Cyclist hit near Lincoln Memorial

From the MORE listserv

Saw a fellow on the ground hit by a car at the Lincoln Memorial crossing that goes to the Memorial bridge. He was IN THE CROSS WALK on a comfort style bike and was hit by a MINI VAN with PA plates that appeared to have three middle aged to older women in it who were probably just here to see the tourist stuff. Very unfortunate. This was around 1:00 PM today. Be careful out there.

Comments

[JeffB]

And on my ride home tonight I came across a motorcyclist who had just been crunched under an SUV on River Rd / Little Falls Pkwy. The medics were trying to pull his body out.

If he wasn't dead he surely was very, very badly hurt.

[Don S.]

I hope everyone ended up being OK.

On a side note has anyone else noticed that the signs at the two crosswalks immediately after the bridge (at least on the inbound side) say "State Law - Yield to Pedestrians Within Crosswalk"?

Outside of the obvious that DC isn't a state, isn't the law in DC to stop for pedestrians within a crosswalk and not just yield (which is open to driver interpretation)?

I believe that area is controlled by the National Park Service but I thought they still went by state (or in this case district) traffic law.

[Brendan]

An office relocation has forced me to change to the Memorial Bridge crossing. Bike infrastructure is horrendous. Number one complaint: slick granite for curb cuts and curb cut aprons, the spot where I'm most likely to make an emergency stop.

[stacey2545]

Can't speak for DC law, but was informed by the VDOT bike/ped coordinator last week that the law specifically uses the word "yield", not "stop" when it comes to right-of-way issues. It wouldn't surprise me if DC traffic code was the same way. There is a big problem with area drivers a) not understanding who has the right-of-way and who must yield it and b) what the hell "yield" means. When you have signs explicitly explaining a, you still have to address b.

[Don S.]

I looked into it:

DC Code 50-2201.28

(a) When official traffic-control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall stop and give the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within any marked crosswalk or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.

So the signs appear to be incorrect and considering how many drivers enter the city across the Memorial Bridge that is unfortunate.

May seem like a subtle nuance but I think it does matter as it makes it clear what a driver should do without question.

Plus it is pretty sad if they can't even get signage related to laws they are supposed to be enforcing correct.

[contrarian]

DC is stop, VA is yield. However, the difference between yield and stop is largely academic and is miniscule compared to the difference between yielding and not yielding.

On a related vein, I noticed that Montgomery County recently put up "State Law: Stop for Pedestrians" signs where the Little River Parkway crosses the Captal Crescent Trail. They put them on bollards in the roadway, between lanes -- you can't miss them. This is a pretty significant departure for them; for years they have resisted any indication that motorists have to stop. Instead they have focused on signage and other techniques -- like speed bumps on the trail -- to get trail traffic to yield.