Nearly one month ago, YWN published a “Mailbag” which went viral regarding Jewish women walking on the roads in the Catskills.
The letter was written by a woman in the Monticello area, who explained in detail how women are often seen walking two or three across on the country roads, with zero regard for the passing vehicles.
Her point was to bring awareness to the thousands of woman walking on the roads, warning that someone will one day R”L get killed from this totally reckless behavior.
The attached video is dashcam footage taken on Tuesday morning at around 11:00AM in the Swan Lake area. It shows FOUR women walking side-by-side along the road, forcing vehicles to swerve across the double yellow line into oncoming traffic to avoid hitting them.
The letter writer is correct.
This reckless activity WILL one day cause a serious accident. It will either hurt a pedestrian, or an occupant of a vehicle forced to swerve to avoid hitting one of the totally irresponsible women.
WATCH AND BE SHOCKED
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
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43 Responses
I seriously believe that according to halacha, one is not allowed to go into the other lane if someone is carelessly walking and risk CV injuring or killing themselves or another innocent person. (I don’t expect this to be printed).
There are 2 problems here. One is the pedestrians, but the other is drivers who don’t stop and look before driving into an oncoming lane to avoid pedestrians or stopped cars. This problem is not unique to the Catskills. The problem is also endemic to the 5 boros.
I hate it, Layde!
It seems like they are suffering from a superiority complex, which makes them feel like they own the road.
And hooray for YWN for finding yet another article talking about the misdeeds of the heimishe community!
It is a serious issue overal whether it are the walkers or the baby carriages! שה’ ישמר עלינו
The main thing out of order shown in the video is the idiot driver of the car with the video dashcam drives across the double yellow lines into the opposite direction to get CLOSER to the OTHER SIDE that the four women are walking on.
Call the cops. Certain times it’s a Mitsva
Just like Route 59 and Route 306 in Monsey. The vaibelech own the road. How dare anyone drive while we are walking!!
what is most amazing is that there is ZERO attempt (in the clip shown) to move to the shoulder. equally amazing (and share some of the blame) are the drivers who cross the double yellow line without the slightest hesitation or decrease in speed.
Where should these women be walking if not on the side of the road???
Where there is no dedicated sidewalk, pedestrians are allowed equal use of the road (excluding highways obviously) so car users take care and go easy.
Most (if not all) of the upstate New York road accidents are due to highly irresponsible drivers zooming around country roads at ridiculous speeds.
Go slow and share the road.
They should move over when they see a car coming. It’s common sense.
Moshe94:
“It seems like they are suffering from a superiority complex, which makes them feel like they own the road.”
Are they doing something irresponsible? Yes.
Seems as if you are suffering from a loathing complex which makes you feel as if you have the right to disparage them.
So before I conjecture, let’s read in your own words what would you have said had they had the appearance of belonging to another group?
Let’s see your vast knowledge of diagnosis of the psyche.
Calm down – there’s nothing shocking in this video whatsoever.
The oncoming cars are being fully responsible, only swerving just enough and only because there they can clearly see that they have the space to do so. And all the women are keeping neatly to the very edge of the road, and only spread out after the last car passes and no more oncoming cars can be seen.
(Technically, yes it is a double-line, but it’s really not a big deal to allow common-sense to override technical bureaucratic rules – as in this case, when there is plenty of time and visibility. I realise that all the rule-loving overly-righteous-government-obeying Americans will jump on me for my previous sentence. But I hold by it. And don’t be so ignorant to yell “dina demalchusa” at me. )
This is not a “SHOCKING” video. But the nature and focus of this site is indeed shocking in that, if a visitor were to see the choice of article published on this site, without knowing anything about it’s background, they could easily draw the conclusion that it must be an anti-Semitic site seeing how regularly and punctiliously it tries to highlight every failing of every religious Yid, and always in a manner which is ‘dan le’kaff chovah’.
@galicianer Yes, I would have said the same thing about any group. Unlike some people, I care more about deeds than Identity/affiliation.
In NY, the law is clear, if there is no sidewalk a pedestrian must walk as close to the left of the road as possible, single file, facing oncoming traffic.
