Anyone ever hit a pedestrian with their vehicle?

[frapjap]

I almost hit a guy this morning, seriously inches from giving him a much lower quality of life. I was in the right and had a green turn arrow and though he was in the crosswalk, he also he had the "its not a good time to walk" signal from the lamp post in the form of a solid red hand. However, I can't help but feel that if I had hit him, I'd be in for a world of hurt with the law unless there was a traffic camera to catch the play-by-play.

Has anyone here hit a person? How did it play out?

[szh]

I have not hit a pedestrian, so can't really help with a good answer ...

But I can sympathize with your situation.

I came awful close to a jay walker some years ago and I was shaking afterwards - just luckily I was slow enough, and the distance far enough, to slam on the brakes and come to a halt before I ran over him. The idiot was completely non-chalant about it, of course and went on his way without caring.

Sometimes, Darwin needs to take a hand and we need to remove defective genes from the pool, but, man, I would hate to be the one to do so.

Z

[Kompresshun]

I'm not expert on these type of things, but it sounds like he would've been at fault unless there wasn't proper witnesses around. Pedestrians do have the right of way, but not when they're dumb enough to walk into oncoming traffic when the signal tells them not to.

Just be glad you didn't hit them, because I wouldn't want to have to deal with that mess myself even if I could prove I didn't do anything wrong. People are stupid and I could see something like that turning into a huge lawsuit even if they were at fault.

[frapjap]

I'm not expert on these type of things, but it sounds like he would've been at fault unless there wasn't proper witnesses around. Pedestrians do have the right of way, but not when they're dumb enough to walk into oncoming traffic when the signal tells them not to.

Just be glad you didn't hit them, because I wouldn't want to have to deal with that mess myself even if I could prove I didn't do anything wrong. People are stupid and I could see something like that turning into a huge lawsuit even if they were at fault.

That is exactly how I feel and exactly how I thought it would play out.

[dasoupdude]

My friend hit and killed somone on a bike a few years ago, he wasn't found at fault.

Sucks having that on your mind though.

[Dattebayo]

I almost hit a UPS guy today in an alley in DC...
He was rolling his cart full of packages down the side of the alley with his earbuds in and with no warning just kinda let the cart slide into the center with him following it. The cart tapped my bumper and he yelled at me for being a d!ck or some such other thing...
He was the kind of turd my cat doesn't bury in the litter box because he's so proud he made it or something. Just out there in all his turd glory, rolling down the street like his stink claimed ownership of the whole region. An alley with the only parking garage for 5 blocks at the other end of it, also.

Fu*k that guy, I should hit him.

I also once almost hit a lady in a wheelchair in my silforty when I was younger. I was pulling forward at a light and looking left, shoulda looked right instead. She slammed her fist down on my bumper to get my attention because I was slowly inching up into the crosswalk. lol, I was so dumb back then...

[AZhitman]

Winged a bum/panhandler in S. Central LA who was getting REAL aggressive with the car in front of me.

I was driving a Miata back to AZ (I had *just* bought it) and was on an on-ramp in some congested construction crap, with a sound wall on both sides... nowhere to go but forward.

He was heading for me, acting all crazy and yelling. Nothing but canvas between him and me? Not interested.

I wasn't about to give him a crack at the champ, so he got a clutch dump and a 5mph love tap that wheeled him around onto the sidewalk - I didn't stick around to see the result, I was already ankle-deep in the throttle and grabbing 2nd gear, eager to GTFO of CA.

[themadscientist]

How can I hit a pedestrian with their vehicle? Did they give me the keys and I wait around the corner?

I bumped a guy on a scooter once, but the craziest was I came around a corner and felt a bump in the road and heard someone screaming. i looked in the mirror and saw some dude at the corner on the sidewalk flipping out. I figured he stepped off the curb without looking and got scared.

the next day when i took my car to the car wash they asked me where the blood and fur on my muffler came from. I put 2 and 2 together and got Oh **** and went back to that corner. Yup, blood spot and drag marks back up onto the sidewalk. I thought about it and remembered the guy had a leash in his hand.

18 years later, my RX7's transmission won't shift anymore. Karma.

[Bubba1]

]

I've come close to hitting many jaywalkers over the years, most due their popping out from between parked cars, but I never actually clipped one. Though I did have a deer literally run into my S13. It survived and ran away after doing $1000 of damage. I had hoped to bring it home and to show my neighbor hunter who got blanked on deer season opening day that year that I was a better hunter with my car than he was with his gun.

[OriginalWheelman]

My disowned piece of s*** brother hit a pedestrian. He was driving down a back road, at 15 mph over the speed limit, in a borrowed car, and told the police it was funny when she went flying through the air. And he wonders why I refuse to talk to him.

[frapjap]

How can I hit a pedestrian with their vehicle? Did they give me the keys and I wait around the corner?

I bumped a guy on a scooter once, but the craziest was I came around a corner and felt a bump in the road and heard someone screaming. i looked in the mirror and saw some dude at the corner on the sidewalk flipping out. I figured he stepped off the curb without looking and got scared.

the next day when i took my car to the car wash they asked me where the blood and fur on my muffler came from. I put 2 and 2 together and got Oh **** and went back to that corner. Yup, blood spot and drag marks back up onto the sidewalk. I thought about it and remembered the guy had a leash in his hand.

18 years later, my RX7's transmission won't shift anymore. Karma.

