Michelle Obama’s “Get Up & Get Moving” Program Linked to Increase in Pedestrian Deaths
Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, January 20, 2011, 8:11 AM
Get Up – Get Moving – Get Hit
Officials say an increase in pedestrian deaths may be linked to Michelle Obama’s exercise program.
The First Lady jumping. (African Sun Times)
WMAL reported, via Free Republic:
The Governors Highway Safety Association says pedestrian deaths increased in the first half of 2010 and the First Lady’s program to get Americans to be more active could be partly responsible.
Governors Highway Safety Administration spokesman Jonathan Adkins told 630 WMAL that Michelle Obama is “trying to get us to walk to work and exercise a little bit more. While that’s good, it also increases our exposure to risk.”
After four straight years of steady declines, pedestrian deaths were up during the first six months of 2010, the latest figures available to be studied.
Other factors include distracted drivers, distracted pedestrians and what Adkins calls “aggressive pedestrians.”
“People who are not crossing where they are supposed to. They’re running in front of cars. We’ve even had examples of pedestrians getting out on the interstate,” said Adkins.
Alcohol is also a factor in increased pedestrian deaths.
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Published May 21, 2012 at 12:19 am - 70 Comments
JKB commented:
Walk? In DC? Not until I can carry so I have a fighting chance.
rumcrook commented:
as usual. democraps allways have a program.
and
programs always have unintended consequences.
David Elton commented:
This is why I try to stay away from this hysterical blog. She encourages people to get out and exercise more, and you try to pin pedestrian traffic deaths on her. Ridiculous! And I don’t care how often the President plays golf either!
clarityrising commented:
Come on, really? Now I’ve been put in the undesireable position of defending Michelle-o because I had the misfortune of reading this blog. Can we be a little more selective and not post this tripe? It makes us good guys look desperate to find something to pin on her, like the bad guys did for Palin and Tucson. How about we just chalk up more deaths to dumb-asses who don’t pay attention while walking and/or driving because they are too busy on their cell phones.
DigitalTroglodyte commented:
Hahahahahaha! Jim, you rascal!
Maybe we should just prohibit cars on highways?
DigitalTroglodyte commented:
Like a moth to a flame, GP lives rent free in you head.
forest commented:
I suspect a lack of hearing due to earphone use and distraction due to texting.
There’s also the problem of general idiocy. It’s getting tough to drive across town without almost hitting people because they just don’t know how to cross a street. J-walking without looking (or hearing) or crossing against the lights. I see that alot lately. People wait at the corner for a light, but it’s the wrong light, and they step out in front of the lanes that just got the green instead of crossing with traffic.
And college students are the worst. They just walk into the street without looking all the time. I’d say there needs to be a freshman class called “how to cross a city street”, but it would probably get politicized and turned into an exercise in “pedestrians have the ROW all the time, never look before crossing, and sue the hell out of the evil capitalist SUV driver if you get hit. Fight the power!”
Elizabeth commented:
I agree, this is silly. I don’t want to defend Chewbacca either.
Paul Ben commented:
I don’t give a damn about what comes from these pieces of sh*t who are occupying our White House, especially when any idiot follow their stupid, idiotic, moronic “advices.”
That reminds me of the Detroit beggars who just want “obama money.”
A Third World country? You bet we became one!
DigitalTroglodyte commented:
Does Jim really need to put a /sarc tag up? Are you for real? Jeebus, how can you actually take this seriously?
DigitalTroglodyte commented:
Can someone please explain closed captioning…again? i r dum(progressive grammar and spelling)! Bwhahahahaha!!!
carlotta commented:
I blame the overheated rhetoric about the dangers of the sedentary life.
Theadora commented:
I’m not usually one to defend Michelle Obama, but this is absurd!
DigitalTroglodyte commented:
I blame “blame!” Let’s regulate “blame.” I’m sure the preznit can appoint a presudenshal blue ribbon commission on blame to generate a report, finding a need for another beaurucratic entity—Blaming Protection Agency(BPA).
DigitalTroglodyte commented:
Some of you people are humorless. [facepalm]
Carbon Pootprint commented:
Come on Jonathan Adkins is really Scott Ott right?
DigitalTroglodyte commented:
Jim, I think you really screwed some people up with the “applause” post. They just snapped! I’m beginning to think some will never recover.
Paul Ben commented:
I blame Sarah Palin.
Right, Commies?
Ohio Granny commented:
I’m with #13 here. If getting healthy is killing us, then shame shame shame on those evil democrats.
