jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

The police got them. They got the couple that killed the college student in Saugerties. The day after they hit her, they staged an accident to account for the damage to their car.

"SAUGERTIES, N.Y. — Two Malden residents have been arrested in connection with the hit-and-run crash that killed Starllie Swonyoung, Saugerties Police said Tuesday night.
Lacy L. Maxwell, 42, was charged with the felonies of leaving the scene of a fatal accident, insurance fraud, staging a motor vehicle accident and tampering with physical evidence, the department said.
Ryan M. Maxwell, 43, was charged with the felonies of insurance fraud, staging a motor vehicle accident and tampering with physical evidence, according to the announcement."

Another college student was killed a few nights after that incident, but the police haven't made any progress. Both students were walking at night in the same direction as the traffic.

StanMac Loc: Tennessee

So sad about those deaths. But, I have to say, young people today evidently aren’t taught the proper and safer way to walk along streets. My town has so many older streets that don’t have sidewalks and I see so many folks walking with traffic and wearing dark clothes at night. An accident in the making.

Stan

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

There's a big difference between "taught" and "done." Ever since I was a kid, I've known where to ride a bike and where to walk. There's a frequent YouTube ad showing four people walking along a road at night. Three of them are easily visible. The one wearing black barely appears.

Flash Gordon

Those folks may very well be suicidal.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

I don’t understand WHY people don’t walk against the traffic. At least then you have a fighting chance of moving out of the way of a vehicle about to hit you. Last year we had a neighbor get hit walking home at night with his wife. He was instantly killed and she fortunately was untouched. They were walking WITH the traffic.
As an aside, he was hit by a defrocked ex-priest (for child molestation) who was drunk. Got a five year prison sentence.

JBuckley

Living in rural towns is a wonderful life.
Walking and biking can be a deadly and dangerous (past time), along our roads and streets.
I walk to our church, (about 3 blocks,) and the street that I walk is now 2 lanes, with a turn lane, in the center.
There is only a (painted) bike lane without a sidewalk for kids to get to the local elementary school. A sign says 40 mph.
Cars that roar past pedestrians, miss kids with their mirrors, by 12 inches, at 50-60 MPH.
The edges of the roadway are rocky and tree limbs, that force kids, (and elderly) out into traffic.
Love this country living, but a sidewalk would make living safer here.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I also advocate carrying a flashlight and walk with it lighting the ground in front of your feet. I once saw someone with a small flashing red LED on top of a navy watch pullover cap. And I would now advocate a safety vest worn over your shirt or jacket. They have thin lightweight ones that fold into a pocket-size pouch.

With my knee and sciatic nerve problems, I don't walk places. Instead, I have a street legal mobility scooter for which in addition to the full set of lights and reflectors on the scooter I have a flashing red light attached to the back of my helmet which puts it up higher than the hoods of cars and even some small pickups etc. And of course, my wife tells me to just take my SUV and leave the scooter for daytime trips to the parks for photography.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

I have two doctors with me at all times, my right leg and my left leg. Get your knee fixed and your sciatica fixed, and get rid of your mobility scooter. Start walking again. You’re unknowingly hastening your death by no longer walking. Without walking your muscles atrophy and everything else starts to slowly break down.
Sorry if I sound harsh. I just see this a lot where I live. I see walkers become scooter drivers, and after a few years I don’t see them anymore.

One Rude Dawg Loc: Athol, ID

You can teach them, that doesn't mean it sinks in. The Duh factor is fairly high these days. It is scary!

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I get my walking in around the front and back yard, tending the raised flower beds, bird feeders and cleaning the pool deck. I also walk around the large stores like Costco, Sams, Walmart. Because they change things so often I cover every aisle when I go shopping. You see in those places if my leg/knee gives way someone sees it and I get help without taking the attention of the 911 responders who may be seriously needed by someone else.

The residential streets around here, you can watch and not see anyone not in a car for 1/2 hour or more. If I go down I would have to call 911 on my cell phone. Southern Californians live in their homes and their cars.