Kinda sad, but
Makes a good case for when I make my dog run/walk beside me at all times when we're out in the world. She hates it, but now its for her own good!

My disowned piece of s*** brother hit a pedestrian. He was driving down a back road, at 15 mph over the speed limit, in a borrowed car, and told the police it was funny when she went flying through the air. And he wonders why I refuse to talk to him.

Did he end up with jail time or an arrest or anything?

[PapaSmurf2k3]

He was the kind of turd my cat doesn't bury in the litter box because he's so proud he made it or something. Just out there in all his turd glory, rolling down the street like his stink claimed ownership of the whole region.

HAHAH! Dave's best post ever.

[AZhitman]

That was pretty damn solid. I LOL'ed f'realz.

[OriginalWheelman]

Did he end up with jail time or an arrest or anything?

No.

[lne937s]

I have never hit someone, but I have seen people get hit here in NYC. A friend of mine got hit by a cab that jumped a curb and lost his leg. I saw an elderly man who was hit by a driver running a red light die in front of me. And a friend on mine had his father die when he got hit by a drunk driver... Needless to say, I have become a believer in the reduced speed limits on city streets here.

However, bike riders are a bit of a menace, as they run red lights, go the wrong way on one-ways, use side walks... I see people get hit by bikes on a regular basis.

[nissangirl74]

I've never hit a pedestrian but I was hit by a car once. I never saw it coming (damn good thing because the doctor said if I had tensed up, it would have killed me). Some 16 year old girl was speeding on a hill around a car parked on the curb. I was 7 years old. I was walking across the street to go swimming in my neighbor's pool. She hit me, knocked me back into my yard, the impact knocked me out. My mom was standing in the yard, saw the whole thing. She later told me she didn't know what to do first: try to save me or kill the girl. Amazingly, I escaped with only minor scrapes to my elbows, the tips of my toes, and my back (I was barefoot, wearing only my bathing suit). I was blessed. It could have been much worse. I can't imagine what that girl must have felt.

[frapjap]

WOW! Thats scary! Do you remember any of it at all?

That story reminds me- the lady's sister got hit by a lawn service truck right in front of their house with an unlicensed/uninsured employee driving it. Ended up with a huge scar on her left leg to her knee from being ripped open.

[MinisterofDOOM]

No, but there's a very poorly-designed roundabout in town with split crosswalks on all sides (split so you can wait between traffic directions on a safe median). The visibility is very poor, and despite the presence of crossing flashers, none of the dumbass college kids can spare the brainpower or time to press the button before crossing. Can't be bothered to look at traffic before crossing, either. Roundabouts have a lot going on already, but having to watch all corners to make sure there are no dumb kids about to walk out into traffic in front of a 3600lb machine shouldn't have to be a factor. The only reason I have NOT hit anyone is I usually start scoping the crosswalks a good half-block before I even reach the roundabout.

I was almost hit myself by one of these same dumb college kids. She was in a red Civic, pulling up to a stop sign, ready to turn right. I was very aware of her as I approached the crosswalk. She stopped for long enough that I thought she saw me and was waiting for me to cross (not just a roll-through or a quick stop and go). I thought I made eye contact and made myself noticeable, too, but apparently not. I got about 1/2 way past the front of her car when she took off like a dart. I did a sort of cartoon ninja/rockstar-stage-jump/hurdle leap over the front left corner of her car and came away unscathed. I saw realization dawn on her face as if in slow-motion as it happened.
The icing on the cake? She didn't stop or even look back. Just kept on trucking.
So, basically, I was saved yet again by my natural perpetual state of doubt with regard to other people's general competence.

I have never quite understood pedestrian mentality. See, I generally do everything imaginable in my power to avoid placing myself in the path of multi-ton machines. But it seems like most other people would prefer to defiantly assert their challenge to the laws of physics and see what happens.

[timay]

Came within inches of hitting a young child, no older than about 4, who ran away from their parent at the beach and came out from behind some bushes, I was going about 30 and swerved *just* in time.

I was absolutely shaken, even turned around to see if parent and child were fine. Both were also shaken.

[Jesda]

Kinda.

[Ace2cool]

But it seems like most other people would prefer to defiantly assert their challenge to the laws of physics and see what happens.

But that's the thing. Most people don't understand the laws of physics, even though it should literally be common sense. They have the law of man on their side. What they *DON'T* seem to comprehend is the fact that they can't file a lawsuit if they're DEAD.

[nissangirl74]

WOW! Thats scary! Do you remember any of it at all?

I don't remember the hit at all. I remember hearing my mom screaming. That's what woke me up. I remember laying on the couch soon afterwards but I have no idea how I got there. I also remember my mom talking to the girl. she was scared to death. Hadn't had her license long at all.

[Pento240sx]

I hit someone once with the mirror of my car, driving down the street, he crossed in a green light, I swerve but not fast enough, good thing nothing happened to my mirror. It was around Oakland CA.

[Jesda]

A local woman died over the weekend while crossing the street. She ignored the crosswalk and walked across four lanes, as people tend to do here.

A car crested the hill and... SPLAT. Lots of morons blamed the driver's speed. No one would have died if she bothered to obey the crosswalk.

[AZhitman]

How about the dude in Carlisle that Sean (MagikDragon) drilled with his towing mirror?

Dude steps out into traffic without looking - Impact knocked the hot dog right outta the dude's hand, didn't hit the rest of his body at all, and dude had the audacity to yell at Sean and tell him he'd better buy him a new hot dog.

Much lulz.