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Yesterday while coming home from work I had stopped at a four way intersection. As I was about to go I saw a large SUV coming horizontally in front of me obviously way over the speed limit. I stayed put knowing that they weren't going to stop and sure enough, they blew right through the stop sign screeching to a hault in the middle of the intersection and just looked over at me and sped off again.
Today I had the same problem. Different car, different person, but same situation. This time though I had a much closer call as it was my turn and I was about 1/4 into the intersection. Luckily I saw this person in time and slammed on my breaks. This person back up then trying to reverse what they did, but I just motioned for them to go ahead of me. I wanted them in front of me where I could see them with them driving like they were.
I've had some people tell me this happens to them often at this intersection. So it doesn't seem like I'm the only one having bad luck.
I was wondering if this was even worth reporting to the local police and if they would even take it seriously or not. I don't have license plate numbers so there's nothing I can do in my situation, but I wondered if I reported people running stop signs if they would send someone out to patrol the area. My concern is that this is a street that the library is on and many people like to bike, jog, run through, etc. There are also a lot of children near the library for summer reading and I wouldn't want them or anyone else to get hit.
Should I even bother reporting this and seeing what they say, or should I just let it go? I'm going to be taking an alternative route to work tomorrow and hopefully avoid anymore close calls.
Last edited by writingmachine; 07-28-2012 at 06:21 PM..
Definitely report it to the police, and then report it to your local representative, county executive, alderman, etc. to get their attention. Circulate a petition among your neighbors and friends to describe the problems with the intersection and request remediation from the traffic department or police, and submit that through your local representative. If you get a grassroots political movement in place with respect to the intersection, you will have more likelihood of stronger results as it would create goodwill for the politician who champions the cause among the local electorate.
You might need grooved pavement such as what some areas have when approaching a toll booth to get the attention of a driver, or you may need better signage. There must be a problem with the intersection's design or signs if it's a recurrent problem, as there just cannot be that many bad drivers in one locale, at least one hopes not. Tickets are good in the short term, but it sounds like the intersection needs to be reviewed by traffic engineers to determine the safest, long-term solution to the problem.
__________________
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The signage is fine from what I can tell. Four stop signs clearly marked and not blocked by any obstructions. I'm wondering if it's just summer and people feel the need to let loose and drive however they feel like? I'm not sure how much of a list I could get together, but I know of at least 5 people who have told me about problems with that intersection, and I feel like that's 5 too many.
Yesterday while coming home from work I had stopped at a four way intersection. As I was about to go I saw a large SUV coming horizontally in front of me obviously way over the speed limit. I stayed put knowing that they weren't going to stop and sure enough, they blew right through the stop sign screeching to a hault in the middle of the intersection and just looked over at me and sped off again.
Today I had the same problem. Different car, different person, but same situation. This time though I had a much closer call as it was my turn and I was about 1/4 into the intersection. Luckily I saw this person in time and slammed on my breaks. This person back up then trying to reverse what they did, but I just motioned for them to go ahead of me. I wanted them in front of me where I could see them with them driving like they were.
I've had some people tell me this happens to them often at this intersection. So it doesn't seem like I'm the only one having bad luck.
I was wondering if this was even worth reporting to the local police and if they would even take it seriously or not. I don't have license plate numbers so there's nothing I can do in my situation, but I wondered if I reported people running stop signs if they would send someone out to patrol the area. My concern is that this is a street that the library is on and many people like to bike, jog, run through, etc. There are also a lot of children near the library for summer reading and I wouldn't want them or anyone else to get hit.
Should I even bother reporting this and seeing what they say, or should I just let it go? I'm going to be taking an alternative route to work tomorrow and hopefully avoid anymore close calls.
As you said, I'd report it, and take an alternate route. They'll likely ignore your call, but if enough people say something, maybe they'll finally take notice (and you'll know you did your part). It's my understanding that intersections with the most accidents get the most attention, but it certainly can't hurt to bring it to their attention.
As you said, I'd report it, and take an alternate route. They'll likely ignore your call, but if enough people say something, maybe they'll finally take notice (and you'll know you did your part). It's my understanding that intersections with the most accidents get the most attention, but it certainly can't hurt to bring it to their attention.
Well I did end up reporting it to the police. I spoke to someone and they took down my name and contact info and said that someone would give me a call. Not sure if they will or not, but I'm glad I did call so I could at least inform them about it. It doesn't seem to high on their list right now, but I'm hoping someone will contact me soon.
My town had this problem at an intersection, especially at night, so they replaced the stop signs with solar-powered flashing LEDs as seen here. Hard to ignore even in daylight.
People dont know the traffic law about the one on the right first has the first right of way etc..Why not just post a few signs saying "traffic video cameras ' or "warning speed and traffic laws monitored" etc . Then at least the morons that know the traffic law might try to obey it going through the intersection..
Good that you reported it. Write the license plates down and report all of them.
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