Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pedestrian

Hey! I'm walkin' here!

threeants — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 14:11:46 -0800

What should a pedestrian do if hit by a car? As someone who walks, I am frequently put into potentially dangerous situations by cars. I realized I have no idea what I would do if I were hit. I've never owned a car, so not being familiar with the car-on-car collision procedures, I don't even have that as a benchmark. Do you...get their driver's insurance? Call the police? Then do what? If you have a resultant injury, do you have to sue them for medical costs? Or does this somehow magically come out of their driver's insurance?

I'm assuming for this question that the person didn't just hit you and then peace out.

Sydney or Melbourne as a "Walking City"?

laswingkid — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 13:54:37 -0800

Sydney vs Melbourne as a pedestrian paradise: I am a sociologist doing a study which involves observing pedestrians/window shoppers/etc. I am based in New York City, which is fantastic for my field of work. In Feb/March, I plan to go to Australia for two months, to either Sydney or Melbourne. I have never been to Australia before. QUESTION: Which city has more of a "pedestrian culture"? That is, which is more of a "walking city?" (If you know New York City, my favorite place to observe is Union Square -- I am looking for a comparable location.) Would prefer a place filled with locals, not tourists. Thanks!

I know the shoulder looks like a sidewalk, but it's really not

boobjob — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:34:10 -0800

What are all these pedestrians doing on the freeway? So I have been wondering about this for a serious while now, google is no help. I'm an NPR addict and at least a couple times a week I hear on the local traffic that there is a pedestrian in the roadway or a bicyclist in the roadway. At first I thought I had misheard and that someone was in a surface road but listening more closely for the last few weeks they are in fact on the major freeway (the 101).

Now I know that public transit is terrible here and as a result there is no way to get from town to town without a car but what the heck are these people doing? I have seen crazy people come out onto the freeway but this is happening so often that I can't believe it is always our local bag lady who thinks she is superwoman (no joke I've seen her a couple times, outfit and all)

So, does anyone know what this "pedestrian in the roadway" is code for or why anyone would think that the freeway contains a sidewalk?

Hey, what the fuck, I'm walkin' here

angrycat — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:56:51 -0800

How can I emphatically persuade the drivers in my 'hood to not kill me with their automobiles? Also, help me (rubs hands wickedly) exact my revenge. Me: Transplanted NYer in Philly area in wheelchair. Them: Drivers who make turns without yielding to pedestrians like me, often while talking on their cell phone. Me: Has a fun time wielding the f-bomb in situations like these. Them: Still talking on their phones so they can't hear the colorful yet somehow charming epithet I've screamed at them.

Me: Is trying to NOT hatch a revenge plan that involves somehow keying their cars as they screeeech past me. Not because I wouldn't key their car, 'cause hey, fair's fair. No, there's a good chance I'd get clobbered, and that would fuck up my chair, and make people sad and shit.

So what's a good plan here? In my limited dealing with the cops (Upper Darby) they seem to be not terribly helpful.

One does not simply walk into Heathrow!

Biru — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 13:35:34 -0800

Is it possible for someone on foot to walk into Heathrow Airport? I was sure it was, a friend insists it isn't and according to this, the answers are a mixed bag (and four years out of date). Has anyone done this recently or work there and can confirm one way or the other?

What is the correct distance in the middle of the block?

Doggiebreath — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:11:14 -0800

Parking regulations (New York State): If there is a crosswalk in the middle of the block, how close you are legally allowed to park your car? Also, definition of "Pedestrian Safety Zone". The NYS DMV manual explains the parking regulations. The manual only maintains that parking is illegal within "20 feet (6 m) of a crosswalk at an intersection", and that parking is illegal "in a crosswalk".

1) Is my interpretation correct:

- Parking just in front of and after the crosswalk IS legal in the middle of the block, if not anything else indicated.

In practice, this sort of parking would cause scary traps for pedestrians, esp. for kids. Can it be true?

OR

2) The DMV manual also states parking to be illegal "within 30 feet (10 m) of a pedestrian safety zone"

- Is a crosswalk in the middle of the block considered one?

Thanks.

DB

It's all in the hand.

