No, it's not racial profiling. Get your ass on the sidewalk.

It's not just Florida. I see idiots walk in the street while there's a perfectly good sidewalk three feet to the right. I really want to know what their rationale is.

soze: I see idiots walk in the street while there's a perfectly good sidewalk three feet to the right. I really want to know what their rationale is.

Step 1 - Jaywalk
Step 2 - Get hit by a car (as a direct result of the jaywalking)
Step 3 - Lawyer up
Step 4 - PROFIT

That's their plan.

Send them to the Ministry of Silly Walks.

Unnecessary use of "Florida" in the headline.

Hrm. Perhaps the DPW should consider installing sidewalks, thus removing the legitimate complaint and leaving those who continue to walk in the street with no defense.

Meh seems like an okay call. Pedestrians have some responsibility to not be blatantly unsafe... someone walking in the street could cause a wreck even if the pedestrian doesn't get a scratch.

Can we get a 'MOFO Cops ' tag??

/Lazy SOB's couldn't be bothered with doing their job.
//As opposed to stopping innocent people with the tinyest of any excuse.

RTFA, people? No sidewalks, at least in some of these cases.

Around here, people don't use sidewalks because they start and stop three times a block. It's a homeowners' responsibility to maintain them, and if they do a major construction (new home) they have to install a sidewalk, but existing homes don't have to build them. So no one uses them.

the other night i was driving back to my place. i saw someone on the sidewalk and had to swerve because there was another person walking right down the middle of my lane. it was a skinny black girl wearing dark clothes and i almost ran her ass right over. she didn't even look at me twice when i was squealing my tires trying to avoid her. this was in indiana. stupid people are everywhere.

more than half of the walkers were black or Latino men

Cue the "that's racist" kid.

Which wrong side - the inside or the underside?

ftfa consensual encounter

that's hawt

Lawnchair: RTFA, people? No sidewalks, at least in some of these cases.

In which case there are laws on which side of the road you should be walking on, at least for two way streets, specifically the one facing traffic.

FTFA: A review of 30 recent pedestrian cases in which the person was walking on the wrong side of the road shows more than half of the walkers were black or Latino men walking between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in Ward 5, which includes the 14th Street West corridor and side streets that often do not have sidewalks.

"We don't want to be in a position where this can be perceived as racial profiling," Ward 5 Councilman Harold Byrd said.


With only 30 chosen samples? Nah, no profiling here, keep moving in the proper direction, citizen. And was this "study" done at night or in the day?

They're just looking out for their safety. Who knows some chick could come speeding down the road with a stolen stop sign hanging out her truck and slice the poor guys neck open....

In which case there are laws on which side of the road you should be walking on, at least for two way streets, specifically the one facing traffic.

Wow, what an excellent law worth upholding and keeping on the books! It is doing so much good. Let me tell you, when I walk on the sidewalk in the wrong direction, I do feel like I am destroying some small part of society... and it feels good.

/douchenizzle

Ok, roads are for cars, shoulders are for bikes, and sidewalks are for people.

/move along

There is a difference between stopping them and arresting them.

dave2198: In which case there are laws on which side of the road you should be walking on, at least for two way streets, specifically the one facing traffic.

Wow, what an excellent law worth upholding and keeping on the books! It is doing so much good. Let me tell you, when I walk on the sidewalk in the wrong direction, I do feel like I am destroying some small part of society... and it feels good.

/douchenizzle

The law is there to keep your stupid ass from being killed, which I think is a shame and it really should just prevent lawsuits against drivers who kill people breaking said law. See a driver has a very hard time seeing pedestrians at night while pedestrians can usually see a car easily. As a result by walking towards traffic pedestrians are able to easily see and avoid oncoming cars.

dave2198: In which case there are laws on which side of the road you should be walking on, at least for two way streets, specifically the one facing traffic.

Wow, what an excellent law worth upholding and keeping on the books! It is doing so much good. Let me tell you, when I walk on the sidewalk in the wrong direction, I do feel like I am destroying some small part of society... and it feels good.

