No Skateboarders are treated as pedestrians.

Yes skate borders are considered pedestrians, according to BPS. A skateboarder in the roadway is in violation of the California Vehicle Code, according to police.

I know Berkeley tried to make Marin more pedestrian friendly, but I think more could be done. I would like to see pedestrian refuges in some key spots in the middle of the street, perhaps a few spots where the lane is narrowed a little, the bike lane painted a different color, etc. I agree the traffic is too fast and it is hard to cross. 

I agree that more should be done.  But remember that it was much more dangerous when it had four lanes of higher speed traffic, before the “road diet” that narrowed it to two lanes. 

Hi, Charles:  Could you provide the statistics to back up your claim?  Thanks.  

Your point, Andrew, that if — a big if for any actual pedestrian to assume when crossing a street, at any time of day but esp. at night — IF a driver sees a pedestrian, the driver will assume the pedestrian is walking/crossing at a pedestrian pace, not rolling on a skateboard.

I always make eye contact with any driver that is anywhere close to approaching me before I start crossing any street . . . cause I am walking, going slow and there is plenty of time for me to make sure the driver has seen me before I step into a car’s oncoming path.

A skateboarder is not a pedestrian. It is tragic that this young man has been injured — I have not yet read a report that he has died and I hope he does not. I also have much empathy for the driver, who must be badly stressed from this accident.

Here’s the relevant section from Berkeley Municipal Code:

 14.32.060 Regulating the use of skateboards.

Skateboards shall obey all rules applicable to pedestrians, the California Vehicle Code and comply with the following regulations:
A.    No age restrictions shall be placed upon skateboard users;
B.    Skateboarders shall wear reflecting material and/or light colored clothing when skateboarding after dark;
C.    Butt boarding and lying down on skateboards shall be prohibited;
D.    Home made ramps in streets shall be prohibited;
E.    Sidewalks shall be used for skateboarding where available, and skateboarders will yield the right-of-way to pedestrians;
F.    Where sidewalks are not available, the skateboarder will be required to use the extreme left-hand edge of the roadway; facing oncoming traffic;
G.    Skateboarders are required to obey traffic laws and vehicles codes set forth in California Highway Patrol’s Skateboard Safety Handbook. (Ord. 5853-NS § 1, 1988)

When crossing Marin we would also wait for eye contact, but the street is so wide that you might get eye contact from traffic heading in one direction but not the other. It was a challenge and we walked/ran across quickly, and at times had to stop in the middle until the opposite traffic finally saw us standing there. This was often with kids and/or a dog.

Yes, my point was that to most drivers on Marin, glancing over and seeing a person standing UP would, I’m assuming, make them think there is a pedestrian on the edge of the road (in the road in this case), and not a skateboarder. A skateboarder will move far more quickly and one that was on the edge of the road when a driver glanced over will quickly be IN the road as the driver continues onto the side street.

Sadly, this young skateboarder made a poor decision to skate downhill on a dark night during commute hours on a very busy road. I shudder to think how many poor decisions I made as a young man!

City workers such as beat cops and public work staff should also be responsible for reporting street light outage. In many cities this is standard practice.

Mo: Please note that at the time of writing the skateboarder has not died.

The article stated that the driver was headed East on Marin before making a turn(not specifying left or right).  It insinuates that the skateboarder wasn’t crossing Marin but was either crossing Tulare or at the very least on that street. Therefore the skateboarder might have not seen any vehicle on Tulare and assumed he was safe. My point being he didn’t zip onto the crosswalk of Marin without looking rather he didn’t have time to react to a car coming around the corner.

I was the one who reported in to Berkeleyside soon after passing the accident. It was horrifying. The skateboarder was wearing all dark clothes and the night (around 7pm) seemed particularly dark at that intersection (no stoplight, not much light from streetlights). Just a tragic accident. As I returned up Solano Ave. later that evening, several people were jaywalking across the street mid-block (no lights, all dark clothing) taking a huge chance of being hit. 

I became an avid pedestrian when I moved to NYC, and I am constantly amazed at the risks pedestrians here take even when they are in the right (inside a crosswalk). You still must look and be cautious!!I have been worrying about Tyler since Monday night and I am so hoping to hear he will be ok.

Both drivers and pedestrians could stand to exercise more caution.  Life is too precious.

Having said that, the circumstances and conditions on Monday night wreaked a horrible confluence.  Consider:
a skateboarder, practically invisible to the Prius driver because he was wearing dark clothing and carrying no light (like a flashing bike light) to show his location, 
traveling at a rate of speed where he could not avoid colliding with a vehicle making a turn in an otherwise safe and legal manner, and
insufficient street lighting to illuminate the scene and make the skateboarder visible to the driver.

It seems that had the skateboarder exercised a bit more caution, we would not be having this discussion today.  But then, teenagers often think they are invincible. 

A few seconds difference either way would almost certainly have resulted in no accident.

Side issue: perhaps the commenter in the previous thread who wrote “Unfortunately, just learned he did not survive this tragic accident” could elaborate on how that apparent disinformation came to be circulated.

…and I am constantly amazed at the risks pedestrians here take even when
they are in the right (inside a crosswalk). You still must look and be
cautious!

This is what I’ve been saying and thinking for years, thank you for posting that comment!

