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I live in a city where common sense wasn't included in half the population's upbringing. People cannot drive well here to save their lives, and apparently they can't walk either. Specifically, university students. The on-campus pedestrians must have a death wish.
The streets running through campus are usually very busy, as are the sidewalks every 50 minutes when classes let out. Drivers are usually very careful about driving on campus and have learned to stop very quickly at stop walks. The pedestrians, however, assume they always have the right of way and that cars will stop for them as soon as they step foot into the street, cross walk or not. I've seen students walk right out into traffic while texting, not even noticing the cars that are already in the crosswalk. I'll often see strings of people stepping into the middle of the street in front of a long string of cars, texting, taking a leisurely walk through a busy street.
I usually ride my bike on campus and have to ride down a long hill to the bottom of campus for a couple of my classes. There are a couple of crosswalks along this slope, so I have to be very mindful of people crossing the street. BUT...there are the few special people texting (they're always texting) who will step RIGHT out in front of me without looking. I can't stop that quickly without going over the handlebars, so in those cases I don't even attempt to stop. If they want to get hit...that's on them.
My favorite instance of student idiocy happened last week. There's a hospital on campus, so of course an ambulance or two will come screaming through campus now and then. I was waiting at a crosswalk with a friend and heard the sirens coming up the hill toward us. Being the logical people we are, we stepped back and waited. Logic wasn't gifted to two girls who decided now was the time to step into the street and mosey across. An ambulance and firetruck were RIGHT THERE, screaming and blaring any and all horns they had at these two girls. The girls, realizing the two speeding emergency vehicles weren't going to stop, freaked out and sprinted the rest of the way. Of course, they were stupid enough to give reproachful looks to the mean drivers who didn't stop for them.
The streets running through campus are usually very busy, as are the sidewalks every 50 minutes when classes let out. Drivers are usually very careful about driving on campus and have learned to stop very quickly at stop walks. The pedestrians, however, assume they always have the right of way and that cars will stop for them as soon as they step foot into the street, cross walk or not. I've seen students walk right out into traffic while texting, not even noticing the cars that are already in the crosswalk. I'll often see strings of people stepping into the middle of the street in front of a long string of cars, texting, taking a leisurely walk through a busy street.
I usually ride my bike on campus and have to ride down a long hill to the bottom of campus for a couple of my classes. There are a couple of crosswalks along this slope, so I have to be very mindful of people crossing the street. BUT...there are the few special people texting (they're always texting) who will step RIGHT out in front of me without looking. I can't stop that quickly without going over the handlebars, so in those cases I don't even attempt to stop. If they want to get hit...that's on them.
My favorite instance of student idiocy happened last week. There's a hospital on campus, so of course an ambulance or two will come screaming through campus now and then. I was waiting at a crosswalk with a friend and heard the sirens coming up the hill toward us. Being the logical people we are, we stepped back and waited. Logic wasn't gifted to two girls who decided now was the time to step into the street and mosey across. An ambulance and firetruck were RIGHT THERE, screaming and blaring any and all horns they had at these two girls. The girls, realizing the two speeding emergency vehicles weren't going to stop, freaked out and sprinted the rest of the way. Of course, they were stupid enough to give reproachful looks to the mean drivers who didn't stop for them.
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