Fatal Accident on 5th

This is a terribly tragic way to be reminded that pedestrians never win battles with vehicles. Even when peds have the right of way, which does not appear to be the case here, we have to remind ourselves that it is not a level playing field by any means. My heart goes out to her family.

My complaint is not that the LAPD enforce the law, but how they do it. Obviously, the point is irrelevant at this time.

Actually, I am furious at the police for not enforcing the law against the maniacal bus drivers. Given how many times I’ve seen buses blow through red lights at high speeds downtown, it’s a wonder that more people aren’t getting killed. Frankly, I am v. skeptical that the victim today was the one who was breaking the law…

I’ve lived on Broadway for almost 3 months now and I see cars/trucks/some buses run red lights in the surrounding blocks on an almost daily basis. Other places I’ve lived do not seem to have this obvious disregard for safety.

I believe this terrible tragedy points out exactly what is wrong with enforcing jaywalking laws in the first place: it basically tells drivers they aren’t the ones at fault.

After I received my jaywalking ticket downtown right outside my own building, something changed inside me. Now when I’m driving and I see a pedestrian about to step off the curb, I think “Hey, you’re the one breaking the law, why should I slow down for you?”

It’s a disgusting thought that has absolutely no place in a pedestrian city like ours.

It’s not the pedestrians that need to be more careful, it’s the drivers, and the city’s law enforcement should make that perfectly clear.

As someone who sees the results of fatal traffic collisions in a professional capacity, I can understand the desire to lay blame.

An investigation will be conducted and it will become clear where, if anywhere, fault rests and what can be done in the future, if anything, to prevent such a tragedy.

Our thoughts and prayers should be with the family of the deceased as well as with the driver who is undoubtedly going to need attention in coping with this incident.

I was at the bus terminal at Union Station the other day. I needed to re-enroll my daughter in the daycare there. As I was standing at the light near the Denny’s, a lady asked me for directions. She was a very short older lady with a very thick east European accident. She’d gotten off at the wrong stop and the bus driver was no help. After squaring her away on how to get to her destination downtown, we got talking. I pointed out how the drivers are weakest part of the L.A. transit system. In my experience, they are poorly trained and their professionalism is low. When you get a good driver, he/she really shines.

She immediately came to life. A few weeks ago, her friend was the lady hit and killed in this accident. She was there and she told me how the driver was not paying attention. It seemed clear to her this was reason for the accident. She wasn’t emotional in a uncontrolled way. In fact, she was pretty calm and cool as she told me about this. It was a sad story, but she told me about it in a dignified way. Definitely made me wonder where the investigation ended up.

Soon enough, we headed our separate ways.

I can’t believe how close a lot of people stand to the curb especially in the high bus traffic areas. I see it everyday here in ‘el centro’, a lot of times parents with there kids. I am always amazed more people are not hit, especially with these wayward bus drivers, dash drivers as well. As for jaywalking, i only do it early in the a.m. and late in the p.m., rush hours, no way.