October 31, 2019
Imagine yourself a pedestrian trying to cross a street in Oregon but there is no marked crosswalk at the intersection or anywhere in view.
You have the law on your side as you venture into the roadway. You know the rules of the road because you studied for your driver's license test. You let out a confident little laugh as you gingerly plant your foot off of sidewalk, onto pavement, into traffic.
The law favors your living through this temporary vehicular traffic interruption.
But the facts favor your dying while crossing the street even at an intersection if the crosswalk is unmarked.
Way too many Oregon drivers are ignorant of Oregon's legal requirement to yield to pedestrians at every intersection throughout the state, whether or not the intersection is marked with one or more pedestrian crosswalks (one on either side of the intersecting street such as Northeast 127th Avenue and Glisan Street pictured in the accompanying photo). Others know but do not care to yield to pedestrians because--oh I don't know--they have a superiority complex or some other entitlement issues.
Portland had 11 pedestrian deaths the first half of this year (through July 5, 2019). That is four higher than last year's same-date tally of seven pedestrian deaths, a 57% increase!
So much for PBOT's Vision Zero goal of eliminating traffic deaths by 2024.
PBOT claims to be conversant with DMV.
Maybe PBOT should have DMV ask all drivers under penalty of failure of the driver's test this question: Who has the right-of-way at an Oregon intersection having no marked crosswalk, the driver or the pedestrian?
Would-be drivers who score an otherwise passable 80% on the driver's test but answer this question wrong...would fail the written driver's test and would not be permitted legally to drive.
DMV easily could implement this scoring change to the existing multiple-choice written test.
PBOT could urge DMV to do so.
DMV and PBOT could save lives by working together.
It could be your life they save, as you step off that sidewalk onto that crosswalk at that intersection.
Imagine you not dying.
Imagine a clueless driver not having the last laugh.
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