Tragedy narrowly averted on Canandaigua's Main Street. What could have prevented it?

CANANDAIGUA — The crash in July in which a 12-year-old bicyclist was struck by a vehicle on Main Street in Canandaigua could have been worse. At the same time, the situation would have been a whole lot better if the driver was paying attention to the road.

Both sentiments could be said of a crash in which a woman who was walking in a crosswalk on Lakeshore Drive in Canandaigua was also struck by a vehicle a day later. Fortunately, only minor injuries were reported, according to Canandaigua Police Chief Mathew Nielsen.

Bottom line, drivers have to limit distractions and focus on what they're supposed to — the road and their surroundings.

“I know there is a lot going on with the traffic around them and that’s what people primarily look at, but whenever you have an intersection or crosswalk, people need to look a little closer,” Nielsen.

What drivers should know

New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law 1151C is quite clear.

Whenever any vehicle is stopped at a marked crosswalk or at any unmarked crosswalk at an intersection to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway, the driver of any other vehicle approaching from the rear shall not overtake and pass such stopped vehicle.

The law seems tailor-made for Canandaigua's Main Street, which has four lanes of traffic — two headed north and two headed south — and lots of pedestrians. Summertime tends to bring out more folks walking among the stores and restaurants, crossing Main Street at signalized intersections or at marked crosswalks with flashing yellow caution lights activated by the pedestrian.

Drivers must yield and allow them to cross.

Here’s what motorists must do

Don’t be distracted by fiddling with the radio or texting on your phone. Pay attention to the road. If you see someone in the crosswalk or yellow alert lights flashing, slow down and stop.

On Main Street, the bicyclist, who was traveling east to west, activated the crosswalk caution lights and then entered the crosswalk after a northbound vehicle in the right driving lane had stopped for him.

So far, so good, although Nielsen said he should have walked his bike across the street.

The problem came when the second vehicle traveling north in the left passing lane drove past the stopped vehicle and struck the bicyclist in the crosswalk.

The person who stopped saw something, Nielsen said, which should have triggered the other driver to stop as well, especially because his view was obstructed.

“He slammed on the brakes when he saw at the last minute and came to a very close call to a major accident,” Nielsen said.

The driver involved in the Main Street crash was ticketed. The driver who stopped was not.

Yield to pedestrians

In the crash on Lakeshore Drive, the pedestrian was in the crosswalk.

The driver, however, was distracted by something — and police don’t know what that was — but she wasn’t paying attention when making a left from Route 364, Nielsen said.

Distraction is typically the cause when a person is hit at an intersection, not from the driver running a red light. Again, the driver needs to look before starting a turn and make sure nobody is in the vehicle's path, Nielsen said.

"Where they may have the right of way for traffic, they still have to yield to that pedestrian in the crosswalk,” Nielsen said.

The reason is common sense.

"A pedestrian is not near as protected as someone in a vehicle," Nielsen said.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Tragedy narrowly averted on Canandaigua's Main Street. What could have prevented it?