Reality Talk Blog

Do Drivers Really Care About Pedestrians?

Posted on 19. Aug, 2009 by Devo in Just Dumb

I’m an avid rollerblader and do 10-14k each morning at 7am before it gets too hot and humid and do my usual route along a paved walkway. At various points along my route, a route that I have to repeat numerous times to accumulate the distance I want, I have to continuously cross roads. They are small intersections with or without traffic lights where the roads lead into quiet subdivisions and at that time of the morning there is a fair amount of traffic through them as people leave for work.

I follow the rules of crosswalks and traffic lights by slowing right down, looking over my shoulder to see who might be planning a turn from behind me, I look to the left out onto the main road to see who may be coming through and I look down the road I’m crossing to see if anyone is coming from that way. If it is a red light for me, I stop and wait for it to go green before I cross and continue on my way. I skate pretty fast and am very proficient on the blades, but as you can see when it comes to cars, I play if very safe and play by the rules. I wear ear phones and listen to my iPod, but the volume is low enough that I can hear the traffic and not get caught up in my music. Once again, I play it safe. I wish I could say the same for the majority, yes majority of drivers I meet when crossing the roads.

Last summer I coasted out of my driveway and onto the road in my quiet subdivision, crossed to the other side of the road and turned left on my way to the track which is just a couple of hundred metres up the road. When I left my driveway I had checked both directions to see if any cars were coming first and seeing on one at all I was on my way. I stayed on the left hand side of the road and skated along. Soon I heard a car coming up from behind me and checked over my shoulder. I assumed the car would go by me as I was hugging the curb and not out in the lane. Well, that didn’t happen. The next thing I know I am hit from behind and thrown onto the road in front of the car. Ouch, that hurt, but I got to my knees and looked directly in the eyes of the driver who was a 20 something girl with her cell phone on and in her hand. I was furious! I screamed at her as I got up to see if I was ok and then with adrenaline flowing continued on my way. My left knee hurt, but at that time, not enough to stop skating which is what I wanted to do. I also just wanted to get away from that sniveling woman with the cell phone still in her hand. No I didn’t stay and call the police which I don’t regret to this day. I skated in pain for another 4k until I had to give up and go home. By the next day I was unable to walk and after a visit to the ER I found out I had fractured my leg. That ended my rollerblading for the rest of that year.

I was careful before the accident, but now I am extremely aware of the cars I come in contact with and am astounded each time I go out at the complete disregard for safety and common sense from most of them. Each and every day I see example after example of drivers who simply don’t care and consider themselves as ‘owning the road’. I see women doing makeup, drivers constantly on their cell phone, drivers texting, and eating. Even if a driver is not doing any of these things I watch time and time again as they pull up to the intersection, look down the street and pull right up onto the crosswalk without looking to see if a walker, cyclist, jogger, or rollerblader is there.

People, a crosswalk isn’t for parking your car on, it’s for pedestrians and pedestrians only. I shouldn’t have to slow to a crawl and almost come to a stop in the middle of the crosswalk because I cannot trust a car to stop before the crosswalk. I have to so there is a problem. Give this a try, stop before the crosswalk and look down the road you want to turn onto. Then when you are sure there is no pedestrians around, pull forward and onto the crosswalk and look down the road once again. Chances are the view is just the same as when you stopped before the crosswalk.

When I approach my crossing point and I see someone blatantly stop on the crosswalk, I try and do a little education. I usually point to the crosswalk and look at them. Seems harmless and something I have every right to to. Not according to these drivers. I have been sworn at, spit at and honked at with no provocation on my part. I simply do not have to go around you and out into the intersection just to cross the road; the law says so.

Keep in mind that if you hit someone crossing the road on a crosswalk, it is you and not the pedestrian who will be in trouble. You may injure them or even kill them and then face the law you so blatently thumbed your nose at.

I will then get the last laugh.

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Tags: crosswalks, dangerous drivers, pedestrians