Q: Thank you for your recent column on pedestrian safety, especially the advice to “Look left-right-left.” I just returned from a vacation in India, where they drive on the left side of the road, so am in the habit of looking in both directions before crossing the street.
I live in downtown San Jose, which has many one-way streets. In the last week, I was almost run over three times by cars going the wrong way. The only thing that saved me was that I looked in both directions before crossing. Cars driving the wrong direction have no stoplight facing them, so even though I have a green crossing signal, they careen through the intersection. They’re often driving fast because they realize their error, are panicking and trying to find a place to turn around.
With so many people flocking to Christmas in the Park, there are a lot more drivers in downtown San Jose who are unfamiliar with the streets, searching for parking. I hope everyone remembers that even with a one-way street, check both directions before crossing, even if you have a green walk signal. It could prevent a very unfortunate accident.
— John Ragsdale
A: An excellent point about the risks of one-way streets, and looking both ways there, too.
Q: You asked readers for positive stories. Here’s ours:
We wanted to use public transit for the California part of our vacation to Australia, so started by hopping onto the local city bus, Santa Cruz Metro, at a stop very close to our home. That took us to the Amtrak bus connection in Santa Cruz, which took us to the Diridon Station in San Jose.
On the way over Highway 17, however, the bus encountered a collision that had just happened, so the driver had to make a very sudden stop. It was nighttime, cold and rainy, but the bus driver (Badge #677) handled the situation expertly. He stopped the bus without tossing passengers out of their seats, avoided skidding and colliding with nearby vehicles, kept his composure and kept passengers calm.
While emergency crews cleared the wreckage ahead of us, he kept us informed, and eventually delivered us safely to Diridon. We took Amtrak to Millbrae, BART to SFO, and made it to our plane with no further complications. And we didn’t have to spend a fortune on long-term parking or a shuttle service.
I remain grateful to bus driver #677 for his exceptional skill. I wish I could take the Highway 17 bus for every trip over the hill. It would be much less stressful than navigating 17’s insanity myself.
— Susan McLean
A: Great story. I’m also impressed with that bus driver.
Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at [email protected].