OPINION: City needs new plans for addressing pedestrian deaths

I read with sadness about the recent death of a bicyclist crossing Carlisle. The accident was almost identical to another accident wherein a child crossing Louisiana (across the street from Cleveland Middle Sschool) was killed, and I realized a pattern was present. Once a pattern is identified, the accident is no longer “a pure accident” but a preventable mistake. In neither case was the driver who caused the accident cited. In my view, both deaths were preventable and if no changes are made, future deaths will occur in the same manner.

When a car is going along Carlisle, there is no reason to stop unless there is a traffic light or some unforeseen event ahead. Flashing yellow lights are not stop lights. The driver had good intentions, I’m sure. He saw someone who wanted to cross the street, so he stopped to let her cross. Unfortunately when he stopped, he obstructed the view of drivers in the lanes alongside him and he obstructed the view of the bicyclist trying to cross the street. The car that hit the bicyclist was in an outer lane and probably could not see anyone crossing the street. The bicyclist could have waited until there were no cars in the street and all lanes of traffic could be visualized.

The accident in front of Cleveland was identical. A car stopped on Louisiana to let a pedestrian cross, however, in doing so, a car in the far lane that was moving past the stopped vehicle and hit the pedestrian. Again, the driver of the car that killed the pedestrian had their vision blocked by the car that was stopped. The child crossing the street had her vision blocked by the driver who stopped to “help her cross the street.” The driver of the vehicle that stopped was not cited.

It is illegal for a car to pass a stopped school bus for the same reason that drivers should not stop their cars to allow pedestrians to cross the street. When children get off a school bus, some of them will cross to the opposite side of the street. When they are crossing, the school bus obstructs the view of motorists coming up behind the bus. Perhaps it should be illegal to pass any vehicle stopped in the middle of the road.

So, when there is a recurring pattern to an accident, it can be concluded that the accident is preventable.

Drivers should be educated not to stop for pedestrians when the driver has the right of way. Drivers should stop at traffic lights and stop signs. Of course, if a pedestrian crosses (jaywalks) in front of a car, the driver must stop even though the pedestrian does not have the right of way. Pedestrians should not cross the street unless all lanes of traffic can be visualized and there is room to cross safely. Ideally, no one should jaywalk. More traffic lights would help. Where bicycle paths cross major streets like Carlisle, there are enough crossings to warrant traffic lights.

Albuquerque has a very high rate of pedestrian accidents compared to other cities and the city needs to develop new ideas to change these statistics.