Pedestrian vs. Car, Round I
It perplexes me that any pedestrian in the Chicago Loop would run through the crosswalk when the “do not walk” sign is present – rather than wait 20 seconds for the “walk sign” to appear again.
Is the pedestrian in such a hurry to get to work that they would rather risk their life running in front of traffic than be late?
There are a lot of cars in the Loop during rush hour. I have a suspicion the car is most likely to win the race.
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Today’s Idiom: to pour oil on troubled waters – to make peace, to calm someone down
I tried to pour oil on troubled waters, but Steven was so infuriated he wouldn’t listen to me, and continued to yell back at our neighbors.
Themocracy
People slay me, they really do. This guy ran out in front of me yesterday…he SAW me but just assumed I’d stop. What the HECK?
I’ve heard people in Chicago regularly say, “Well, they won’t hit me, they don’t want vehicular manslaughter on their hands!” Pedestrians here have a rather skewed sense of entitlement!
Pedestrians in Seattle act like they are cars. They don’t care about crosswalks or signs. And drivers stop for them!
It’s not quite the same, but in Boulder near the CU campus they have these really annoying pedestrian crossing lights that drive me crazy.
They’re not actual stop lights, but any time a pedestrian wants to cross the (very busy) street, they just push a button and the lights flash, and all cars are supposed to stop for them. However, because the lights are car height they aren’t particularly easy to see, and some people flat out don’t understand, or maybe care, that they’re supposed to stop.
If I were crossing the street I’d wait a couple seconds to make sure the cars were going to stop, but no one does. They push the button and, I swear, before the lights even flash they’re dawdling their way across the street.
Whoever thought it was a good idea to have these should be hit. Just stick a real stop light there and make the students wait more than half a second to cross the street.
As someone who used to work in the auto insurance industry, it’s very rare that a car is “in the right” when they hit a pedestrian. Regardless of whether the pedestrian is crossing against a light. Then again, as a pedestrian, even knowing the car may very well be “in the wrong,” personally, I value my limbs and organs far too much to play that game.
it’s the same here in NY. NYers just want to get to where they are going – cars be damned!
oh, btw…Steven had a screaming match with the neighbors…? This problem is not going away, is it.
Hilly – I can’t even think of what to say… because that is completely ridiculous. Maybe he was blind?
diane – Yeah, the driver might go to jail for vehicular manslaughter… but the person saying that might be dead! Then what would be the point?
sizzle – Maybe the pedestrians get that sense of entitlement because the cars DO stop. You can’t really play chicken with a pedestrian when you are driving your car.
Jenn – Wow! I have never heard of anything like that ! If I was from out of town, and driving, I wouldn’t know what to do. There isn’t a “Stop for flashing lights” sign?
Nilsa S. – I completely agree that cars are almost never be “in the right” for hitting a person. But at the same time, why can’t pedestrians obey the street signs? Why are people so reckless?
Gina (Mannyed) – Hee hee. It’s probably WORSE there! And Today’s Idiom is inspired from the last time I posted about it – March 29. Since then, everything has been better. In fact, just on Sunday, the management company of their home drove to their house and talked to us about it too – apologizing.
It drives me crazy when people walk and it’s not their turn!!! Aarrgh- but in Europe, you just have to walk anyway and the cars will stop usually 😉
Bethany – Oh gosh, I remember living in Italy and almost always being afraid to cross the street! They drive like madmen there!