Fund-raising in the Street is Dangerous

I don't know if this is particularly popular elsewhere, but here in the Louisville area it seems to be very popular to fund-raise in the street. A group trying to support some cause will wear reflective vests and solicit donations from drivers waiting on red lights. I have nothing against charity, but this is incredibly dangerous. I've finally had enough of it after a potentially dangerous situation I encountered today. Luckily nothing happened, but it serves as a perfect example of what could happen if someone had gone just a little faster or a little farther.

I contacted all of my local representatives today, starting with my metro council member. If you live in the Louisville area and want find your own representatives, Louisville actually has some great tools for doing just that. Just put in your address and it will return tons of great information.

I'm going to include the message that I sent today that goes into a little more detail as to my reasoning why street fund-raising is dangerous, as well as a video that shows what happened today and illustrates, with little imagination, what could happen should fund-raisers be sharing the road with two-ton vehicles.

It is quite popular in this area for fund-raising efforts to be conducted at intersections around the city. Participants wear bright clothes and put cones along the lines of the lanes and walk car to car soliciting donations from drivers waiting at red lights.

While I support local fund-raising efforts, I find this practice to be highly dangerous and irresponsible. Not only are the participants risking their own lives by placing themselves in traffic's way, but they are providing a distraction to drivers, as well as endangering the conscious of any driver unlucky enough to be unable to avoid them.

Today I was driving at the intersection of 264 Watterson Expressway and Brownsborro Rd in Louisville where fund raising activities were taking place. I encountered a driver exiting the expressway at high speeds as I was passing the off-ramp. Fortunately I was able to slow down and only had to make minor adjustments to avoid a collision. However, it is easy to imagine a scenario in which I would be forced into another lane quickly or forced into another lane or the median by an impact.

I keep a dashcam mounted in my car and I was able to record the incident for your review. Due to the wide angle of the lens of the camera, the red Jeep appears farther away that it was in reality. Even so, it is clear to see the dangers posed at these intersections, especially to bystanders that purposely place themselves in harm's way.

You can review the video here on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7-exy2-V2-yeUFoTnRYcEYzMGM/edit?usp=sharing

I hope you give careful consideration to my concerns. I strongly feel that these activities shouldn't be permitted on Louisville's streets. If these fund-raising efforts continue at our intersections, it is only a matter of time until tragedy strikes.