Short one

[siead_lietrathua]

not so much customers as random-idiots, in the plaza.
some days i remember why i miss driving instead of walking everywhere. at the plaza exit there is a crosswalk for pedestrians they put in because of the old-folks homes.
One car is coming so i figure i would wait for him to go and not hit the button for the lights, since it's only one car. then two women walk right past me and out into the traffic, making me do some sort of odd swan-dive for the light button so it will turn red-for-traffic. i mean, i know it's a small town but people still drive fast, don't just walk out in the road when a car is coming.

the second one was right after this, after the dumwits and i got across the road and i started walking towards home. the polite-guy waiting at the crosswalk light for it to turn green has another car come up behind him, swerve into the oncoming lane, and drive past him through the still-red light, honking her horn.

... if i ever stop posting i probably got hit by by a dumbbut boondock driver.

[Kogarashi]

Wow, two breeds of idiot in one sighting! And that second one is a good poster child for red light cameras.

[Gerrinson]

I actually saw something worse the other day. My g/f warned me I'm going to have a heart attack if I let people like this make me angry, and I didn't even post about it so could just put it behind me, but judge for yourselves:

Normally, I take the main road home, but going through the center of one town can be kind of a traffic jam. When traffic is bumper to bumper 1/2 a mile out from the first traffic light on Main St. (in a town w/ 10,000 residents) you just know it's going to be a long drive.

So, I cut out onto the side streets (I used to live there, so I know how bypass most of Main Street.) This brings me to about a mile south of that first traffic light. And that is where I discover the cause of this massive traffic jam.

The cause: Pedestrians. Sheeple.

There was a new show at the local theater/dance center. In between shows, you had hordes of sheeple leaving and trying to get in at the same time. The sheeple were literally streaming across the road. While they were in the crosswalk, they were going against the 'Don't Walk' signal while the light was green for traffic. It was impossible for even a single car to move without hitting half a dozen of the sheeple herd. I even gave them the benefit of the doubt, at first, thinking that there might be a cop directing traffic and just waving them across.

But I got up close enough to the intersection to see that there was no cop. And yet, they just kept coming. Through the changes of the lights, through the 'Walk' signal, through the 'Don't Walk' signal. By coming in from a side street, I and the people in front of me were able to sneak out and through our turn because the main herd was walking parallel to us. I was just livid. I don't think I've ever been tempted to stomp on the pedal and blast through a crosswalk full of pedestrians. Until now. I had to have watched at least 50 sheeple just walk right out against the signal. I mean, is wrong with these idiots?

If I'd had the cell phone, I'd have called the cops and reported a major traffic obstruction. The town cops could have hit their ticket quotas for the month solely on jay walking tickets. And maybe tossing in some 'Obstructing the flow of traffic' charges, too.

Oh, and by calling these idiots sheeple, please understand I mean no offense to actual people nor the noble sheep who provides the stuff of warm clothing (and is quite tasty, too!)

[PepperElf]

the second one was right after this, after the dumwits and i got across the road and i started walking towards home. the polite-guy waiting at the crosswalk light for it to turn green has another car come up behind him, swerve into the oncoming lane, and drive past him through the still-red light, honking her horn.

you have to be sooooo careful about shit like that.

one of the guys i knew back in hawaii... poor kid... he saw his way clear and crossed the road on a crosswalk. There was no light, but the base law is "pedestrians have the right of way in a crosswalk"

One car stopped for him... the next car over didn't.

Double compound fracture.
Yes. Both legs were broken, with the bones breaking out through the skin.

not sure what happened to the driver but the poor kid... took over 6 months for him to heal.

[wagegoth]

Just a few weeks ago, I was nearly hit by some idjit running a red light at speed. You would be amazed how quickly I can move, as I leapt up and back onto the curb. It really pissed me off because -- besides the obvious -- a car was coming as the light was changing that I knew would not stop, so I waited after the light changed and that car had cleared the intersection. This guy wasn't even near the intersection when he ran the light.