/douchenizzle

READ, damnit. There is no sidewalk. In some municipalities you are supposed to ride your bike opposing traffic for the very same reason: so both parties can see each other, rather than just the car that's gaining on your ass.

I still say plunk down the money to install sidewalks where feasible. Yes, there are probably a lot of alleys where you can't install sidewalks. I live in Baltimore, I know how this can be. But there are also a lot of poorer neighborhoods where they simply never got around to installing them.

Keep those laws so the police can have a reason to stop the druggies.

ImFromSnohomish: Ok, roads are for cars, shoulders are for bikes, and sidewalks are for people.

/move along

Incorrect. Roads are also for bikes.

Except that sidewalks are WAY more uneven than most streets. And they're dark, so you can't see when the sidewalk suddenly juts up to trip you, or if there's a hole where some bricks or cracked cement used to be.

Plus, most dogs think of the sidewalk in front of their house as THEIRS, but many are trained to be wary about going into the street.

For these reasons, I frequently walk on the edge of the street instead of on the sidewalk...but not if there's a lot of traffic.

teqman
I live in Baltimore, I know how this can be. But there are also a lot of poorer neighborhoods where they simply never got around to installing them.

And a lot of wealthy neighborhoods that don't put them in on purpose... because they don't like the way they look.
It's the "country road" thing they want near their $5 million mansions...

/southern california
//morons

RTFA ppl, they arent even pretending they are doing this for road safety reasons..

Florida, especially this area, which I lived in for 4 years, is notorious for the lack of sidewalks. Being a pedestrian there is a death trap.

even walking on the sidewalk, though, doesn't help all the idiots. Just the other night, I was driving home from a mid shift (so it was 11pm/2300). It was a well-lit road with sidewalks and crosswalks at the intersections. The intersection ahead had a red light, so I was already slowing down. I'm very glad that I was already slowing down because I had to slam on my brakes - a black couple pushing a dark-colored baby stroller were crossing the freakin' road, dressed in dark clothing! Stupid idiots. If that light had been green, I'd be cruising along at 40-45 and probably wouldn't have had enough time to fully slow down once I noticed them.

jmccarth07: even walking on the sidewalk, though, doesn't help all the idiots. Just the other night, I was driving home from a mid shift (so it was 11pm/2300). It was a well-lit road with sidewalks and crosswalks at the intersections. The intersection ahead had a red light, so I was already slowing down. I'm very glad that I was already slowing down because I had to slam on my brakes - a black couple pushing a dark-colored baby stroller were crossing the freakin' road, dressed in dark clothing! Stupid idiots. If that light had been green, I'd be cruising along at 40-45 and probably wouldn't have had enough time to fully slow down once I noticed them.

As you can see, being white is superior if you're naked, crossing a street late at night if it is well lit, the guy has his headlights on, and isn't drunk or high enough to stop when they see you in the head lights then you wont be dead so... yay.

wal9000: ImFromSnohomish: Ok, roads are for cars, shoulders are for bikes, and sidewalks are for people.

/move along

Incorrect. Roads are also for bikes.

No, they're not. They're for people who insist they're lawfully also for bikes that get paralyzed and never get the millions they won from the deadbeat with 25k in insurance, but they're not in reality.

teqman: dave2198: In which case there are laws on which side of the road you should be walking on, at least for two way streets, specifically the one facing traffic.

Wow, what an excellent law worth upholding and keeping on the books! It is doing so much good. Let me tell you, when I walk on the sidewalk in the wrong direction, I do feel like I am destroying some small part of society... and it feels good.

/douchenizzle

READ, damnit. There is no sidewalk. In some municipalities you are supposed to ride your bike opposing traffic for the very same reason: so both parties can see each other, rather than just the car that's gaining on your ass.

I still say plunk down the money to install sidewalks where feasible. Yes, there are probably a lot of alleys where you can't install sidewalks. I live in Baltimore, I know how this can be. But there are also a lot of poorer neighborhoods where they simply never got around to installing them.

