So *FURIOUS*

[Sunsetsky]

I would've been pissed. While they think it's all fun and games, there could have been the possibility that their brakes fail and they actually hit the person. I think scare tactics should be used with kids like these.

I had two girls almost hit me before after I got off work. They were literally inches from me and were still moving towards me and I had to dodge to get out of the way. The stupid driver was laughing too. I was too angry to even consider getting the license number. I didn't even think of it until they were too far down the parking lot and my legs were bothering me too much to run after them to get it.

I also hate it when pedestrians don't look both ways before crossing the street. Some people think that just because they have the right away that means they can do whatever they want. I always look both ways before crossing. I'm not stupid enough to start crossing a street without looking.

[Kogarashi]

I've had to deal with the pedestrian problem both in the town I used to live in (in Utah) and now here (in Connecticut). Both towns have a high college student population, but just as many stupid pedestrians are obviously non-students. ::sigh::

Worst was in Utah, when I was driving through campus and came toward a lighted intersection (as in traffic lights). I was behind a smaller car (I drive a Jeep Grand Cherokee; not huge but not exactly small, either), who suddenly had to slam their brakes right at the crosswalk despite the fact that we still had a green light. Why? Because some 20-something male yahoo with his terrified girlfriend in tow bobbed out into the crosswalk in front of us with a cheesy grin and a friendly wave at us. If I'd been the front car, I would've been leaning on my horn at that point. That intersection is timed, not on a sensor, and the yahoo wouldn't have had to wait long before the light changed again and allowed him to cross. Of course, if I'd been the girlfriend, I would've been slugging him with my backpack.

I've also had to deal with inattentive drivers (moreso in Utah than in Connecticut; perhaps because out here, at least, the drivers are used to the jaywalking antics of pedestrians and take extra care to watch out for them, though CT drivers have their own massive flaws). One time, I was walking to class from my husband's and my on-campus housing, which wasn't so on-campus as the single student dorms. It involved crossing five lanes of traffic (one lane being a two-way turning lane), where the only signals of any sort on the crosswalk were orange safety flags for the pedestrians to hold. No crosswalk signal, no yield sign, definitely no traffic light. I hated that crosswalk because no one ever noticed pedestrians waiting to cross, and hardly noticed pedestrians already crossing.

Well, I got to the crosswalk and grabbed a flag, and stood there with it sticking out a bit and waving so drivers would notice. After five cars pass, a minivan suddenly slams its brakes in the near lane, almost covering the crosswalk, and motions for me to go. Five more cars line up behind it, waiting patiently. I figure, ok, I'll go because they're nice and there's no gap coming anytime soon behind them. So I start out carefully, because I can't see very well around the minivan (you couldn't stop further back, at the stop line?), and stick the flag out first.

I nearly lost my hand as a Jeep went barrelling past the line of stopped cars (now 10 cars deep or so), and never even slowed down. After my life flashed before my eyes, I peered around the minivan cautiously and saw that the rest of the cars in the second lane had noticed my flag and stopped. So had the traffic in the far two lanes. So just that red Jeep was being inattentive. ::sigh::

It's always been my own alertness so far that has spared me from accidents, thankfully.

[ArenaBoy]

A few weeks ago, my mom and my little sister were walking around town, they were on a crosswalk which was in their favor and started walking. This idiot does not notice my mom or sister walking down the crosswalk. The idiot's on her cellphone and nearly hit my mom. Idiot doesn't apologize and there were some witnesses who saw the whole thing and just about chewed the idiot out.

[karma_gypsy]

I had a theory that they were using them in much the same way miners used pit canaries. If the baby survives, it's fine to cross.

That's terrible . . . unless they were waiting for the baby to give them a thumb's up - letting mom know it's safe to cross. . .


I've got another story, my mom and I were coming home from a long trip - I was driving, I was only about 17 or so at the time.

We were close to home, and it was around 3:30 pm, school had gotten out and lots of kids all over the roads and sidewalks. I'm driving down a relatively quite residential sidestreet.

There was these two girls, about 13-14 or so, both on bikes, no helmets (which is state law if you're under 16). They were riding bikes on the road, but close enough to the cars so I could still get through. They knew I was there, I saw them look at me. I decided to turn down my radio and take it slow (about 5-10 MPH). Lord knows what one of these girls could do.

Then one of them made almost a sharp turn on her bike and rode right out in front of me. I was going slow enough, I was able to slam on my brakes (yes, had to do the slam) and laid on my horn. The girl looks back, doesn't say anything and gets back to the side of the road. We drive passed and my mom yells something out the window like, "watch where you're going" (or something to that effect.)

The girls reply (actually it was the other girl, the one who didn't ride into the road), "Whatever!" If I was any less careful, she probably would've gotten hit. I don't have a doubt about it.

[JustaCashier]

People walking out and then looking? We had a rash of young mothers in our local town when I was doing the window cleaning thing who would stick their pushchairs (strollers?) out into the road and then look to see if anything was going to hit their baby. Caused us to lose quite a bit of tyre rubber.

I had a theory that they were using them in much the same way miners used pit canaries. If the baby survives, it's fine to cross.

Rapscallion

The last building I worked in Downtown, while in the parking biz, was on a corner where there was a freeway on-ramp running along one side of the building.

Drivers on the cross street were notorious, as they are many other places, for blasting into the crosswalk in front of them as/after they have gotten the red light, and the cross vehicle and pedestrian traffic has the green. Even with three, count 'em three unobstructed signs, one backlit, clearly stating "No Right Turn on Red".

On many occasions, I was tempted to find a lightweight, soft body mannequin, put a handle on the back of it, and toss it in front of the offending, moron operated vehicle. The more evil side of me, had thought about a doll in a stroller as an alternate.