I tried jogging once but the ice cubes kept falling out of my gin and tonic. – it’s a joke ;~)
valerie commented:
Well, Jim,
As you can see, the lefty readers that dip in here don’t get your point. Unintellectual people will never understand what you’re saying unless you metaphorically lead them by the hand, and THEN they will work hard to misinterpret what you write.
David Elton, clarityrising, and Theodora don’t want to recognize that it is absurd to call either woman a murderer. Sarah Palin is not a murderer for asking people to vote, and Michelle Obama is not a murderer for encouraging people to walk.
Alana commented:
It’s a ridiculous stretch for the person who was in the article you quoted to blame those deaths on Michelle’s program.
(If not for any other reason, just the fact that no one pays any attention to her program.)
Conservative to the Core commented:
[LAUGHTER]
Rock commented:
Well that’s a type of population control I didn’t see coming.
But just for our Lib trolls this is no more far fetched than Blaming Palin or the Tea Party for the Tuscon shootings.
noislamocommie commented:
If they will send Mexico back its peoples that would cut the figure by 50%.
Rock commented:
@ #24
And increase the Average IQ of both nations by 1%.
Somewhat Reasonable Voice commented:
The idiots that would listen to “her” advice are the kinds of people that can’t cross the street safely to begin with.
StrangernFiction commented:
#15 January 20, 2011 at 8:50 am
DigitalTroglodyte commented:
Some of you people are humorless. [facepalm]
…………………………….
That is a common trait of lefty’s and squishes.
StrangernFiction commented:
#26 January 20, 2011 at 9:39 am
Somewhat Reasonable Voice commented:
Hence, Chewy is getting peeps killed.
dunce commented:
Go play in the traffic? Are they trying to get another child killed so al sharpton can incite another riot and kill some more jewish shop owners?
lethargic commented:
Maybe it’s more the result of the culture of pedestrian entitlement we have going nowadays? I’m old enough to be a grandparent without having been a teen parent … back in the day, pedestrians yielded to vehicle traffic — even in parking lots. Does anyone else remember a day when people did not stride straight out of the grocery store across the traffic lanes without stopping and looking at the cars coming up to the store? Now, it’s rare to see people actually assess traffic — they stomp right on out into those cross-hatched pedestrian zones without a glance — entitlement mentality, I call it. Envision a jogger iwth this mentality crossing the road … see what I mean?
Anyone else notice this? Or am I just a lunatic tea b@@@@@? Can we blame Walmart for that?
valerie commented:
#24 January 20, 2011 at 9:32 am
noislamocommie
I detect a racist fake.
clarityrising commented:
Well Valeria, on your #20 post, I did get the point, but you obviously don’t get mine. By posting this tripe here, he gives fuel to the fire for lefty libtards to ridicule conservative blog sites. To win the battle, you have to occupy the high ground. You can’t play their game or you lose.
Bruce commented:
Though I don’t like the Obama’s and their attempt to control people’s lives, I agree with a few posters on this thread about pinning this on Michelle. It makes us conservatives look stupid. We had a walker struck by a bike and killed on a popular trail here in Dallas because the walker had earphones on and didn’t bother to look before she crossed over the trail. I do not think she was under the influence of Michelle’s directives.
DigitalTroglodyte commented:
It didn’t matter(and still doesn’t) what was written/said about President & Mrs. Bush, regardless of how absurd the claims. Facts didn’t matter then, nor should they now. If this is what it takes to illustrate how political smears work and how jaded Americans have become, so be it.
I loved the “applause” thread. Let’em defend the absurd. If they wish to waste their energy, I say—go for it!
ahem commented:
Oh, Jim, this is nonsense. I’m a long-time fan, but this is egregious.
DigitalTroglodyte commented:
What?! You think the ridicule will stop? Hah! Have you been watching the ∅care debate in the house? It was nothing but snark and ridicule from the dims.
Go ahead, take the high ground. I say, to he!! with bipartisanship and civility!
StrangernFiction commented:
“To win the battle, you have to occupy the high ground.”
The squish motto.
Jason commented:
Sometimes Jim posts stuff so ridiculous on this blog that I really don’t know if it’s just his sense of humor or not! I hope it is.
valerie commented:
Newsbusters has yet another @$$hole talking head that thinks that BO’s message doesn’t apply to him. (h/t mypetJawa)
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/pj-gladnick/2011/01/19/palm-beach-post-columnist-slams-parents-rep-giffords-doctor-supporting-
Jose Lambiet of the Palm Beach Post has no better sense than to slam the parents of the neurosurgeon treating Gabrielle Giffords for their support of the Tea Parties in an article dated Tuesday 18 January 2011 12:08 pm.