Heh, and in Baltimore, you might be safer in the street at night than on the sidewalk.

gee, if i were taught to walk toward traffic on the side walk when i was in grade school,there wouldent be any need for a LAW, would there?

Hey, give the cops a break. They have quotas to make every month. So what's the big farkin deal?

/Post-comment Sarcasm alert, no hitting me for it.

Nimue: Florida, especially this area, which I lived in for 4 years, is notorious for the lack of sidewalks. Being a pedestrian there is a death trap.

Same here in my "Hood. Some of the streets are still Dirt roads and I'm only 14 miles west of Orlando. Not many streetlights either.

Rakishi:
As a result by walking towards traffic pedestrians are able to easily see and avoid oncoming cars.

THIS.

I've been walking down many-a-dark-highway in the middle of the night because I drive old beater cars that break down at the worst possible time of day. I always prefer walking *towards* traffic. I can see the on-coming cars a long way off and step off of the road long before the on-coming driver sees me.

Walking *with* traffic is for people far braver than I am. Unless it's a loud truck, you get about a second or two notice before a car goes whizzing by at full highway speed - a couple of feet away.

What's worse is that some people have a bad habit of turning the steering wheel in the same direction as their eyes. Meaning that if they see something to their right, they turn their head and the steering wheel to the right. I knew someone who was cycling on the shoulder of a road (at late dusk) killed by a bad driver who drifted onto the shoulder. The driver had no reason for crossing the white line. The police cited the eyes-head-steering wheel explanation as something they see frequently in one-car accidents.

dave2198: In which case there are laws on which side of the road you should be walking on, at least for two way streets, specifically the one facing traffic.

Wow, what an excellent law worth upholding and keeping on the books! It is doing so much good. Let me tell you, when I walk on the sidewalk in the wrong direction, I do feel like I am destroying some small part of society... and it feels good.

OK, so we've gone from "there aren't sidewalks",
to "yeah, and when there's not a sidewalk there's a rule about which side of the road you need to be on"
to "when I'm on the sidewalk...what a stupid rule?".....

Man, there's some brilliant people on fark tonight....

I live in Florida and the problem of idiots walking in the middle of the street has practically become an epidemic. In my neighborhood, I've had to drive down the street -more than once- at walking speed because a crowd of idiots were sauntering down the middle of the street with no regard for passing traffic. In fact, I almost hit someone who was walking down a major road that had no lighting, wearing black, in the middle of the night. I know for certain there are perfect sidewalks in both locations.

I've also had problems with people blocking half of the road in several of my friend's neighborhoods. I can't believe this isn't already illegal, but it's getting really bad around here. I mean, maybe it's just Darwin's way of working into our new padded world, but it's pretty annoying for those of us who understand sidewalks.

teqman: In some municipalities you are supposed to ride your bike opposing traffic for the very same reason: so both parties can see each other, rather than just the car that's gaining on your ass.

Now that's just dangerous. It's easy for a pedestrian to step out of the way of oncoming traffic, but good luck getting over that curb on a bike.

UntamedSpirit: They're just looking out for their safety. Who knows some chick could come speeding down the road with a stolen stop sign hanging out her truck and slice the poor guys neck open....

Thank you for not disappointing. Came in here to bring that up.

/Walk AGAINST traffic, ride your bicycle WITH traffic
//Got a ticket once for riding my bike against traffic. Stupid, bored cop.

They'll just make up some other stupid reason to stop people they don't like the looks of.

I'm generally easy on cops...but for the record Bradenton cops are complete assholes.
/ok, I'm sure there are a few "good ones"
//just never met any

Good - If there's anything I can't stand it's people who don't get it. Walk towards oncoming traffic, dumbass, then you can see it coming! What's so freakin' complicated about that? I commute by bike on a bike trail, and 99% of the dildos walking out there have their backs to me, can't hear me coming, and get freaked out when I go by. They never seem to get a clue, however.

Actually, the cops here don't need a reason.

wal9000: ImFromSnohomish: Ok, roads are for cars, shoulders are for bikes, and sidewalks are for people.

/move along

Incorrect. Roads are also for bikes.