Rabarberofficer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:57:58 -0800

[pedestrian-filter] According to a news-story in Swedens leading paper, there's a hidden, religious symbol in a ordinary pedestrian sign - a symbol that get's taped over in islamic countries. Calling all pedestrians to verify or falisfy this claim. According to the article (http://www.svd.se/nyheter/inrikes/artikel_1585911.svd) the manufacturer of the sign-box for lightning the Walk-sign has explicitly said that the hand is a christian symbol. As such it represents that the "only true way forward is to God and Jesus".

Among the "facts" that followed in the wake of this news-story is that the hand get taped over in islamic countries (where the box gets exported). This would support the claim that the hand indeed is a christian symbol.

So I ask: Has anyone seen a taped over hand at a pedestrian-crossing in a islamic country?

Why would a hand be taped over in a islamic country? Is it prohibited to depict people (as this mefi-question explores)

How does a pedestrian-crossing look in a islamic country (or your neigborhood for that matter)?

Where's the best city for living 100% car-free?

2oh1 — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:41:31 -0800

Where's the best city for living 100% car-free? Is there an affordable walker's paradise? I live in Portland, which is a wonderful place, but even here it can be challenging to live without a car. Every now and then my wanderlust kicks in and I find myself craving a change of scenery. Is life without a car better somewhere else?

NYC, Boston and San Francisco seem prohibitively expensive. Also, I don't have good enough vision for biking on city streets, so bike friendly places aren't that helpful for me.

Press Button to Cross

divabat — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:05:47 -0800

How does the button on the pedestrian crossing lights work? Does it actually send some sort of signal to the traffic lights, or is it just a psychological thing? It seems rather random timing-wise.

Why do some drivers flash their hazard lights when seeing a pedestrian?

ORthey — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:50:54 -0800

What's up with drivers turning on their hazard lights when stopping for a pedestrian? I'd never seen it before very recently, but now I've seen it twice in a few weeks - a car pulling up to the intersection I was about to cross putting on its hazard lights to (presumably) let me know they saw me, or perhaps to tell the driver behind they were stopping (or both). Is this common practice in certain places? These have both happened in Berkeley, California. Does anyone do this regularly? I was not taught this in driver's ed.

I was run over, should I take legal action? If so, how?

flaneuse — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:38:44 -0800

So I was crossing the street right after work in the crosswalk, on a green walk sign. A cab was making a left turn, ran into me, knocked me down, and then ran over my foot! The worst part was that he stopped ON TOP OF MY FOOT, wth?! So he gets out of the car to check on me and i'm on the ground screaming bloody murder- BACK THE F OFF MY FOOT- pretty funny when i re-tell it now since miraculously (doctor's words) I was spared from any major injury! I had my Kaiser health insurance card on me and the ambulance took me to the ER at Kaiser (I am in California) where I had several x-rays, was given pain meds and crutches, and had my leg wrapped in a splint. I haven't gotten any hospital or ambulence bills from them yet, but did not pay the ER co-payment on my plan because I told the admin there that this was a third party's liability and that I would send their bills to the cab company's insurance provider.

This was over a month ago, and the cabbie's insurance company just sent me a "Report of Accident" form. It assumes that my car, not my person, was hit by the cab, which I plan to clarify. I also plan on ordering the police report that identifies eye witnesses who confirm that it was my right of way when I was hit.

I looked at past questions posted here, but they all involved car accidents and reccommended liasing through one's own car insurance company. Should I do the same with my health insurance? Should I sue the cab driver personally? The cab company? Call the cab's insurance company? I am not looking for an exorbitant sum of money but would like to see a small settlement for the emotional distress I've been through. Thoughts on how to proceed?

Travelling to NYC for a week. Advise me how to keep my legs from running out of steam!

actionpact — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 09:24:27 -0800

I'm going to be going to visit my best friend in NYC for a week, in a week. Last time I went for a weekend, I wore Payless shoes and went cross borough and wound up limping and having cankles as a result. I am a lot more sedentary in Arizona than I used to be back east-- and I am looking for suggestions of how to keep this trip as painfree as possible. We'll be doing a lot of walking-- which is totally fine, but I know I need to get some kind of decent shoe this time. But I'm on a budget-- hopefully no more than $50-60 for a pair of shoes. What should I opt for? I am not big on athletic sneakers (Nikes and the like) but maybe they have good walking sneakers now, it's been forever since I bought a pair. Or maybe a decent pair of hiking boots or something would work. I would prefer them to be somewhat unobtrusive as I wear a size 10, but I can't order them online due to the timing. Can I get a decent pair of shoes at someplace like Kohl's? Or perhaps check out one of those shoe places-- DSW or Famous Footwear? Should I get some kind of insoles or is that just overkill?

