/latest-news/2010/nov/19/dane-co-coroner-names-pedestrian-killed-madison-ac/

here: www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/alabama/pedestrian-killed-helping-driver

here: www.ktvu.com/news/25846330/detail.html

or here: www.fox41.com/Global/story.asp?S=13534070

These incidents occurred within the past 2 or 3 days. I'd post more, but that would be spamming... and spamming is a crime, I think.

There's a lot more to this story than the Post-Gazette is putting up, I think it is a much different situation from what we have been seeing in the past.

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/25855441/detail.html

On West Liberty Ave the car dealerships are usually spread across the two sides of the street and you always see salesmen, mechanics, running back and forth on that crazy street. Appears as if he may have been 1/2 way in the street when this happened. This is always tragic when it occurs, and I hate to say that the driver should not be punished.

I think it should be an OSHA violation.

It's a very hard time for his family, he left behind a daughter, a step-daughter, and their mother along with other relatives. Something needs to be done or else his daughter is left with nothing, she's young. All they want right now though is to get through their first holiday without him. There are witnesses and everything is under investigation. We just want him to be remembered for who he was, not how he died.

I'm very sorry for your lost, my sincere condolences. People always speed-up and drive unsafely along West Liberty avenue just to get to Brookline, Dormont, and Mt Lebanon beyond, or to get to Downtown to the Liberty Tunnel -that stretch of road is technically a No-Mans-Land. I'm almost sure this was unfortunately the case in here as well -someone trying to get from Point-A to Point-B as fast as possible.

Both the dealership should have had safer working conditions for its employees knowing this road conditions, and city-county should have a stronger police force enforcing the speed limit, or add more Stop Lights to force better driver behavior. Lastly, if the driver was indeed speeding or not paying attention to the road, that's involuntary manslaughter and/or reckless driving. Obviously many factors are at play in here, including statements from witnesses, but accident or not, this should not have happened.

I'm sorry for your loss Chls449, it's an awful thing to have happen.

today as I was riding on absolutely deserted roads on my way back home, I had a random thought...

Car commercials always show a family in a vehicle, typically at night, in inclement weather, and all of a sudden the driver skillfully avoids a downed tree or telephone pole at the last minute by swerving using some Advanced Feature of their vehicle. Everyone looks relieved afterwards, like "aren't we lucky we have this vehicle with That Advanced Feature which allowed us to avoid danger without slowing down!" They never show what happens when another car coming the opposite way tries the same thing at the same time. Or what happens when there's people or vehicles on the other side of the obstruction that the driver can't see. Advanced Features and luck don't make up for everything.

The pittsburghchannel video made me think of it again, saying the driver crossed the centerline to avoid an accident and then struck the poor guy. Not sure if it was a different accident or the accident being reported.

I hope his family finds peace and justice.

The video says "crossed the centerline to avoid an accident" but the text under it says "Investigators said the car swerved to avoid the man, but wound up hitting him and dragging him 80 feet".

Either way, it's terrible, my sympathy to the victim's friends and family.

Car commercials are ridiculous. There's one (Toyota, IIRC) that comes right out and says it - "we know your safety is the most important thing to you". Exactly.

I hate those car commercials where they talk about how great the car is if you are driving while falling asleep at the wheel. Uh, how about pulling over and not risking the lives of others?

Chls449, sorry for your loss.

Some Thanksgiving reading for everyone, a report from the Transportation Research Board, the U.S. lags far behind other industrialized countries in reduction of traffic deaths (surprise), quote,

"The lack of progress in reducing the highway casualty toll might suggest that Americans have resigned themselves to this burden of deaths and injuries as the inevitable consequence of the mobility provided by the road system. In other countries, public officials responsible for the roads have declared that this human and economic cost is neither inevitable nor acceptable and have undertaken rigorous and innovative interventions to reduce crashes and casualties."

Download free report: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13046

I'll point out again that in South Korea, they have cameras to catch speeders on all kinds of roads - this is a country that 50 years ago barely had roads at all and was just 'finishing' a devastating war (obviously still not resolved).

Pennsylvania, peaceful and prosperous for 200 years, doesn't allow that - "But then municipalities will set up speed traps!"

Industrialization != Civilization.

And now, another pedestrian fatality last night was referred to on WPXI news as "a tragic accident."

We really should be writing letters to these stations to discourage the use of that phrase.

I think either the city or some random perv has installed a camera at 21st and Carson. though i don't believe it can I.D. a redlight runner, or pedestrian attacking motorist.

Go Erie! http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101122/NEWS02/311229920