The Palm Beach Post is asserting a copyright interest in this article: it is therefore, as owner of the article, asserting editorial responsibility for its content.
You can contact the Palm Beach Post here: http://help.palmbeachpost.com/
Please remember that, while Mr. Lambiet’s article is unreasonable and vicious, you must make a point of being reasonable or polite in order to get your message across.
In my opinion, the kind of person that would go this far out of line is probably not amenable to discipline or education, and in addition, is likely to have a history of lesser inappropriate actions that would have merited firing. Accordingly, the appropriate remedy is a written apology by an editor of the Palm Beach Post, and firing of the offending Mr. Lambiet.
David Elton commented:
#6 Digital Trog * No horror, no stress, dude. Just drop in once in a while to find out where Obama’s playing golf this week. And by the way, whatever happened to that BP oil spill disaster, catastrophe, cataclysm, calamity? Obama manage to clean that up yet?
forest commented:
I blame Sarah Palin.
David Elton commented:
#20 Valerie * You’re living inside your own mind, Valerie. I never said anything about Sarah Palin. In fact, I like Sarah Palin. Why don’t you take your meds and have a nice little lie down.
Jayne on the left coast commented:
Read the article, these aren’t Jim’s words. It’s a quote from the Governors Hwy Safety Assoc. Get a grip and READ before making a total fool of yourself. I know from my own experience that people do not look before stepping off the curb into traffic, they don’t stop and look both ways. They just step out.
Jayne on the left coast commented:
Stepping onto traffic without looking is like posting a comment without reading a article.
Muffler commented:
LOL – This is suck a load of BS.
David Elton commented:
#44, 45 Jayne * Your boy Jim posted the headline “Get Up – Get Moving – Get Hit”. I guess in your mind it’s Mrs. Obama’s fault if people step off the curb without looking. I would suggest that you too, my dear, take your meds and have a nice little lie down.
Kim commented:
Good grief, this is a bit over the top….and really silly.
Andreas K. commented:
DigitalTroglodyte, the funny thing is (ok, it’s not really that funny), in the EU, every year roughly 50,000 people die in traffic accidents. I think the number in the US would be similar.
And that’s just counting the dead, not the tens of thousands ending up mauled and maimed.
That’s my hometown getting wiped out twice over.
Simon Owens commented:
This story has already been debunked. The woman says she never said during the interview anything about Michelle Obama
http://dcist.com/2011/01/sensationalism_misquoting_could_be.php
Muffler commented:
This is an attempt to make some point about the left drawing faint connections about Tucson. The topic has been discussed and this is just working overtime in an immature manner. Seem to be sticking in someone’s craw o’meter.
Muffler commented:
I blame the AMA for recommending exercise and eating right for the death of people who try running a marathon while being 100 pounds over weight and not consulting their doctor before trying.
Jayne on the left coast commented:
#45 BITE ME!!!! Read the article it does say the get moving program increased the risk of being hit by a car.
auntie em commented:
If ever any one fit this term it is obama’s mate: Boughetto.
She owns it.
rumcrook commented:
Jayne on the left coast commented
I know from my own experience that people do not look before stepping off the curb into traffic, they don’t stop and look both ways. They just step out.
I think we need a federally mandated government program run by michelle obama to deal with that.
AuntieMadder commented:
Until neck, shoulder and upper back pain made it impossible for me to do much of anything without hurting (a day of activity costs me at least a day of pain), I walked about four miles almost every day, from the age of 15 until my late 30s. It kept me slim and toned. Not only did I have killer legs, due in part to walking (the rest is owed to genetics), but also a strong lower back, no back fat, a slim caboose and, because I followed the walks with sit-ups and crunches, a nice waste line. Walking also kept my metabolism boosted (I could and did eat like a horse), kept my energy levels high, helped reduce stress and I did my best thinking while walking. I’m telling you, if by miracle or modern medicine my neck were to stop hurting today, I’d lace up my walking shoes and head out the front door. I miss walking and its benefits and I highly recommend it to everyone who’s physically able to do it.
Of course, I never was hit by a car because I chose the safest route(s) to walk near my home, didn’t walk at night (bought three month gym memberships each winter so I could use the treadmills, bikes, eliptical machines while the days were short), crossed streets at intersections only, always listened for approaching vehicles behind me (didn’t wear a Walkman or headset), never assumed a driver was giving me the right of way unless they waved at me to cross…basically, I practiced defensive walking.
