You mean we're supposed to stop for pedestrians?

[An Haddock]

I don't know what the laws are like in the rest of the country but in New Jersey, in a crosswalk that isn't part of a controlled intersection (read: one with traffic lights) you're supposed to stop for people in the crosswalk. State law, which most people violate. They've actually set up "sting" operations to catch people who just breeze through the crosswalk, narrowly missing pedestrians.

Yesterday I hear the familiar *crunch* of a car accident. I look up to see a guy who had stopped for a couple of old folks in the crosswalk. No problem there.

The problem was the younger idiot in the car behind him who must have either:

a. been going too fast
b. riding the guy's ass in front of him
c. not paying attention when the guy in front hit the breaks
d. any combination of the above

The guy in front seemed to avoid any damage to his rear bumper but the front part of the other guy's hood was crumpled up a bit and it wasn't closing properly.

So - especially in small towns - don't tailgate. Pay attention. Or you will be summarily laughed at like the jackass from yesterday.

[Pagan]

I saw the exact same thing happen one time, only I was the pedestrian they had stopped for! And I had been looking right at them when it happened to make sure that they were going to stop. I was crossing the street, they were turning right and stopped for me, guy behind them....didn't. So of course, I stayed to be a witness. Same type of damage. Little crunching on their back bumper, his truck was leaking vital fluids.

[Catwoman2965]

This is why I hate that law. I get that the pedestrians have the right of way, and have no problem with it. My issue (and I'm also in NJ) is the idjits who follow to closely, too fast, etc. behind me so I'm afraid if I DO have to stop, my back end will get crunched.

My way is to drive slowly through an area with crosswalks, but that just encourages the tailgaters too.

[PepperElf]

i've mentioned it before but ... what i hate are the drivers who see one car stopped at a crosswalk and figure the car is just parked for shits & giggles and barrel on through.

guy on my first ship was given a double compound fracture that way. both shins had bones protruding through the skin, all because the second car didn't bother stopping along with the first.

[Caractacus_Potts]

i've mentioned it before but ... what i hate are the drivers who see one car stopped at a crosswalk and figure the car is just parked for shits & giggles and barrel on through.

I came up on a line of stopped cars where a passing lane goes back to being a single lane. As I am stopped I realize that a man and a woman, each on motorcycles, are trying to exit a gas station crossing my lane of traffic to take a left onto the road I am on.

The guy is already across but it was clear the woman was a new rider and was very nervous. After some coaxing and gesturing to the traffic stopped in both directions waiting for her she finally starts to cross the road...just as some jackass comes barreling up the breakdown lane passing over a dozen stopped cars at over 40 MPH.

I seriously thought I was about to watch this woman on the bike die. At the last second I guess jackass realized he was about to commit vehicular manslaughter and stood on the brakes. His car wound up on the grass between the gas station and the road; he missed the back tire of the bike by inches.

[Flying Grype]

This is why I hate that law. I get that the pedestrians have the right of way, and have no problem with it. My issue (and I'm also in NJ) is the idjits who follow to closely, too fast, etc. behind me so I'm afraid if I DO have to stop, my back end will get crunched.

Remember that it's also very likely under the law that the person who does the rear-ending is automatically at fault, because they pretty much have more control over the situation than the person who gets rear-ended. They're supposed to watch what's ahead of them and not follow too closely for the speed they're going. If they hit you from behind, it's all on them.

[EricKei]

I've seen some videos of such stings before. Among the most disturbing was a repeat offender who must have been doing at least 60, in a sports car, in a residential area -- as he blazed thru a crosswalk while the pedestrians were only halfway across.

[BearLeeBadenaugh]

The thing that pisses me off about crosswalks is when some schmuck in a car stops on top of the crosswalk at a light, making it so you have to go into the street in front of them or walk around the back of their car. Back in my college days, I was enough of an asshole I just walked over their hoods.

Never did it, but friends and I always talked about opening the back doors and just going through the idiots car.

[camjuniper]

Back in my college days, I was enough of an asshole I just walked over their hoods.

Never did it, but friends and I always talked about opening the back doors and just going through the idiots car.

Ha! I never walked over the hood, though my gf & I joke all the time about going through the doors! If I've got to go around the car, I like to walk my fingers across the hood of it, drumdrumdrumdrum. My gf makes little shooing motions to those cars.

And I have to admit, I do stick my tongue out at cars that don't stop for me at crosswalks.

I also absolutely refuse to cross when it's a controlled intersection and a car stops for me. Hell no, I'm waiting for my walk signal. When I'm feeling nice, I'll wave 'em by, but otherwise I pretend that there's a real interesting bit of sidewalk by my feet or that I just got the most interesting text in the whole wide world.

[An Haddock]

The thing that pisses me off about crosswalks is when some schmuck in a car stops on top of the crosswalk at a light, making it so you have to go into the street in front of them or walk around the back of their car. Back in my college days, I was enough of an asshole I just walked over their hoods.

Never did it, but friends and I always talked about opening the back doors and just going through the idiots car.

They do it at regular crosswalks, too! The crosswalk near our shop is about a block from an intersection with a light. When it gets to be heavier traffic around rush hour, the cars are sometimes backed up to our crosswalk... and sure enough, 9/10 of the cars are over top the damn crosswalk so you have to walk around. I usually try to walk right in front of them and make it obvious they're in a space in which they shouldn't be.

They usually don't seem to notice or care.

[Chromatix]

These are probably the same drivers who cause gridlock at junctions, and don't leave railway level crossings clear either.

[EricKei]

And I have to admit, I do stick my tongue out at cars that don't stop for me at crosswalks.

I've stuck something out at such cars before, tho, I can assure you, it wasn't a tongue

re: Cars not stopping at train crossings...Well, that's why they make Darwin Awards...>_>

[LesserSouthernFroglet]

Years ago I was driving through an urban shopping area. There were two lanes of traffic each way. I was in the RH lane. I stopped at a pedestrian crossing because, shock horror! there were pedestrians on it.

Miss Hoon came up behind me at a fairly quick rate, didn't want to stop, so she veered into the LH land and barrelled right through the crossing without slowing. She missed the pedestrians by inches.

Miss Hoon had to stop at the traffic light, still in the LH lane, and there was another car in the RH lane, who I ended up behind. Miss Hoon kept revving her engine. RHLane driver revved his engine, and looked over at her. She revved again, and looked back... well, from then on, it was ON!

The lights changed, both cars took off with a squeal of rubber. They flew down the road to the next set of lights, which was red again. They sat there, revving their engines and giving each other the Racer Glare of Death. The lights changed, and they were off again.

This continued for quite a distance - probably 5+km. I'd pretty much been behind them most of the way (not hooning, just catching up at the red lights...) but I did finally lose sight of them around a curve.

When I finally got around the curve, there was Miss Hoon and Mr RHLane Driver, pulled over on the side of the road. Mr RHLD had a flashing blue light inside his car, and was very busy writing something down in a ticket book.

I love instant Karma!

[Jay 2K Winger]

These are probably the same drivers who don't leave railway level crossings clear either.

Yeah, that kind of thing usually resolves itself for the betterment of the gene pool...

[Rock Lobster]

Waiting outside the post office one day I was wanting to cross the street in the crosswalk. I never just walk out because the idiots just fly past even though it's PA law for them to stop. The local cop was at the red light and watched a guy just fly right past me waiting in the crosswalk. Cop flicked on his lights and idiot got pulled over. Boo YA!

Yeah, that kind of thing usually resolves itself for the betterment of the gene pool...

Look up the video 'Dumb Ways To Die' on You Tube. They sing about this very thing.