Did I watch the same video clip as the shady charedi?
Response to AJM: You are 1000% WRONG. Cars are NOT Expected to “Share the Road with Pedestrians” unless a specific sign says so at a MARKED Pedestrian Crossing! This road is Single Lane for Cars in opposite Directions- And Worse For These women is the Hill the ONCOMING CARS come over gives No Time for Cars to See and Stop! It’s not Bad enough a Teenage Girl was KILLED a few Years ago Doing this?!
If Women want to Walk, they must walk 1) INSIDE THEIR BUNGALOW COLONIES 2) SINGLE FILE Along the Grass On side of the road 3) In Town on the Sidewalk 4)Get a Car Ride somewhere safe to walk
Stop this Dangerous Walking In path of Cars on Roadways!
Response to leahleh: § 1156.
(b) Where sidewalks are not provided any pedestrian walking along and upon a highway shall when practicable walk only on the left side of the roadway or its shoulder facing traffic which may approach from the opposite direction. Upon the approach of any vehicle from the opposite direction, such pedestrian shall move as far to the left as is practicable.
Next thing you hear TRAGEDY. Nope . It could have been avoided. Stupid people.
What’s the point of going up to the Catskills and still be dressed in their stiff garb. Can’t they let loose a little?
SV: These Women Were NOT Walking on the shoulder, Nor were they all the way on the Left- they were walking side by side almost all the way to the double yellow line, leaving no room for a car to pass them safely without fearing into ONCOMING TRAFFIC! . And TORAH LAW of PERSONAL SAFETY would not allow People to endanger their lives walking on a Road where cars Drive that can’t see them over hilly roads till they’re almost hitting them! How Dare they endanger their own and others lives! A few years ago a Frum young Girl was Killed Exactly like this! Don’t defend the indefensible!
They can walk 2 by 2 on the grass, if not on the left side on the road, then on the right side of the road.
This behavior reflects an attitude these people carry on their shoulders. For some unknown reason, these people truly believe the towns and roads are theirs to do as they please. It is the same attitude as to how they park in the local towns upstate, stopping on the country roads to pick up passengers without regard to other drivers, double parking and reckless parking in parking lots. It is a very bad middah. It causes the local population to abhor us. And the local population does in fact hate and despise these bullies coming in for ten weeks of the year.
We should all have a Ksiva vechasima Tova ! And a gut yur and we should all be safe always !!
Nice all of these comments except that no one has thought about asking for SIDEWALKS? We had a similar situation in my neighborhood (not the women walking directly in traffic), lack of sidewalks. It’s a safety issue that should be addressed in Albany. Please get your assembly and congress people together and find a solution instead of looking for blame. The amount of time that everyone spends here making snide remarks (during the month of Elul) doesn’t solve the problem.
“Ready Now:They can walk 2 by 2 on the grass, if not on the left side on the road, then on the right side of the road.”
In the UK the law is that you walk single file and face oncoming traffic. Which in US would be on the left only.
Walking on the right means you cant see the traffic coming behind you which is even more dangerous.
I am actually a bit surprised by some of the reaction here. The video seems to show that the ladies had moved in to let the car drive past and that the car only had to move out a bit. The driver could probably assess that it was safe to do so.
Not sure what was done wrong here.
I’m missing some information to make a comment:
What is the speed on this road? Name of road?
Nonna, did you stop and think before you posted? Sidewalks? Have you any idea what these roads look like and how long they are? Perhaps they should build sidewalks on Route 17 too?
Nonna T – There is no way to put a sidewalk in the entire Catskill Mountain region. First of all the costs are most probably prohibitive for a city or county and second of all their is no space. They would have to move forests from the side of each road since the road is very close to the forests in most places there with barely any room for cars as is.
That being said, These women (and others like them who do the same thing) are 1) 100% in the wrong 2) putting the lives of drivers and their passengers in danger 3) putting their OWN lives in danger 4) causing major chillul Hashem. Where else can we try to get a message thru to them if not in a public forum that some of them might read??
Let this forum be a wake up call if we do it right.