When practicing defensive walking, you pretend no drivers see you, all drivers are dristacted and will run right over you, and react accordingly. Similarly, assume all dogs will bite you, avoid those not on leashes and give a wide berth to dogs on leashes and you shouldn’t be bitten by dogs. Cross the road or turn back if you need to, walking, not running, out of the dog’s perceived territory. Never look a strange dog in the eye (them’s fightin’ words in doggy language) and never approach a strange dog with your hand out to pet him (doggy doesn’t know if your hand and arm are extended to hit him, take something from him or poke him in the eye). Keep your head high, look alert and be alert, make eye contact with strangers. Let strangers approaching on foot from behind know you’re aware of their presence by turning back to look at them. (Be aware if their presence by listening to your surroundings.) Be willing to cross to the other side of the road when someone growing nearer gives you the heebie jeebies (worry about your safety, not their feelings). Make yourself an unlikely victim by letting would-be perps, who always look for easiest targets, know that you won’t be easy to victimize.
I know this is a long comment for the post topic, but there’s no good reason for outdoor activity to be so dangerous. Let’s face it: the people who were killed and injured because, as others upstream have pointed out, they needed the First Wookie to tell them to get off their large and growing larger rumps and get moving outdoors, are the idiots that the lefturds have, through legislation that’s nothing but burden and hassle to the rest of us, been saving from themselves. Most of what I’ve described as “defensive walking” is common sense to the non-idiots among us. (The rest is stuff I learned over the years and share with you as tips for those who would like to get outside but have worries about their safety.)
To protect the idiots among us from themselves, we provided padded playground equipment mounted on rubber pads, wrote legislation forcing them to wear helmets and knee- and elbow-pads on their bikes and skates, installed speed bumps on the streets where they live(d), slowed vehicle traffic to a crawl within blocks of their high schools, made plastic knives and pocket knives contraband in their schools, and so on and so on. The cruel truth is that most of them should have caused their own demise long ago. They were living on borrowed time when they were hit by cars and died last year. I’m sure, however, that, as we speak, the lefturds are in their think tanks, coming up with future legislation that will help protect the idiots from getting themselves killed while playing in the street.
AuntieMadder commented:
Muffler commented:
“This is an attempt to make some point about the left drawing faint connections about Tucson.”
That’s what I figured. But, still, I saw an oppty to share with everyone the benefits of walking the things I learned over the years to keep it a safe activity, and I took that oppty.
Newty commented:
It’s been proven before that Jim Hoft is a nazi and a retard. Not surprising that he would post such drivel like this.
MARY commented:
This is just plain stupid to try to place this on Mobama. Lots of people really would benefit from a little more walking…at least it’s not a presidential edict or law…yet!
In fact, it’s sooooo stupid I’m gonna say something uncharacteristically sweet instead…I really liked that kitschy red dress FLOTUS wore last night, tho I hated that Obama threw a state dinner for that Chinese human rights thug.
The woman has some body shape challenges, but most of her wardrobe, particularly when she is dressed up, camouflages that rather nicely. She is tall and sturdy, and probably weighs more than her husband…which is comforting for many of us women. I hate her politics, but she can pull off weird fashion innovations like none before her.
Jim. Get a life. This was small of you.
MARY commented:
Auntie Madder,
Your defensive walking post was not only humorous but also helpful. My grown daughter lives near the District and has a medical condition which doesn’t permit her to drive…I will be sure to send it to her for a grin and giggle… and some darn good pointers.
Was sweet of you to take the trouble to type it all out. Thank you.
Greg commented:
“Kim commented:
Good grief, this is a bit over the top….and really silly.”
Yeah…. otherwise known as standard operating procedure for this blog and its readers.
Ken In Kentucky commented:
All Michelle did was tell them to eat well and exercise. Sarah told them to cross the street. Clearly this uptick in pedestrian deaths is Palin’s fault.
DaMav commented:
I presume this is a parody on the idiotic attempts to smear Palin? It makes more sense that way.
Patrick Glenn commented:
This is amusing item, but nothing more. More ped activity = more ped deaths. So what?
What to watch out for is the feds subsidizing development of grocery stores in urban “food deserts.” That will be another corrupt “progressive” boondoggle.
Trotsky's Icepick commented:
Ah, nice to see Mouthbreather Central alive and well.
I honestly don’t know how some of you managed to exist without selecting yourselves out of the gene pool. That’s called “natural selection.” It came from a “book.”
Perhaps some of you should actually turn down Herr Beck or the Factually Illiterate Oxy Freak and pick one up.
This may be a good thing. Many of you mouth breathers will ignore this, sit on your ignorant fat arses and let your arteries clog up. But fortunately for you, because of Obama’s health-care reform, you may have a fighting chance of not keeling over from that instead of your own stupidity.