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Old 09-07-2021, 04:31 PM   #1
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Assuming cars will stop at crosswalks

Flamesuit on, yadda, yadda, yadda.

No victim bashing here, but I am constantly amazed by how frequently pedestrians will go into a crosswalk (or simply jaywalk!) and assume a car(s) will slow down or stop for them.

I must admit that anytime I hear of someone getting struck, I wonder how many accidents could have been avoided by the mentality I use (forged in the fires of urban Lima), of "every car is trying to kill you."

Heck, a couple of years ago I was walking Henry with our two boys on a bright summer day after work. So that is three humans with bright shirts on and a yellow lab. We waited at an intersection until all cars stopped. As we were crossing, the car to our right starting moving towards us. I recall thinking "wow, that driver is impatient. He really has to eat up the 25' of intersection as we cross?" only to realize he wasn't slowing down. He never did. I pulled all three boys back and started yelling at the guy. He came within a foot of me. He looked totally out of it. Like we had sprung out of nowhere. Clearly driving in zombie-mode, he had stopped due to routine, but never actually looked at the intersection. He was driving quite leisurely too. If I wasn't looking for all the cars that could want to kill me, we would have been hit.

I still milk the hell out of that experience (and that of a classmate of theirs who was hit and killed along with his dog while crossing with his dad in a crosswalk) to remind my kids to never trust any car to slow down or stop.

Anyhow, how frequently people trust complete strangers and their ability to focus, pay attention, have skills, and be sober just blows my mind.
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Old 09-07-2021, 04:55 PM   #2
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Yep. It's scary. I was thinking about this the other day as well. Forget crosswalks, it's not uncommon to see people just crossing in the middle of the street seemingly without looking (sometimes at dusk or at night). And yeah, plenty of drivers are barely paying attention. Let's hope the auto pedestrian braking features of newer cars actually work.
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Old 09-07-2021, 05:04 PM   #3
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When driving in situations like that, I always try to make eye contact with a pedestrian and wave to them to let them know I see them and will wait.

I've also had a few near misses. In June, we were at the beach, and I was walking from our hotel to a coffee place about couple buildings down the street. When walked out of the parking lot for out hotel, there was a car waiting for an opening in the busy street to come out -- and the driver was looking to the left (and I was approaching her car from the right). Before going in front of her, I decided to wait. Sure enough, she never looked to the right before pulling out. Had I walked in front of her, she would have hit me. I just shook my head -- and she freaked out a little bit because she realized she easily would have driven into me...
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Old 09-07-2021, 08:48 PM   #4
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...and the driver was looking to the left ... she never looked to the right before pulling out. Had I walked in front of her, she would have hit me. I just shook my head -- and she freaked out a little bit because she realized she easily would have driven into me...
Yikes. That's crazy and it happens often as well, especially in rush hour.
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Old 09-07-2021, 09:25 PM   #5
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My wedding photographer’s wife was mowed down in a crosswalk by the DC Courthouse. A young mother of two.
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Old 09-08-2021, 12:01 AM   #6
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Anyhow, how frequently people trust complete strangers and their ability to focus, pay attention, have skills, and be sober just blows my mind.
Elon's got it covered, Boomer.
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Old 09-08-2021, 09:48 AM   #7
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Elon's got it covered, Boomer.
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Old 09-08-2021, 10:01 AM   #8
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My wedding photographer’s wife was mowed down in a crosswalk by the DC Courthouse. A young mother of two.
Ugh.
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