Well, its that time of the year again here at the shore. I generally don’t have a problem with tourists. They spend a lot of money and eventually leave. Two things about them are very frustrating. One - they can’t drive but that’s another thread. The more annoying thing is that they fail to use common sense when crossing the street and take advantage of a well-intended but dumb law. Said law requires motorists to come to a complete stop if a pedestrian is in a marked crosswalk. The police got grant money to enforce this law and put “undercover” pedestrians to step in front of moving traffic (or at least begin crossing the street).
The result is more rear end collisions as people slam on their brakes to stop for the idiots who walk out without looking, pausing or taking their faces out of their goddamn i-things. Just yesterday a group of these morons, including little kids walked right out in front me. No pause at the curb. No looking left or right . Nothing. I was doing the 25 mph limit but still had to get on the brakes hard to stop in time. I looked in my rear view mirror and there was not another car coming as far as the eye could see. If you look at them funny or, god forbid, sound your horn they get all indignant and start pointing at the painted crosswalk and flipping the bird.
WTF is wrong with you people?! Why can’t you just wait until its safe to cross the street like any seven year old? On a busy day you might have to wait for 30 seconds or even (GASP) an entire minute! That would be extremely rare, BTW. In case you hadn’t noticed, there are traffic lights every few blocks and they cycle pretty quickly. But, early in the day the beach awaits and you might lose your favorite patch of sand that is so different from the other thousands of acres of granular bliss. In the afternoon, well, I don’t know what the rush is. You have to pee? Happy hour somewhere? No matter. You are on a mission and you know the law is on your side. I’m thinking about getting a super loud truck horn and blasting it every time another dick (of either sex) steps out in front of me. I don’t give a shit if you’re right according to the law. You’re wrong according to common sense.
Fucking assholes.
I’m so sorry you have to apply the brakes and pause for approximately 15 seconds in your busy travel schedule. Besides, it *is *safe if you are driving in a safe manner. Not sure why your needs take priority?
As a driver, I’ve been a block or two from a marked crosswalk and I see a pedestrian at the crosswalk, waiting for me to come to the intersection and stop before the pedestrian proceeds. Whereas if they had just walked across the intersection, they would have been on the other side by the time I crossed it. Drives me nuts.
WTF is wrong with you?! Why can’t you just wait for people to cross the street like any seven year old? On a busy day you might have to wait for 10 seconds or even (GASP) an entire 20 seconds! That would be extremely rare, BTW. I don’t know what the rush is. You have to pee? Happy hour somewhere? No matter. You are on a mission and even though you know the law is not on your side, you still need to complain.
Here’s a better idea: pay attention to people nearing the crosswalk, drive slowly enough that you don’t have to slam on the brakes, and don’t tailgate.
I’d say that yielding to pedestrians in crosswalks qualifies as common decency.
Sense? Well I love how people are so quick to assume anyone using a crosswalk is just diving in front of the fastest car they see. I’d wager the reality is that they decided to cross after getting fed up car after car after car pretending not to notice them and refusing to yield. I’d bet the drivers are just annoyed with being forced to stop for once.
It reminds me of the old story of a coastal town in early spring where someone yells at a driver for stopping at one of the town’s few stop lights. “Nobody stops at the light on Main during Winter!”
Yep. I live in a ski resort. LOT’s of enforced crosswalks. The bummer is when someone enters the crosswalk, and just stands there looking around, and doesn’t actually cross. Or waves the car through after you stop for them.
They probably do this because they have had the experience of crazed drivers who do not slow down for the, and some who may even speed up at the sight of someone on “their” road. I use an abundance of caution at a crosswalk, and generally assume a car will zoom right on through untill I can make eye contact with the driver.
And neither is a crosswalk the place for a driver to roar on through, while giving a hearty “fuck you, I own this road” to the pedestrian waiting to cross.
In fairness, I doubt the OP is zooming by people waiting to cross. I will trust that he is concerned only with the oblivious pedestrians who wander into the crosswalk without looking to see if it’s safe, which means he has to pay extra attention to avoid running them over.
But here’s the thing: the law says you, as the driver, have to pay extra attention. It is your responsibility to avoid an accident. And you can easily do that by driving more slowly, watching for people, and leaving a safe distance between you and other cars. Yeah, it’s annoying that you can’t drive as fast as you want while the pedestrian can walk into the street without waiting. Tough shit, deal with it. My heart bleeds for you.