Also, is there anything I can do now before my trip to gear up for so much walking? I have been exercising daily and playing DDR weekly, trying to build up more stamina and that seems to be helping. Perhaps some evening long dogwalks are in order as well. I often get shin splints when I walk for long distances though or run, so is there any way to minimize this before I go? Even suggestions on stretches I should do every day while I'm there is well appreciated.

Where in the US does the police interrogate pedestrians?

gregb1007 — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 17:31:01 -0800

Where in the US does walking make the police suspicious? I've read that in some neighborhoods of Los Angeles, the police will stop anyone they find walking in certain areas. Is this true for other cities/counties in the US? I would like to know because I find the idea of being picked up by the police for walking to be rather scary and would like to know in what areas of the country I should avoid this behavior so that I don't get in trouble.

Walking on to ferries at Dover

jb — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 04:25:08 -0800

Can you walk on to a ferry at Dover? And about how much might it cost? My husband and I would like to travel from the UK to Paris. We could take the train direct from London, but we would rather go by ferry. I had kind of wanted to go by the Dover cliffs and Calais route, while he would prefer to go to Normandy or Brittanny (longer ferry ride - which is good, because we both really like boats, but we're in Eastern England and I don't know how much bother it would be to get to where they sail from). Neither of us drive, so it would be train or bus to the ferry, walking on, then train or bus from the ferry. But when I tried to google ferry prices (to see if it were feasible), all I could find were the prices for cars. Do they allow walk-ons?

Also, if anyone has general advice about travelling by train or bus from Cambridge to Dover (or another port that has ferries to France), and about how to get the train or bus on the other end, that would be useful. I tried National Rail, but I don't even know which train station is the one nearest to the ferries at Dover.

I'm sorry for the basicness of these questions, but googling has only gotten me info on how to drive places, and I have never travelled in Europe and my husband has not gone since he was a child in his parents' car. Our budget is small, but we are willing to pay extra to go the ferry route rather than the direct train from London (which is our fall-back). Thank you.

What should a recently struck pedestrian keep in mind?

jragon — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 10:18:43 -0800

My friend's dad was hit by a taxi while walking in San Francisco. He's in the emergency room now with what may be long term injuries and we want to make sure to do the right thing. Of course he needs a lawyer, but the family is trying to figure out more details. Is there anything he shouldn't do? Lawyer first or file a claim first? He may be the type to not want to cause a fuss, any suggestions for explaining that he really needs to make a fuss? His insurance may be spotty because he's between jobs, anything to keep in mind for that sort of situation?

how do pedestrians avoid obstacles?

handee — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 03:09:45 -0800

Can anyone point me to scholarly articles/resources on the way pedestrians navigate through a scene? I'm specifically interested in the "flow" of pedestrians around obstacles. I'm guessing that architects, civil engineers, transport engineers, city planners and the like will all have something to say about this, but have been having difficulty finding my way around the literature.

Red-light runners

PrinceValium — Mon, 25 Oct 2004 19:50:13 -0800

As a pissed-off pedestrian and all-too-frequent near-victim of vehicular homicide, what can I do in the way of inflicting public shame (or, at the very least, education) on drivers who run red lights? (Without resorting to violence. Or childish name-calling.)

Preparing for Cicadas

benjh — Mon, 19 Apr 2004 17:30:38 -0800

Cicadas will attack (well, not attack, but annoy) the Eastern United States starting in about a month. What kinds of things are people doing to prepare, and for a pedestrian and cyclist, are there any recommendations for keeping these things out of my hair (literally)? I was only 9 during the last swarm that hit 17 years ago, but I do have bad memories, and I don't like bugs as it is.