A mother farking pathway (or thoroughway) is for anyone, for any reason, car, horse, bike, ATV, hikers, farking lazy squirrel hitchhiking on frogs, as a means of travel.

Share the farking road.

/just don't be an idiot thinking you can ride a bike on the interstates. It's sort of a tractor-trailor vs. train arguement.

Here in Bradenton, the cops are flat out known to be completely corrupt.

The mayor, Poston the Idiot, increased the size and budget of the police force... and the crime rates went up and they keep going up.. and the cops drive all brand-new Dodge Chargers.

However, I will say one thing about 14th Street.. It is the only street I've ever seen in real life that constantly looks like the streets of Grand Theft Auto with tons of pedestrians walking around for no apparent reason.

Rhawb: at walking speed because a crowd of idiots were sauntering down the middle of the street with no regard for passing traffic. In fact, I almost hit someone who was walking down a major road that had no lighting, wearing black, in the middle of the night. I know for certain there are perfect sidewalks in both locations.

I've also had problems with people blocking half of the road in several of my friend's neighborhoods.

These are the people who walk down the middle of the lane in the parking lot at Wal-Mart and your grocery store.

//I just give them a bit of bumper

vinn01: I can see the on-coming cars a long way off and step off of the road long before the on-coming driver sees me.

I'm glad someone does. Recently had to slow and drive around a man walking toward me (at least he was on the correct side, I guess), not 2 feet from a sidewalk (I've used it regularly, it's a decent enough one), and he couldn't even take a step or two to the side. Fortunately it was mid-morning so he was easy to spot. I wouldn't begrudge someone those two feet of space in circumstances when it's unavoidable, but that was just silly.

I don't understand why so many people trust other people who are driving (that goes for drivers, cyclists -and- pedestrians around here). I can't count how many accidents I'd've been in if I did.

fanbladesaresharp: wal9000: ImFromSnohomish: Ok, roads are for cars, shoulders are for bikes, and sidewalks are for people.

/move along

Incorrect. Roads are also for bikes.

A mother farking pathway (or thoroughway) is for anyone, for any reason, car, horse, bike, ATV, hikers, farking lazy squirrel hitchhiking on frogs, as a means of travel.

Share the farking road.

/just don't be an idiot thinking you can ride a bike on the interstates. It's sort of a tractor-trailor vs. train arguement.

A lot of it does depend on locality though. In most circumstances, roads are for bikes (except major highways or anything that has a sign).

The shoulder is only "for bikes" if it's an improved shoulder (a.k.a. bike lane). I'm not riding with all that rough concrete and accident debris nearby in a normal shoulder.

The sidewalk is for bikes in many places too, but there's usually a law that they have to keep a reasonably low speed, and yield to pedestrians.

Face it, bikes are cooler than you because we can go more places and don't use gas. Stop trying to run us down because you don't know the laws.

First, I RTFA. Who cares what its about.

The more important point is I wish the cops in my suburb would farking enforce that law. We do not have sidewalks, and all the stupid suburban housewives in their fancy track suits walk two to four abreast, with traffic. There are a couple of boulevard type streets, where they walk with or against traffic, on the left side of the street, so when people who ARE following the law are walking correctly, there are now 6 to 8 people lined up across the street, some looking your way, some not, as you try to avoid running them down in cold blood.

If it was an occasional thing, I wouldn't have my panties in a knot, but it really creates some hazardous conditions out on the road, and about half the people out walking do it, which in my area, can be a considerable amount, maybe two to eight groups of people along any given mile at a time.

Maybe I will attach a retractable pole on my car, about 8 feet long and knee high, to catch those morans off guard. That'll learn 'em.

If you're lucky enough to have a sidewalk USE IT
/my god

The punk kids where I live think it's so COOL to run around in the street, play in the street and give me a dirty look instead of getting out of the farking way.

Hell, most parts of Florida don't even HAVE roads yet. You have to walk down the middle of the dirt strip that passes for a "road" so the gators don't drag you into the ditches they got the fill dirt out of.

If it's a choice between being arrested and being eaten, well....