Accident raises questions of safety

Rush hour on campus does not exclusively consist of bumper to bumper traffic. There are plenty of motorcycles, bikes and pedestrians thrown into the confusion that occurs at about 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. \nNormally, riders, drivers and walkers can all find their way around each other to make it home safely. But last week, sophomore Joel Zeid learned first-hand the potential danger of the crowded campus. Zeid had only taken a few steps across 10th street, in front of the business school, when he walked into Bloomington resident Heather Ulrich's white Chevrolet Corsica.\nStudents and faculty battle everyday to either cross the street safely or avoid hitting the hundreds of people who insist on j-walking. The area surrounding the business school, including Fee Lane, 10th street and Law Lane are all frequent sites of accidents, according to the IU Police Department.\n"There is no guarantee you will get across the street safely," said Audrey Morgan, director of undergraduate programs for the Kelly School of Business. "There is nobody out there telling (cars) to slow down."\nMorgan said she thinks the intersection of Law and Fee Lanes is particularly dangerous because the sight distance is limited due to the slant of the hill.\n"No one seems to be worried about students and faculty taking their lives into their hands," Morgan said.\nZeid's accident occurred in front of the business school, another high pedestrian traffic area. Although there are traffic signals at the intersections of Fee Lane and 10th Street, as well as Jordan Avenue and 10th Street, many find the more direct path from the business school to the library is the path that crosses middle of the street.\nIUPD Lt. Jerry Minger said the area is only one of several dangerous high-traffic areas on campus. Minger said the intersection of Seventh Street and Jordan Avenue and the area in front of the Admissions Office are also problems.\n "I don't think you can place blame for potential accidents," Minger said. "(People) have to approach the situation from an educational perspective."\nOn some college campuses, including Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, pedestrians have the right of way even when crossing in the middle of the street. But this is not the case on IU's campus.\nMinger said no additional laws need to be enacted to prevent accidents from occurring.\n"(The Zeid accident) is a good case in point," Minger said. " There is no law that could have prevented an accident like that from occurring."\nMinger said the IUPD stopped any further investigation into the Oct. 19 accident. According to police reports, Zeid assumed responsibility for the accident. Minger said Zeid told police he walked out into the street without looking. Witnesses confirmed this story.\nAccording to police reports, Zeid sustained only small lacerations. But sophomore Shayna Walter, a friend of Zeid's, said he ended up with many lacerations, bruises and a broken collar bone.\nMorgan said the University does not own the streets that run through campus, and therefore it cannot decide to put up a stoplight or lay down a crosswalk.\n"I believe part of the solution is to remove most of the traffic from that area," said Leigh Grundhoefer, University Information Technology Services staff member. Grundhoefer said she witnessed Zeid's accident.