Child hit by motorist in Harvest (Madison: 2013, attorney, neighborhoods)

[curzon_dax]

Drive who hit child broke no laws

I was surprised to see that this topic wasn't already posted and I'm curious to see the reaction. Are the allegations that the lady was driving too fast just heresay from an angry crowd? For all I know the kid ran out into the car and that could happen to anybody. I know you're supposed to be aware of your surroundings but she was not supposed to stop and even at 25mph it takes roughly 60 feet to stop - probably more in that SUV she was driving. I am still surprised that there are no charges at all. It seems like some reckless endangerment charge would at least be brought up and left for a judge to rule on.

Would it help if the bus wasn't stopped at an intersection like that? I grew up in the country and I am unfamiliar with how it works in towns/suburbs, but it seems like you'd want the bus stop to happen at a lighter traffic area. I could see being distracted by the bus itself and maybe the other kids and not noticing the kid running out in front of you. Also, there are clearly neighborhood moms not at work at the time so shouldn't somebody be walking the kids across the street? Again, I'm from the country so I'm not sure what the norm is on that.


One place in the local area where people routinely drive too fast and hit pedestrians is on University in front of the Northwoods projects.

Man killed crossing University Drive

I am also surprised that the drivers never seem to get charges pressed against them in those cases. Yes, I know that you're generally talking about adults on University who carelessly meander across the road. But the point to me is that these things are supposed to at least go to court so that a judge can make that decision. That is what they are there for. In the case of the University crossing I am in favor of having a bridge or tunnel there. We have some great roads in this city but we could use some pedestrian overpasses to avoid having islands where you can't safely cross roads.

[Reactionary]

Why would someone be charged, have to hire an attorney, and face a judge if they "did nothing wrong". According to your link, the State Troopers investigated:

An Alabama State Trooper spokesperson said a driver didn't violate any laws when she hit an Endeavor Elementary student on Tuesday in a Harvest neighborhood.

Looking at the diagram, it appears that the driver and the bus driver were correct, but the child just ran into traffic.

Same thing at University Drive - if someone 'drives too fast' they will be charged, but most of the time the pedestrians 'carelessly meander across the road'.

I agree that University by the projects can be dangerous and I've attended meetings about it, but pedestrians don't even use the existing crosswalks (or the existing pedestrian bridge up the road, although they do use the pedestrian bridge as a toilet).

IMO building traffic islands in the median (like Governors Drive near the projects) might help, but pedestrians get hit on Governors too.

IMO children who ride the bus should get safety training.

[LCTMadison]

This is just me, but whenever a bus is stopped, its pretty obvious kids are going to be walking in all directions off of it, so I stop regardless. I was under the impression that was the law, but maybe it is just if you are on the same street, I don't know.

Either way, a kid got hurt and IMO if the driver had just used a little common sense in that situation it could have been avoided.

[curzon_dax]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Why would someone be charged, have to hire an attorney, and face a judge if they "did nothing wrong".

Because usually in these cases fault lies within the negligent party. IMO the child's family should have the opportunity to stand in front of a judge and present to him evidence that the driver of the SUV was negligent due to speeding or inability to maintain proper control of their vehicle. I've looked through some of Alabama's traffic codes and cannot find a general charge that would fall under a criminal charge. Maybe the child's family will still file a civil suit against the driver?

Originally Posted by LCTMadison

This is just me, but whenever a bus is stopped, its pretty obvious kids are going to be walking in all directions off of it, so I stop regardless. I was under the impression that was the law, but maybe it is just if you are on the same street, I don't know.

Either way, a kid got hurt and IMO if the driver had just used a little common sense in that situation it could have been avoided.

In a neighborhood like this I think I would probably stop, too, but then you are actually creating a potential traffic hazard yourself. I am inclined to believe that the accident could have been avoided, too, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time a child has darted out into traffic.

Does anybody have any thoughts on the position of the bus stop or if the child should have been accompanied by an adult? Those are two questions that I am not really sure about so I'm interested in what other posters have to say.

[LCTMadison]

Originally Posted by curzon_dax

In a neighborhood like this I think I would probably stop, too, but then you are actually creating a potential traffic hazard yourself. .

