Yes, unfortunately it's true. I attended the traffic court trial of the man who hit me with his car in January (I was in a crosswalk in Bethesda, with 11 seconds left on the walk signal). I don't believe I've ever been so frustrated with the criminal justice system.
Seems as though there is a loophole in the MD traffic law, where you can't charge someone with hitting a pedestrian in a crosswalk in an intersection where there are working traffic lights. So basically, all the crosswalk signals in Bethesda (which also have traffic lights) are not safe places for pedestrians. You can totally disable a pedestrian by hitting them in those crosswalks, and you can't be charged with something that carries jail time. The guy who hit me, Kyle Meyer, was charged with failure to yeild to a pedestrian in a roadway, which he plead guilty to, but it's an offense that carries points and only up to a $500 fine.
So a Kyle hits me with his BMW Z3 going 25 mph, throws me 3 feet, I end up in the ER with injuries to my arm and hand that takes months to heal, where I'm worried about keeping my job due to my inabilty to type for a while (due to injuries) and I'm now paranoid about crossing the street....and he walks away with a $125 fine. I believe I've had a speeding ticket that cost that much.
The irony is that his attorney mentioned that he has a clean driving record EXCEPT for a DWI 3 years ago. So they let a guy who has been nailed for driving drunk, and has now been hit in a crosswalk with a walk signal get away with points on his record and a $125 fine. No jail time, not suspension, no traffic class, he's back on the roads...so watch out folks who walk in Bethesda - it is not safe to cross those streets even if you're in a crosswalk with a light.
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