Another crash on Columbia Island

Photo by Tim

Tim writes that he "decided to take a ride on [the Washington Blvd Trail featured on Sunday] to see firsthand. I was riding home from the Pentagon area along the Washingon Blvd. trail when I arrived at the aftermath of yet another rear end collision at one of the crosswalks.  A nice looking BMW had rear ended a Volkswagen, which had presumably slowed to yield to a pedestrian or cyclist. I should mention that I have been using these crossings for years, and it is a constant battle of who is more chicken -- you or the car traffic.  Few, if any, vehicles observe the speed limit, and even fewer yield to traffic in the crosswalks."

Also, nice photo, right? The sky came out looking cool. Must have an iPhone.

Comments

[will]

I've concluded that the only solution is taking the driving out of the hands of drivers.

[Michael H.]

Turn the GW Parkway into a bike/pedestrian trail!

[Brendan]

It's like the Two Second Rule has become some ancient riddle from the time of our grandparents' grandparents. And keeping your eyes on the road is a quaint notion too.

[Robert S.]

I rode on the same trail again last Saturday (and touring the great Longbridge Park)and observed the cars traveling at high speed. I would rather wait than have a nice driver stop because of the danger of a crash.
Wouldn't this be a ideal area good speed cameras?

[Early Man]

I wonder if Rent-a-Wreck has an old Lincoln, LTD Station Wagon or some other rusting hulk with a huge back end. After buying the accident coverage, put a sign on the back saying "I Stop for Pedestrians in Crosswalks" and drive on the GW at 40 mph. How many BMWs, Land Rovers, M-Bs, Escalades, etc. do you think I could take out in an afternoon?

[Shawn]

GWP needs a couple more bike/ped overpasses to address this, since driver speed enforcement doesn't happen enough in that area. Underpasses would be flooded too many days of the year.

[Joe D]

It was so pleasant in Austria to see traffic stop if I even looked like I was going to cross at the marked crosswalk. The law needs to be, "Traffic must stop for pedestrians waiting to cross," and it's got to be enforced.

[Tim]

Ha. Definitely not an iPhone.

[Weiwen]

I occasionally drove to and from DC along that trail, and I'd always cross there when I was bicycle commuting in from Alexandria. My experience was that there were cars who'd stop for you, but it is certainly dicey. Another problem is that cars tend to follow each other fairly closely. Lines of sight are short in that area, so I might have to brake fairly hard for a pedestrian waiting to cross when I see them, which raises the risk of getting rear ended like the guy above.

[oboe]

People drive like monkeys with their asses on fire.

[monkey with ass on fire]

Uh, some of us have a good reason for that, thank you very much.

[JJJJJ]

Simple solution.

Simply set up a sensor that activates flashing lights in the crosswalk and also on a sign, for advance notice.

[oboe]

@monkey,

I hope you get where you're going ASAP. And your ass feels better soon.

[Froggie]

Some of you have probably seen this before, but my view on what should be done and why nothing will likely ever happen...

[Edge]

Oboe, I've never seen a monkey drive, let alone one that was on fire.

And JJJJJ, seems that metal barricades that pop out of the street like they have around the Capitol would be a better solution than flashing lights. Let's make drivers have some consequence for not stopping. Until then, the only consequence will be for the cyclist who dares cross.

[JJJJJ]

Edge: Agreed. Theres a video of such bollards in england on a bus-only road.

Hilarity for all.