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happened this morning - surprised accidents don't happen more often. And it's not like you could hold up the cars for a garbage truck going door to door. Got to always assume other drivers cannot see you.
Quote:
A Town of Oyster Bay sanitation worker was struck and killed in Oyster Bay Monday morning on West Main Street while he was working.
Police at the scene said the worker was struck while picking up garbage in the vicinity of Verelli's Market by an eastbound motorist. The victim was either on or near his truck when the collision took place.
Police said the female driver apparently was blinded by sunlight as she drove eastbound past the garbage truck. The windshield of a red Mini-Cooper was shattered about 75-feet away from the garbage truck.
Regardless of whether the sun was truly at fault in this case, it is always an issue, especially at dawn with rush-hour traffic on multiple highways especially the 3 major ones since they run west<->east. Isn't it time for some advancement in glare-reducing windshields?
The garbage men in NHP pickup garbage on both sides of the street at the same time. It's dangerous as you think you are passing the truck safely and a worker runs in front of the truck to the other side of the street without looking.
It surprises me this isnt more common as sanitation in my area is under a work to complete contract and those guys drive and act like maniacs so they can rush off to their second jobs.
They often use their trucks to block the streets, run haphazardly from one side to the other without regard to traffic, and barely can replace the can close to the owners house.
I'm not familiar with the roadway where this happened, but I would imagine if the driver struck him and killed him the driver must have been going pretty fast.
I thought it was common driving practice to slow down when you approach a garbage truck, as you never know if one of the workers will just pop out from behind the truck - I'd rather be a few minutes late than hit somebody (though sometimes I get the feeling the garbage men intentionally block traffic).
If she was so blinded by the sun glare that she didn't even see the truck, she also should have slowed down. I've experienced that and it can really disorient you. A shame this happened.
As an aside, the issue of sun glare has come before the courts and it does not excuse you for getting into an accident (the case itself dealt with whether a driver was entitled to rely on the emergency doctrine when they were blinded by sun glare - the court found they could not - the emergency doctrine holds that a party may not be negligent when, if faced with a sudden and unexpected circumstance which gives little to no time for thought or reflection, a party's actions are reasonable in the context of the emergency, as long as that actor did not create the emergency - a classic example is swerving out your lane to avoid a head-on collision and side-swiping someone). The case was Lifson v. City of Syracuse, 17 N.Y.3d 492 (2011).
the street is pretty wide. The pic from the article shows the truck also pointed east (like the driver which meant she had to drive around it - but it could've been moved after the accident).
I've had plenty of claims where people claim they couldn't see for a variety of reasons, including sun glare. Hope this lady has good insurance coverage, because as posted above, it's not an acceptable excuse. Doesn't seem like the thought occurred to her to slow down since she couldn't see and now someone is dead.
First of all I was walking my child with a friend in town , right after this had happened..I was right on the scene......(And I hope she reads this) What I saw was a terrible scene , She had to have been speeding if you saw the car and scene.....Then she walked past me and my friend as I was standing on the scene, On the phone (wearing sunglasses) Saying the detectives let her go and she has insurance and will get her car back later.....She was so calm, talking as if she didn't just kill someone...I know people respond differently to situations .....But My friend and I couldn't believe what we saw and heard! As if she was more concerned getting her car back, then anything...... If she was going slow and using caution while passing the garbage truck, This could of been avoided!!!! She would of had time to stop...Sunglare...Okay , but you can't miss a large , loud yellow Garbage Truck!!!!! I feel for his family and friends!!!!!
It surprises me this isnt more common as sanitation in my area is under a work to complete contract and those guys drive and act like maniacs so they can rush off to their second jobs.
They often use their trucks to block the streets, run haphazardly from one side to the other without regard to traffic, and barely can replace the can close to the owners house.
Even if the are doing there jobs , running around taking the trash cans to the truck, Go slow and proceed with caution....They are humans doing a job!!! And deserve to live!!!! There Not all racing to there second jobs, Easy for you to be so critical "Your still alive & get to see your family!
The garbage men in NHP pickup garbage on both sides of the street at the same time. It's dangerous as you think you are passing the truck safely and a worker runs in front of the truck to the other side of the street without looking.
But, If your NOT speeding , you should be able to stop...Always assume you can't see them!
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Sanitation Worker Killed