In addition, if I use the scooter for shopping for small stuff, I don't take up a handicapped parking space. For my bird photography there are several parks and one river within range of my scooter and they have hiking trails that I wouldn't attempt walking, but the scooter gets me to a site then I get off and walk/stand with my camera. When the leg/knee start feeling weak and hurting I sit on a bench or the scooter to rest and move on to other locations via the scooter.
If I run the scooter at top speed (30mph) in bike lanes and streets with limits 35 and below I get a bit over 20 miles on a battery charge, if I keep it down around 15-20 the range goes up to about 30 round trip. So I figure any photo sites within 8-10 or so miles are in range with the scooter and still have range for roaming the trails and a safety margin to get home. My SUV does have a carrier, so I can call home for a "pickup" if I forget to watch the battery charge and end up with a dead battery someplace.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Quite a few people use little flashing lights when they walk or ride a bike at night. At least don't wear dark clothing.

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

Best of luck to you.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Long ago I read an article from WWII about how they did trials to find the best colors to paint ships, aircraft and to make uniforms to keep people from seeing them so easily. They found that in some cases dark colors showed up against things like a light sky, moon lit backgrounds etc. And in other cases, a light color blended in with a light background. That is why you see so many military aircraft from certain eras with a light sky blue or gray belly and dark-colored tops. That light belly did not show up against a moonlit night sky, but a dark belly on the planes did show up.
Now with the stand-off weapons they don't have to fly over the enemy, so they have shapes and radar absorbing coatings that are mostly dark.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I just remembered a story about a hit and run I was told.

Long ago I was taking motorcycle riding lessons through the adult school in town. The instructor was a tester for a motorcycle factory and a reserve California Highway Patrol Bike Officer.

It seems his brother was riding his motorcycle and in an intersection got T-boned by a car that took off. When the police found the car, the driver claimed it wasn't him "There are lots of this model and color around. And any damage to my car's front end happened when someone backed into it in a parking lot this morning."

The story didn't fly, his front license plate was tangled in the bent tail pipe and hard side saddles of the motorcycle.
And because there was a serious injury (multiple breaks in one leg and hip=surgery and a hospital stay) he was in even more trouble.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

Your remarks about testing for color visibility in different conditions rings so true.
Several times I have encountered bicyclists on rural, narrow, shoulderless roads, during daylight hours, even bright sunlight, but equally stark shadows across the roadway because of the forested environment.

Some colors, even bright multi-colors, in the spandex, or whatever type bicycle designer suits they are wearing, do not have enough stand apart contrast from the various colors and shades in the light/shadow/greens/blacks/yellows, etc, in the environment, to make them easily visible from as far away as would be nice.

If that is the case with an individual rider, maybe even two riders, it is sometimes a surprise to see how close the distance is when they are first recognizably visible. If there are 6-8 or more in a group, it is sometimes easier to spot them sooner, because there may be more variation in the colors that are being worn. The reflective stripes on safety vests do a better job showing up in those bright sun, dark shadow, mixed vegetation backgrounds.

Maybe some of the bicyclists realize that from their own observations while operating motor vehicles, because in the past couple years I see some of them also use bright flashing red or white lights on the backs of their bicycles......sure is a help to vehicle drivers!!

Another situation, in some construction work we were doing, my boss and I were about 275-280 yards apart. He was about a 25° - 30° angle up a slope from my position on an open hillside with some brush about 12" - 40" high. For the procedure we were doing, it was absolutely imperative we be able to see one another.

His safety vest was the safety lime green style.....well, lime green when it was new and spotlessly clean. Against the backdrop of that brush mixed with grass, his used, dirt-streaked safety vest was perfect camouflage.
We were communicating verbally by walkie-talkies and he was getting frustrated I could not see where he was....he could see my used, dirt-streaked blaze orange safety vest just fine. Finally, he held his dirt-streaked white hard hat in his hand and waved it around above his head. That movement, I could see, but when he put his hard hat on his head, again, I could make it out because I knew where it was, but it was like a hat by itself, no body below the head.