I'm just going by how myself and others in my own neighborhood and other neighborhoods I am frequently in typically act in this situation. In my own neighborhood, people stop from all directions when a bus is unloading students, I literally go thru it about every day. Same in many other neighborhoods I have been in while the buses were out. People traditionally (or should) drive slower thru a neighborhood so I really don't see how this could cause a traffic hazard, nor has it ever from my own personal experiences. Trailing Vine nor Vanguard is a main fare thru that neighborhood, and I would expect people to use some caution when they see the school buses out.

I'm just saying, the drive MAY legally have had a right of way, but just stopping and letting the kids get out of the road is just using common sense and avoids situations like this.

[NoleFanHSV]

Originally Posted by LCTMadison

This is just me, but whenever a bus is stopped, its pretty obvious kids are going to be walking in all directions off of it, so I stop regardless. I was under the impression that was the law, but maybe it is just if you are on the same street, I don't know.

Either way, a kid got hurt and IMO if the driver had just used a little common sense in that situation it could have been avoided.

If the stop sign sits back from the intersection, then the oncoming person might have a chance at seeing a kid crossing. However, if the stop is at the intersection, the bus would obscure any kid crossing right there until the last minute.

When I rode the bus, we were only allowed/instructed to cross the same street the bus was sitting on. That meant that if the bus stopped at an intersection, we could only cross in front of the bus at that intersection, not at the cross traffic intersection as in this case. We could go across the cross traffic intersection once the bus left. Even when I rode the bus though, it always let out at a 4 way stop, so I never ran into these issues. Cross traffic had to stop anyways or it was at a traffic light where we had walk signals. Its just an unfortunate accident. Hoping that cross traffic will stop when they aren't required is asking for trouble.

[weaverra]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Why would someone be charged, have to hire an attorney, and face a judge if they "did nothing wrong". According to your link, the State Troopers investigated:



Looking at the diagram, it appears that the driver and the bus driver were correct, but the child just ran into traffic.

Same thing at University Drive - if someone 'drives too fast' they will be charged, but most of the time the pedestrians 'carelessly meander across the road'.

I agree that University by the projects can be dangerous and I've attended meetings about it, but pedestrians don't even use the existing crosswalks (or the existing pedestrian bridge up the road, although they do use the pedestrian bridge as a toilet).

IMO building traffic islands in the median (like Governors Drive near the projects) might help, but pedestrians get hit on Governors too.

IMO children who ride the bus should get safety training.

ALA CODE § 32-5A-154 (d) states: The driver of a vehicle upon a divided highway having four or more lanes which permits at least two lanes of traffic to travel in opposite directions need not stop the vehicle upon meeting a school or church bus which is stopped in the opposing roadway or if the school or church bus is stopped in a loading zone which is a part of or adjacent to such highway and where pedestrians are not permitted to cross the roadway. This being a 4 way intersection would indicate that pedestrians are allowed to cross legally. Even though there wasn't a stop sign in her direction of travel the way the law is written would indicate that if pedestrians were not allowed to cross at that point then she wouldn't have to stop.

[weaverra]

Originally Posted by curzon_dax

Because usually in these cases fault lies within the negligent party. IMO the child's family should have the opportunity to stand in front of a judge and present to him evidence that the driver of the SUV was negligent due to speeding or inability to maintain proper control of their vehicle. I've looked through some of Alabama's traffic codes and cannot find a general charge that would fall under a criminal charge. Maybe the child's family will still file a civil suit against the driver?





In a neighborhood like this I think I would probably stop, too, but then you are actually creating a potential traffic hazard yourself. I am inclined to believe that the accident could have been avoided, too, but it certainly wouldn't be the first time a child has darted out into traffic.

Does anybody have any thoughts on the position of the bus stop or if the child should have been accompanied by an adult? Those are two questions that I am not really sure about so I'm interested in what other posters have to say.

According to the residents in the neighborhood this woman has a history of speeding and running stop signs in the neighborhood.

[NoleFanHSV]

The entire section of that law discusses nothing about cross traffic though. The law is only discussing traffic going in the direction or opposite direction of the bus. In the case of a 4 lane divided highway, traffic going in the opposit direction does not have to stop if the bus is stopped where pedestrians are not allowed to walk across the road.

[writerwife]

According to the residents they questioned.. or.. who's opinions they reported. It's so easy to be an armchair quarterback.
My brother got hit trying to run across S. Pkwy about 35 yrs ago trying to get to an arcade at Haysland. No crosswalks or anything. Thankfully, he survived after a time in the hospital. If you listened to the 5 different people who witnessed it, you got 5 different stories.