[Broomjockey]

the second one was right after this, after the dumwits and i got across the road and i started walking towards home. the polite-guy waiting at the crosswalk light for it to turn green has another car come up behind him, swerve into the oncoming lane, and drive past him through the still-red light, honking her horn.

... if i ever stop posting i probably got hit by by a dumbbut boondock driver.

I cannot count the number of times this, or something similar has happened to me. I've actually taken to, at some corners, walking part way, stopping in front of a stopped car, specifically poking my head past that car to see if anyone's coming in that lane, then continuing on my crossing. They've even jacked up the tickets for people doing that (passing a car that's stopped at a crosswalk) because of the number of pedestrians hit/almost hit. It's a pretty huge fine, too. I think it starts at $1000.

[Kogarashi]

one of the guys i knew back in hawaii... poor kid... he saw his way clear and crossed the road on a crosswalk. There was no light, but the base law is "pedestrians have the right of way in a crosswalk"

One car stopped for him... the next car over didn't.

I nearly got clobbered by a car not paying attention at a crosswalk back in college.

Four lane road. Bright orange pedestrian crossing flags instead of a light. Drivers who don't pay attention to pedestrians because they're too busy trying to make the light at the next intersection. Trouble waiting to happen.

I was waiting to cross, and a large minivan in the nearest lane apparently noticed me at the last minute and decided to slam on their brakes, stopping halfway in the crosswalk, so I could start to go. So I started out, holding out the orange flag, and begin to peer around the minivan to see if the second lane was clear.

I nearly lost both flag and nose as this Jeep just sailed past me, never once slowing down. Didn't help that the minivan was blocking my view of traffic as well as traffic's view of me. Luckily, the vehicle after the Jeep saw the flag and stopped for me, and I was able to finish crossing.

Frankly, if you ask me, any crosswalk that crosses more than two lanes total of traffic should have a light put in, even if the light only stays in the pedestrian's favor for a little bit. One of the other intersections in the college town had one of those and it was wonderful. The actual WALK symbol was only on for about three seconds, at which point it switched to the blinking hand long enough for anyone already in the road to finish crossing. Made getting across those five lanes much less stressful.

[lightmylamb]

the second one was right after this, after the dumwits and i got across the road and i started walking towards home. the polite-guy waiting at the crosswalk light for it to turn green has another car come up behind him, swerve into the oncoming lane, and drive past him through the still-red light, honking her horn.

... if i ever stop posting i probably got hit by by a dumbbut boondock driver.

A similar thing happened on my street. A few of us were standing outside in front of the apartment building, when these two cars drive by. Both going a safe pace for a residential area, but the one behind hanging out the window swearing at the guy in front of him. When the man in front stopped at the stop sign, the man behind swore again and sped passed through the empty intersection. These intersections are 4-way, but only have a 2 way stop, so if someone was coming the other way there would've been a collision.

[Horsetuna]

One of my coworkers got hit last thursday by someone running a red. She was crossing with signals, and one car breezed past them through the red light. They had of coruse, turned to yell at him and she got hit by the guy following the first car - went right over his hood and windshield apparently.

She didnt need hospitalization, but was out all of this week. The guy apparently was yelling at HER for not paying attention.

[PepperElf]

and now he'll be paying some hefty fines and hopefully for the damage to your friend and her car!

[Broomjockey]

and now he'll be paying some hefty fines and hopefully for the damage to your friend and her car!

turned to yell at him and she got hit by the guy following the first car - went right over his hood and windshield apparently.

I don't think she was *in* a car...

[ShinyGreenApple]

I was nearly clipped walking across the street on my college campus, going from the parking lot into the medical technology building. The car was far away, and I had plenty of time to cross, or would have, if they hadn't been speeding like the devil was chasing them. There's a 15MPH limit on campus, too. *headdesk*

Did I mention they blared their horn at me and shot me dirty looks as they drove by?