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HauntedButtCheeks t1_ismz1g1 wrote

Somebody just deleted a comment saying she would be hard to see, so here's what I was going to respond with for context.

She was riding a bright green adult sized tricycle with a tall flag on the back. Definitely not low & difficult to see .

This killing is local to me. Michelle Allen was a well known & beloved person in the homeless community. She really loved the stray cats & was always taking care of them. This article even has a photo of her.

https://www.wesh.com/article/orange-county-deadly-hit-and-run/41623993

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blahblahlablah t1_isownqe wrote

I'm not sure how it is in other parts of the world but where I live it's actually rare that people stop completely at stop signs.

The riskiest scenario that I see often, and always am on the lookout for, is when some asshat is coming up to a stop sign looking to enter a road and they are only looking to their left to make ensure they don't get hit while turning right. They rarely look right to see if anyone is crossing the street because, I guess, that's too much to ask. All of this so they can get somewhere slightly faster. We have very little enforcement here, but I don't know if that would even change things.

I imagine it's the same all over. People are people.

Super sad story and to leave someone behind to die without even trying to help and/or take responsibility is horrible.

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Agent_Angelo_Pappas t1_isnoejn wrote

I don’t see lights or reflectors on that bike and this occurred in the evening around 9pm. Are there any? Because I wouldn’t expect a flag or matte paint colors to do anything to increase visibility at night.

I’m not so sure that visibility didn’t play any role here

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HardlyDecent t1_isnqdjr wrote

In my decades of driving I've never hit a human just because they weren't wearing reflective gear. If she were in all black with yellow stripes it would still be no excuse. Driver was texting or intentionally distracted--at best. Possibly one of the oxygen-thieving assholes who try to swipe cyclists/pedestrians off the road. Visibility be damned--they hit a human and drove off.

Source: They try to hit me just about every day here, even in a very visible vehicle (or riding a bike).

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Agent_Angelo_Pappas t1_iso2oim wrote

> In my decades of driving I’ve never

I’m actually involved with automotive safety in a professional regard so I’m acutely aware just how useless anecdotes like this are. My grandmother never wore a seatbelt and died from lung disease at the age of 97. Does that make seat belts pointless? Obviously no.

Likewise the fact that you haven’t happened to hit a person on the road at night obscured by the dark doesn’t mean it’s safe to bike or walk on roads at night without lights or reflectors

I never suggested a lack of reflectors would excuse a hit and run, but don’t outright lie and declare visibility wasn’t possibly a factor when this happened at night with an apparently unlit vehicle. We don’t need people lying and hiding risks that are important for people to know about. Too few people appreciate how hard it is to see pedestrians at night, and they disregard safe practices near the road, and people like you promote that needlessly risky behavior by trying to hide what it may lead to

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hyggety_hyggety t1_isoryka wrote

I think it’s the “run” part of hit and run that people are most concerned about.

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