Pedestrian Safety

The sad saga of John Osnes and David Jassy has finally come to an end. Late in December of 2008, Jassy and Osnes got in an altercation when Jassy's SUV encroached on a crosswalk being utilized by Osnes. By the time all was said and done, Jassy was fleeing the scene in his SUV while Jassy lie dieing in the street, brutally beaten and run over.

Earlier today, the LAPD Southwest Division engaged in a sting on unsafe drivers that threaten pedestrians attempting to cross the street.  With marked squad cars and motorcycles flanking the intersection, police officers crossed the street legally in unmarked crosswalks.  The officers were out of uniform, but were still carrying badges and even guns in plain view.  A news van was also parked nearby.  With such an amazingly visible police presence, you would think that the sting would be skunked.  After all, who would be brazen enough to flagrantly violate traffic laws with a small army of law enforcement officers camped out on the street?

One of the first conversations I had about transportation reform after moving to Los Angeles was about how the City of Los Angeles absolutely will not install "Zebra Crosswalks" because they weren't certified in city design guides.  I found this confusing, because studies have shown that the series of vertical lines that create a Zebra Crosswalk are more safe for pedestrians and drivers than the "box" crosswalks used at most crossings throughout Los Angeles.  In short, cars are more likely to respect a Zebra Crosswalk than a traditional one.

Overall, we had a favorable impression of the future Gold Line and see how it will be a boon for the communities through which it passes. However, there were some safety concerns we had, especially at the Little Tokyo and Indiana Stations.

A new report on pedestrian safety contains some bad, but not unexpected news for Angelenos and our neighbors in Southern California.  Our streets are amongst the most dangerous ones in the country for pedestrians, yet our governments aren't taking the issue seriously enough to adequately fund safety improvements.

If the equivalent of one jumbo jet full of Americans died every month, the resulting public outcry would be deafening. Or would it?

Earlier today, Walk Score, the website that ranks areas based on how easy it is to lead a car-lite lifestyle, has taken a big step towards improving its metrics by adding transit data.  As long as a city has google transit, which thankfully Los Angeles now does, you can get a much clearer picture of how easy it would be to ditch your car after moving to a new neighborhood.

Two years ago I poked the LADOT and LAPD for not putting out safety tips for Halloween.  Sure enough, last year an email arrived in my inbox announcing the Department's advice to parents, children and drivers on All Hallows Eve.

Via TreeHugger, Copenhagenize reports that Volvo is in the final stages of testing technology to improve safety for people outside its products -- a "pedestrian detection" system available in S60 models next year: