It is an uncommon event. If it were common, we would be protecting every street corner with large bollards or a concrete wall.
How many cars pass through an intersection on any given day. How many end up on the curb?
How many cars pass through an intersection on any given day. How many end up on the curb?
There have been a significant number of cases where cars end up sidewalks near where I live. It's not just drunk drivers; it's often distracted drivers who are texting or using an app.
Bollards are a great and fairly cheap solution, but many bureaucrats are pro-car and oppose them for the danger they might pose to drivers.
<< [O]ne of the downsides to bollards is that while protecting human beings, they can do damage to automobiles. John Kaehny, the former executive director of Transportation Alternatives was a big fan of bollards and often pushed the city to install them at dangerous locations. DOT traffic engineers consistently opposed his efforts telling him that bollards were no good because they did damage to cars or that bollards struck at high speed could "become dislodged and become dangerous projectiles that might kill or injure pedestrians." These are the kinds of stories that makes one think New York City traffic engineers empathize more with automobiles than people. >>
If that same accident happens at 20 mph, there's only a 5% chance of a fatality. That's a big reason why London lowered the speed limit in the heart of the city to 20 mph: http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/09/13/the-heart-of-london-ad...
New York is pushing for a similar change... hopefully if and when it happens, more bollards can be put in place without endangering others. http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/05/16/neighborhoods-across-n...
Sure thousands of cars can pass through a crossing every day with out on mounting the pavement. But road safety is all about improving the odds.