Spring Break
Letter to the Editor
Pedestrian safety
Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: Forum
To my fellow students:
While I admire your diverse abilities for transportation, I fear for your safety. Since I began attending OSU in fall of 2007, I have seen multiple accidents: bikes on pedestrians, bikes on skateboarders, skateboarders on pedestrians and bikes, pedestrians and skateboarders versus cars, trucks, vans and ice on the roads.
What worries me most: Lack of caution.
I have seen boarders skitching on the outside of cars right on Monroe during very busy traffic. I have seen bicyclists run stop signs and dart without looking in front of cars. I have seen students walk blindly while texting or phoning someone on their cell, and I have seen and heard cars, trucks and vans peel out to show their prowess.
All of these activities are dangerous and in most cases illegal. Also, bikers without helmets, besides risking their brain buckets, are also flirting with Oregon laws that require them to wear a helmet, stop at stop signs, and walk your bike across crosswalks if not actively using the traffic lanes to make your turns.
And last but not least, like myself, not all students can get out of your way. I have permanent injuries that prevent me from jumping out of the path of your mayhem. If I survive, I know how to file a complaint (since I was Military and Civilian Police for over 24 years total), and if not, my family knows how. For your safety and that of others, please slow down, show courtesy to others, stop at signs that says to, especially where the bushes, plants and trees block your vision and that of others, and don't be a nuisance!
Stay safe, do good work and let others do the same!
John Jewkes
Undergraduate student in computer science
While I admire your diverse abilities for transportation, I fear for your safety. Since I began attending OSU in fall of 2007, I have seen multiple accidents: bikes on pedestrians, bikes on skateboarders, skateboarders on pedestrians and bikes, pedestrians and skateboarders versus cars, trucks, vans and ice on the roads.
What worries me most: Lack of caution.
I have seen boarders skitching on the outside of cars right on Monroe during very busy traffic. I have seen bicyclists run stop signs and dart without looking in front of cars. I have seen students walk blindly while texting or phoning someone on their cell, and I have seen and heard cars, trucks and vans peel out to show their prowess.
All of these activities are dangerous and in most cases illegal. Also, bikers without helmets, besides risking their brain buckets, are also flirting with Oregon laws that require them to wear a helmet, stop at stop signs, and walk your bike across crosswalks if not actively using the traffic lanes to make your turns.
And last but not least, like myself, not all students can get out of your way. I have permanent injuries that prevent me from jumping out of the path of your mayhem. If I survive, I know how to file a complaint (since I was Military and Civilian Police for over 24 years total), and if not, my family knows how. For your safety and that of others, please slow down, show courtesy to others, stop at signs that says to, especially where the bushes, plants and trees block your vision and that of others, and don't be a nuisance!
Stay safe, do good work and let others do the same!
John Jewkes
Undergraduate student in computer science
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