What ever happened to entering a street cautiously? I was taught to look both ways and to put my safety in my own hands and not to believe that someone has seen me until I see the car slowing down.

I walk a lot around here, but I see far too many people stepping out in front of 3,000 lbs of moving metal and glass, playing a game of chicken to see if the cars will slow down in time. It’s a problem of epidemic proportions in Berkeley.

Berkeley needs an aggressive program of ticketing by BPD in the areas known for pedestrians getting hit by cars where both pedestrians and drivers get cited for violations (and I say this as someone that was cited for jaywalking in the N. Bay in my 20′s and warned again by SFPD in my 20′s not to do it or they would cite me — I learned the lesson & so must our fellow Berkeleyites).

The pedestrian fatalities discussion in Berkeley has been one sided in favor of pedestrians for too many years. The official city line that pedestrians do nothing to cause accidents is hooey. It’s time for the city to take off the rose colored glasses and to start addressing the problem with pedestrians as well.

I would hope for more education for pedestrians and drivers alike. As I am both, it is easy to see each side as we have all had near misses for all kinds of reasons, I’m sure. As a walker, I don’t trust any car to stop and as a driver, I always expect those on foot to be unpredictable (especially students on their phones and ipods!). 

This is a thoughtful post, thanks for sharing it.

I had a professor in college who talked about having hit a kid (not a serious injury) with his car.  He was deeply affected by the experience even though it was not his fault and the kid was OK.  

Actions do have consequences, even in Berkeley (sometimes) and they can be very dire indeed. 

WIth that said, reading EBGuy’s snippet from the municipal code, the first thought that came to my mind was this:  ”now there are two of us who have ever read this part of the code.”  Seriously — how would a teen ever have occasion to look that up?  Most of their parents wouldn’t do it either.  

So…. I wonder if this tragedy would provide the occasion for some BPD officers to speak about skateboard safety at BUSD schools.  At least then the kids would hear a responsible adult talk about those laws and, perhaps more importantly, the laws of physics in play when you face off against a two ton vehicle.  

I know this boy wasn’t at BUSD — I am trying to salvage some useful conclusion from this terribly sad, entirely avoidable tragedy.

In case you didn’t read my above comment, it applies to your post, too:

Pedestrians have a lawful right to cross at ANY intersection — marked
by a crosswalk or not. It would not be risky to cross in marked
crosswalks at well-lit intersections if drivers were holding up their
end of the bargain by paying attention and driving at a safe speed
(which may be well below the posted limit, I might add!).

In recent months (in Berkeley) I have experienced several incidents in which I was crossing in a school zone crosswalk (the yellow kind) during broad daylight — at a cautious pace — and two separate drivers have stopped to yell at me that they “almost didn’t stop” or something to that effect. Let’s get this straight, people — I can see you, and I am perfectly capable of stopping if you’re not slowing down! Pretty much ruins my day by reminding me how incredibly stupid and selfish some people are. What if I were a child? Or a person with limited mobility? Would you not stop for those people, either??

The
drivers of cars need to take responsibility for the destructive power
they are wielding! Driving is not a right; walking should be.

Copernicus proved more than 500 years ago that you’re not the center of the Universe. Please try to keep up.

What a terrible loss for his family and friends.  I have been thinking of this young man over the last several days, particularly when I saw other skateboarders.  And I have paid extra attention to crosswalks as I drive.

Tonight I drove up Marin at 6:45 p.m. and slammed on my brakes for a pedestrian who stepped into the street, almost invisible in his dark grey and black clothes.  As I waited for him to cross north on Marin, I noticed the candlelit shrine for Mr. De Martini where the pedestrian had originally stood.  I came away with a heightened appreciation that I didn’t hit this person and for how unlit that section of Marin is.

I live on Eunice Street near Codornices Park and am alarmed at the number of times I’ve seen teenagers (and maybe young adults too) riding skateboards down the center of the street. I rarely see them wearing helmets. My condolences to Tyler’s family and friends. Perhaps this will encourage other skateboarders to wear a helmet AND to have reflective clothing or a light if they’re out after dark.

Today I was driving on Solano and a man in a business suit was about to enter the crosswalk. I stopped and waved for him to cross–he nodded but did not look to see if cars were coming from the other direction. A couple of weeks ago I almost hit a skateboarder on College avenue. I saw him going full speed about 10 feet from the crosswalk and hit my brakes. He seemed oblivious.

I don’t think a day goes by that I haven’t felt that I was lucky not to have hit someone due to their inattentiveness—women on cell phones, pushing strollers while crossing the street rarely look both ways. 

My heart goes out to Tyler, his friends and family and to the driver of the Prius.

The driver may have been driving perfectly cautiously and reasonably, but if the skateboarder shot out in front of the car as it turned, what possible chance did the driver have to stop?  It’s a sad, sad event.  I agree with those who say boarders should be cited for infractions; accidents such as this might be prevented.

One more thought to Charles and joshua:  If the police ticketed people who drove too fast, people would slow down. In the twenty-plus years I’ve lived in north Berkeley (a block from Marin), I’ve never seen or heard of anyone getting a ticket for speeding. 

I haven’t looked at Berkeley’s Pedestrian Plan for a long time (I was a transportation commissioner during its development), but readers may want to consult it: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/contentdisplay.aspx?id=16124