Please, just cross already!!!

[LillFilly]

I was driving in front of one of our stores where there are multiple cross walks. I see a lady approaching from the right, looking like she's about to step into the walk, so I slow. She turns and looks, steps into the walk...then begins walking along the right side of the road up to the next walk. Ok, she must be going to the other entrance, so I sped-up and began going, only to have her turn and start stepping-out into the road again. Sooooo I stopped and waved her through. She turned again and began walking along the road AGAIN! At this point I felt like I was stalking her, and I had a line of cars behind me honking wondering why I wasn't going faster. After another couple false-starts and timid steps into the road, she turns and looks at me, seemingly SURPRISED that there is a CAR WAITING FOR HER TO CROSS and sprints across the road like a host of demons was after her!

[blas]

People do that all the damn time around here. I never know if they are actually going to go or if they enjoy screwing with me.

One time a few years back, I'm sure I made some stupid guy almost shit his pants. He pulled that crap with me, but I could tell he was doing it on purpose because he was smiling and laughing, every time he "faked" crossing the street he'd go back onto the side of the road, then hop back in and act like he was crossing.....I was in no mood for that so while I was stopped I gave er a little gas and faked that I was going to run him over......got pretty close and he finally crossed and quit it.

Not the smartest thing to do, but what was I supposed to do? Continue his little "game" for blocks and blocks? Take a chance and dart really fast one of the times he hopped back onto the side of the road? People doing it on purpose isn't a constant occurance, I just think a lot of pedestrians aren't even thinking, just like people walking around malls and stores. Look at how many people you almost run over or into in those situations....everyone is in fricken la la land half of the time or more. People purposely messing with you, well, that just happens on bad days.

[kzc]

That woman sounds completely clueless and a danger to herself.

But.

In general, drivers assuming I want to cross the street and waving me across tend to annoy me. It's a subset of the whole yield-the-right-of-way-unnecessarily culture that slows and clogs traffic everywhere. In the end, everyone gets where they're going faster when people resist the urge to be "courteous" and just take the right-of-way when it's theirs and clear on out.

I had one guy stop and try to motion me across the road when I was just standing on a corner, waiting, with no intention or desire to cross. He got really mad and laid on his horn when I just stood and ignored his imperious waving.

When you assume you make an ass out of BOTH of US, or however that goes.

None of which appears to apply to mixed-signal-sending cud-chewer you had to deal with, though.

[LillFilly]

drivers assuming I want to cross the street and waving me across tend to annoy me.

The majority of the people I stop for are either coming from or going to this store. I know they intend to cross, but sometimes they are just darn clueless! You get people who get all ready to cross, then begin fiddling in their purses, but yell if you continue driving. I've seen people stop in the middle of the walk to answer the phone. Oh, and this is the best; a person getting half-way across, realizing they parked further up, and walking UP THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD to get to the next row!!!

[Solumina]

Did you honk? For some reason people around these parts seem unaware of when to use their horn. They will honk for seemingly no reason but they do nothing when the person in front of them hasn't noticed that the light is clearly green.

[Exaspera]

I HATE Hate Hate people who will saunter with their carts down the middle of the lane in parking lots. They know we're behind them and just don't care.

In San Antonio I remember driving downtown and having to constantly stop for tourists just crossing the street when and wherever they wanted without even looking. It was as if they thought that not being from there made them somehow immune from getting hit by a car. Sometimes they would walk backward into the street with a camera held up to their eyes trying to get some building in their shot.

We weren't encouraged to play Traffic Polo there. Tempting, though!

[Pagan]

I HATE Hate Hate people who will saunter with their carts down the middle of the lane in parking lots. They know we're behind them and just don't care.

You've gotta do what I've gotta do and quit going to Wally World. That seems to be where it happens the most.

They also act like they're all surprised that you're behind them. Really? You can miss the presence of a several hundred pound vehicle that is powered by a combustion engine that, especially in the middle of summer, is giving off lots of heat?

In San Antonio I remember driving downtown and having to constantly stop for tourists just crossing the street when and wherever they wanted without even looking. It was as if they thought that not being from there made them somehow immune from getting hit by a car. Sometimes they would walk backward into the street with a camera held up to their eyes trying to get some building in their shot.

Gah! They do the same thing in Santa Fe! It's like they don't get that it's an actual working city and not just there in the summer for their amusement.

Especially the ones that stand out in the bloody middle San Francisco St to take a bloody picture of the bloody Basilica. You can get a great picture if you stand on the sidewalk at the corner of San Francisco and Old Santa Fe Trail!

And don't get me started on the damn tourists in October trying to drive and watch the balloons at the same time!

[Exaspera]

Quoth Pagan: You've gotta do what I've gotta do and quit going to Wally World. That seems to be where it happens the most.

They also act like they're all surprised that you're behind them. Really? You can miss the presence of a several hundred pound vehicle that is powered by a combustion engine that, especially in the middle of summer, is giving off lots of heat?

You know where this happens too! Exactly!