A video posted on Wednesday shows a pedestrian crossing the street just as the vehicle does an u-turn at the intersection of K and 9th streets, N.W.
While the person walking behind the vehicle at that time is still visible and appears to be paying attention, the person in front of the vehicle in the video does not look toward the person behind them. That is because, according to a sign in the video, people in front of a vehicle trying to make an u-turn while traveling at 20 miles per hour must look backward to get out of the way of the next vehicle that goes by.
Such has been happening for years, the pedestrian in the video’s video says.
“I walked right into the camera,” he said, adding that it happened about a month ago.
“I don’t know why they don’t make sure people look behind them,” he said. “Everybody does.”
A contractor working on the intersection mentioned that he didn’t see the pedestrian when he was u-turning from a protected lane of the street, according to Lorie Van Auken, the deputy mayor of transportation and telecommunications. However, the contractor only works up to a two-hour window where the person would be allowed to cross in the area to avoid any potential danger to pedestrians, Van Auken told The Washington Post.
“We see the video and are looking into this further,” she said in an email on Wednesday.
The Washington Post was unable to reach all the parties involved to determine exactly why this intersection is not as lit as others. Both the contractor and the pedestrian in the video said they see the light changing while they’re in the frame, but they do not recognize the actual light change.