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Idiots

Is what Mary Roach suggested my book should have been called, and every time I read a story like this one, the point is driven home.

Detailing a police sting operation in Montclair, N.J., to reduce the number of pedestrians killed in crosswalks as they legally go about their walking (the most common way pedestrians are killed in NYC and apparently parts of N.J.), the story notes:

During the operation, dubbed Cops in Crosswalks, the percentage of motorists who stopped rose from 11 percent in June to 49 percent in August, and more than 800 drivers received $100 traffic-violation tickets, said Sgt. Daniel Pronti, of the Montclair Police Department.

“Most people who committed the violations weren’t even aware they committed a violation,” Sergeant Pronti said. “We learned that education was key to our ultimate goal of making people feel safe.”

Uh, I actually thought the education was supposed to happen before the drivers got their license. And we wonder why Europeans think our driving tests are a joke.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Drivers, Pedestrians. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Responses to “Idiots”

  1. Roo Says:
    November 11th, 2008 at 9:05 pm

    When people find out I ride a bike they always comment about how dangerous it is. My response is always to explain that I’ve had a lot more close calls running across the street in crosswalks than I have riding my bike. I’ve learned to never step into the street without making eye contact with the drivers nearby first!

  2. jack Says:
    November 12th, 2008 at 7:59 am

    Yes our driving exams are a joke. Our public education efforts needs dramatic upgrades.

  3. Omri Says:
    November 12th, 2008 at 9:35 am

    When I worked in a college, I made a point of warning new European co-workers of just how lenient American licensing tests are.

  4. Abhishek Says:
    November 19th, 2008 at 1:29 pm

    If the american system is a joke, you guys would love to hear about my driving test in India.

  5. Rob Says:
    December 2nd, 2008 at 1:57 pm

    Well, it is in the driver’s manual, point blank. Drivers have to yield to pedestrians at any unsignalized crosswalk, meaning as long as the driver does not have a grean light and the pedestrian does not have a dont cross, the driver must yield. Certainly the Motor Vehicle Comission has to make it a point to reinforce that, but that does not take drivers off of the hook for not knowing. As I said, its in the book.

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Traffic Tom Vanderbilt

How We Drive is the companion blog to Tom Vanderbilt’s New York Times bestselling book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us), published by Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S. and Canada, Penguin in the U.K, and in languages other than English by a number of other fine publishers worldwide.

Please send tips, news, research papers, links, photos (bad road signs, outrageous bumper stickers, spectacularly awful acts of driving or parking or anything traffic-related), or ideas for my Slate.com Transport column to me at: info@howwedrive.com.

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