Markeshia Ricks Photo
The state of Connecticut officially branded Deborah Wright a “vulnerable user” this week. She already knew she was one — because she walks every day through the intersection of Whitney Avenue and Audubon Street.
A new state law, promoted by New Haven lawmakers, went into effect Oct. 1 adding fines of up to $1,000 on drivers guilty of “carelessly injuring or killing” “vulnerable users.”
And who are they? Pedestrians, bicyclists, horseback riders, wheelchair users, skateboarders, highway workers — basically anyone not driving a car or truck.
Their new status was news to people negotiating traffic on two feet and two wheels at the intersection of Whitney and Audubon during the lunch rush.
Wright (pictured above) welcomed the new law. She said every day as she crosses the intersection she encounters drivers rolling through the newly raised crosswalk in spite of the flashing lights that signal someone is crossing.
“There goes one now,” Wright said as, sure enough, an SUV rolled through the flashing crosswalk just as a woman prepared to step off the curb.
The city has worked to make streets more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly, including putting in the raised sidewalk at Whitney and Audubon. Wright said the new state law is still needed.
“You take your life into your hand every time you cross the street,” she said.
Max, a Metro Taxi driver (who declined to give his last name or be photographed), disagreed. As he waited for a fare at the intersection, he said it’s not really fair to penalize drivers. Sometimes pedestrians and cyclists are in the wrong, he said.
“I see it almost every day with the Yale kids,” he said. “Eating a pizza slice while crossing the street and the light is green.”
He has had to tap his horn more than a few times to get the attention of a pedestrian distracted by a phone, he said.
Max, who has been driving a cab for a decade, said instead of a law penalizing drivers, the government should focus on creating more defined crosswalks and even adding more bike lanes.
Bike rider and Yale University student Michael Meehan said for him the solution lies somewhere in the middle.
Meehan said ideally creating a world where there is more respect for all road users would requiring a cultural shift, brought on by urban design and infrastructure that facilitate walking and cycling. In the absence of that, a law that favors certain groups as “vulnerable users” isn’t a bad thing in his opinion. He said the law penalizes the right group of people — the “death-box” drivers.
“Pedestrians have a lot of responsibility, and some of them are on their phone and don’t pay attention,” he said. “But in terms of who pays I think it is more appropriate for driver’s to pay because they are driving what is essentially this large, powerful death box. A car creates a power dynamic between pedestrians and the driver. When a driver honks a horn at me I consider that a violent act. Honking at someone on a bike is aggressive.”
New Haven state Rep. Roland Lemar, a sponsor of the new law, said some pedestrians and cyclists don’t follow the rules of the road — just as some drivers don’t. The difference is that a 2,000-pound vehicle traveling at a high rate of speed is much more dangerous and can do a lot more damage, he said.
“It’s about safety,” Lemar said of the law. “Road design is incredibly biased in favor of cars and anyone not riding in one is pretty much treated like a second or third-class citizen.”