Knowing my luck though, even if I took precautions, the idiot's car would get scratched, or they would have a heart attack, and then successfully sue me. No matter that they showed absolutely no concern that in their self-important damn hurry to get on the clogged freeway, they could have maimed or killed somebody trying to legally cross.

Mike

[protege]

I also hate it when pedestrians don't look both ways before crossing the street. Some people think that just because they have the right away that means they can do whatever they want. I always look both ways before crossing. I'm not stupid enough to start crossing a street without looking.

99.9% of CMU and Pitt (college, for those of you not in the US) students don't seem to care if they get hit. Several people have been hit while trying to cross either Forbes or 5th Avenue in Oakland. Why? Even though the city has installed traffic lights with delays--they go all red for a bit before they turn green again--students refuse to cross there. They dart out from between parked cars instead...and then have the nerve to scream at traffic when they get hit.

[Gravekeeper]

I've almost been hit or seen someone almost get hit on numerous occasions on this one crosswork near my place. It's a "T" intersection near the Skytrain station, so there's tons of people crossing it daily. So its not like people being on the crosswalk is any sort of huge surprise.

Basically what happens is the cars coming up the base of the T can turn left or right, directly into the crosswalks. Obviously, they're suppose to wait till people finish crossing first. But withoutfail there's always at least one a-hole driver who seriously thinks one of two things:

1) I can make the turn before the pedestrian gets in my way ( So they try to RACE you. Seriously they drive at you as fast as possible thinking they can get by you before you walk far enough into the street to be hit. )

2) They'll see me coming and stop crossing the street so I can go by.


Obviously both of these brilliant approachs fail all the time. No pedestrian expects a car to come BARRELING at them when they're halfway through a crosswalk and the walk sign is on.

I almost got hit *twice* in the same crossing because some woman attempted to race me. I made it almost half way then realized a car was gunning straight at me. So I go to try and get out of the way and she slams the brakes on about 10 feet from me which causes her car to swerve sideways and miss me.

But the fun didn't end there, moron #2 who likewise was trying to race the crosswalk was tailgating the first car so after it swerved to the side I suddenly have car #2 coming right at me. That car barely manages to slam its breaks on as well about 4 feet from me.

I stared at them both in awe for a moment ( That kind of stupidity impresses even me ) the glared at them. Their reactions? Both of them were looking at me in COMPLETE SURPRISE as if I had just materialized out of the mists of Avalon to appear in the road ahead of them. There is absoslutely *nothing* obscuring a driver's view of any pedestrians crossing or waiting on the corner to cross at this intersection. So there's NO excuse whatsoever for not seeing them.

Idiots!

[Jester]

I've seen a LOT of this lately myself. Somehow, over the years, the whole "pedestrian has the right of way" law has been interpreted by idiots to mean that they can do whatever they want, and if they get hit they can sue the other driver.
...snip...
My grandma, the smartest person who ever lived, taught me that I should always assume that the driver of the car will not see me, and to imagine in a head-to-head fight who would win. Hmmm, err, umm, 3000+ pound automobile, 200 and something pound me. Weighing options, weighing options...

As a pedestrian, you should always always always assume that the driver is not going to stop, and be prepared for that eventuality.. Because even though you can sue them if they don't, the broken leg/heart attack/snapped spine/death is still going to be remarkably painful and inconvenient to your daily routine.

I've said it time and time again, so much so that my friend FE has started quoting me on it.

"When truck meets pedestrian, truck wins. Every. Single. Time."


One pedestrian story I love to tell, and may have told in here, is from my days of traveling the country, when I was bicycling through Manhattan.

I was zipping up Sixth Avenue (or whatever they are calling it these days) and basically racing another dude on a bike on the other side of the street. (Sixth Avenue is one way, so we were both legal.) And there is mondo traffic--it IS New York City!--so we both have our hands full just dealing with that. Luckily the drivers in NYC are used to cyclists, so they take us into account.

Apparently not all the pedestrians are that bright. Some NYC pedestrians "jump" the light a bit, anticipating it. That is not always bad, except when you overanticipate and jump it way too early. And don't look to see what is coming.

I was coming up on a stoplight that was green, but about to turn, and pedestrians are waiting at the corner to start crossing. As I zoom up to the light, it is yellow. Not red. Meaning the light going the other way is, in fact, red. As is the pedestrian signal. Well, it seems one business type dude was both not looking and in a hurry, because he jumped the gun way too early.

I personally have never had a human shoulder whose existence I was completely unaware of pass within inches of my nose at 20 mph. I imagine it is less than a fun experience. I imagine this because this gentleman, who DID have that experience, looked extraordinarily pale when I glanced back over my shoulder after I had blasted through the light. Sort of looked like this:

Now, before you get on my case, I am a very alert cyclist, and I had the light, and this guy jumped way too early, and so suddenly that it was all I could do to swerve so that my shoulder passed in FRONT of his nose. Because I am quite certain that had I NOT swerved, my shoulder would have shattered either his nose or his jaw. After all, when shoulder hits face, shoulder wins. Every. Single. Time.

Never saw the guy after that, but my guess is that he (a) looks to see what is coming now, and (b) doesn't jump the light quite as early any more.

[symposes]

I work for a university, and driving around campus is fun too.
I swear, the freshman starter course, that helps someone adjust to college life, must have someone saying "You can step out infront of vehicles, and theyll stop, every single time."

I have had way to many people step out infront of me, Thank god i had enough distance to stop van. Which is no small feat, A econline van, FULL of tools and parts and pieces, IS HEAVY, it takes much more time to stop then any other vehicle that travels around the campus, except for the big mack style trucks.

Course i like being the passenger and seeing all the pretty college co-eds. erv: Atleast i know that 99% of the women i see are 18+ hehe