I am not bashing anyone but am simply letting them know that for their personal exercise and/or just taking a break from the city they still have to think about the things that can happen if they are not careful or following the rules of the roads (see previous paragraph please).
Same blame goes to the ones talking on the phone, standing at the traffic lights, pushing their babies, making sure cars are coming, then without looking stepping on the road, whilst still YAPPING on the phone, you dare hunk,
Are there no open park trails in the entire sullivan and Ulster counties to walk for excercise? what do these same women do at home in borp park, williamsburg, monsey, monroe, lakewood or wherever they might live the other 10 months of the year? The sidewalks?
1) I am very familiar with the geographical area of the Catskills and surrounding locales.
2) The women could locate a local high school track and walk for exercise or plan a route within a colony that has a decent and safe border.
3) Many do not know the ‘rules of the road.’ Perhaps it would be a good idea if some of the local law enforcement safety officers or Hatzoloh visit the various colonies and give lectures about safety to yidden who are upstate for summertime.
Nonna T, Safety Town is a safety program delivered by police departments across the nation. Kids are taught personal safety, bicycle safety and road safety. Perhaps these ladies can sign up for Safety Town when it’s offered in local public schools. Even better why don’t they have their local day schools have Safety Town come to their schools and include the adults. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
People who grew up and live all their lives in the city know the rules of the road of the city, however when they go out of the city they might not realize the rules of the road are different
There just needs to be public education to teach people the rules of the road in the country especially where there are no sidewalks
Walk 2 by 2 on the grass, as you said, just check yourself head to toe for ticks daily :-(.
Also make sure to ban every single group physical activity for men, and mens heimishe gym and most physical activities for women… being sarcastic
@apushatayid and @Nonna T:
Its called “common sense”. Why do these chasidishe yentas need lectures about the ‘rules of the road’? If you see how they behave in Willi, Boro Park, and Monsey, you would know that it’s not that they don’t know; it’s that they don’t care. The same way that their male counterparts do not give a darn about any traffic laws.
Not long ago, in another thread, I politely asked that people just be considerate of others. Don’t park in handicapped spots, dont take more than 1 spot, stop texting while driving, etc. Some jacka$$ called me an anti-semite. He is right, for the kind of jew he is, I am an anti-semite.
Really??????? they are very comfortable, I wear this kind of tshirts. Do you want to specify which garment you prefer? Do you want to be graphic? LIVE AND LET LIVE. LEAVE THEM ALONE TO WEAR WHAT THEY WANT AND PRACTICE RELIGION.
(Yabia Omer said: What’s the point of going up to the Catskills and still be dressed in their stiff garb. Can’t they let loose a little?)
Is everyone commenting blind? Watch the video again and you can clearly see the ladies walking by the shoulder while the cars pass them and they only movie back into the street once they are passed. There is nothing wrong with that as long as they move over for the oncoming traffic
“On the grass” is not “on the road”. There appeared to be more room on the right side as if it were a sidewalk.
1) ‘Boys’; your syntax is underwhelming.
2) Amil; I am quite familiar with safety town.
3) Z’s dad; for the most part, I agree with your comments.
4) OJW; agree! The misogyny in some of these comments is a bit much.
1. the only one who moved was t by e woman on the far right. the others are still in the roadway. The car didn’t miss them by much.
2. let’s say, for arguments sake, i agree with those who are saying the walkers behaviour was right. Catskill roads tend to be, as the video shows, curvy and hilly. The women were approaching the crest of a hill; they couldn’t see the oncoming car. The closer they got decreased the reaction time of the driver. If, a tragedy had occurred, I can’t imagine someone delivering a hesped saying that the family could take comfort in the fact that their bubbe/mother/wife was in the right.
3. Sullivan and Ulster Counties have been economically depressed for many years. They don’t have the money to put in sidewalks so that nonresidents can walk along roadways for 7 weeks out of 52. Before you bring it up, bungalows are not that big a deal to the local economy. Outside of gas stations and Walmart, summer residents tend to only patronize shops run by other summer-only Frum Jews. Woodbourne is a ghost town from Sept to June.
stop the video at 14 seconds.
@anonymous Jew, Very well said.