"I didn't run you over, so you need to calm down!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was in the crosswalk yesterday at Irving and Hiatt (halfway between 14th and 16th Streets) when a driver making a left turn onto Irving nearly ran me down. I kept thinking the car would stop... and it did, about 6 inches from me. I thought, "This is it" and my reaction was to let out a yell and and throw my arms up. The driver rolled down her window. I said, "You didn't see me?" She replied by berating me with, "I didn't run you over, so you need to calm down!" Then she drove off down Irving. If I did that, I would be apologizing profusely and asking if the pedestrian was okay. Yeesh. What in the hell? She's going to kill someone one day. I'm still a bit rattled.

It's just not safe for pedestrians out there. What can be done?

Never trust that a car will stop or they see you. If you think a car will stop wait till it does before you move in front of it. It’s nice you are in the crosswalk but if that car hits you ...

It's "nice" that I was in the crosswalk?!? I was following the rules... already in the crosswalk before she came barreling up out of nowhere.

You don't just have the right of way because you are in a crosswalk. It does not mean you don't have to be vigilant because you are in the crosswalk.

I do have the right of way in a crosswalk and I was vigilant. When I started crossing she wasn't even close to the intersection. And there's a stop sign on Hiatt. It's a one way on Irving and nothing was coming from that direction.

NP here. Reminds me of a poem we were taught in drivers ed. It went something like this (I'm sure I've mixed up a few words, but you get the idea.)

There once was a man named George McFay, who died defending his right of way.
His right was clear, his will was strong, but he's just as dead as if he were wrong.

[Anonymous]

Never trust a car to stop even if you are in the crosswalk and you have the light. I am shocked at all the pedestrians that don't bother looking or keep walking even when they see car coming just trusting that the driver will stop.

[Anonymous]

Never trust a car to stop.

My dh was just rear ended when he stopped to let pedestrians go, who walked out in front of him. They are lucky his car wasn't pushed into them. I'm dealing with the insurance today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never trust a car to stop even if you are in the crosswalk and you have the light. I am shocked at all the pedestrians that don't bother looking or keep walking even when they see car coming just trusting that the driver will stop.

Okay. SO what happens if a car just plows through the crosswalk. There is only so much vigilance a pedestrian can demonstrate. If you have the light or you are in the crosswalk, looking can only do so much if someone drives through it.

For the most part, all looking is going to accomplish is watching your death come at you.

Fear response (freezing) and the fact that people are slower than cars means that a pedestrian will always be at a disadvantage.

When incidents like the OP describes happen, the only way the pedestrian survives is if the car stops! All the vigilance in the world won't save her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never trust a car to stop even if you are in the crosswalk and you have the light. I am shocked at all the pedestrians that don't bother looking or keep walking even when they see car coming just trusting that the driver will stop.

So what are you going to do if you are in the crosswalk legally and see a car coming? Turn around and run back to the sidewalk? Gimme a break. There has to be some trust there. Otherwise you'd just hide in your house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, yes you had the right of way. I think the other poster’s point is that there’s no right of way in heaven. (Per a saying I once saw in another country.) This means don’t rely on others for your safety even if you do have the right of way. It could save your life.

I wasn't relying on others for my safety. I was crossing the street. Should we not cross streets? Should there be no pedestrians in the city? Should I have to worry about being killed just because I'm not in a car?

+1 I walk 45 minutes to work, if I never trust that someone is going to stop for me when they have a red light or a stop sign, how exactly am I supposed to get to work. If I waited until there was no traffic that could possibly run me over at every crossing, my walk would take 2 hours. And drivers are total jerks after near misses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday I saw a whole line of cars making a right over a crosswalk. Meanwhile a mom with a stroller couldn’t finish crossing the street and the crosswalk timer was counting down. Not one car slowed down for her.

People are jerks.

It amazes me how people just do whatever the person in front of them is doing. People are such sheep. I often cross the street in places where I have the right of way (e.g. marked crosswalk) but of course I don't step into the street until I see that the person is stopping. If the first person blows past me, then the people behind are much more likely to do so. I need to be pretty assertive (e.g. pretend I'm about to walk into traffic, while holding up my hand, and basically bluffing) to interrupt a line.

On the other hand, I sometimes wait for the bus in a close by location, where I wouldn't have the right of way if I decided to cross because it's the middle of the bus. People will slow down or even stop, and wave at me to let me know I'm welcome to cross. I'll wave back "no thank you" and they'll even roll down their window to tell me "I'm not in a hurry, please go ahead" and only go on when I explain I'm waiting for a bus. The interesting thing is that if one person stops, it's like they remind the rest of the drivers, because 5 or 6 people in a row will stop and offer to have me cross, despite me doing things like putting my backpack down, turning my back to the road, leaning on the bus stop sign, in hopes of giving a clear "I'm waiting for the bus" signal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never trust a car to stop even if you are in the crosswalk and you have the light. I am shocked at all the pedestrians that don't bother looking or keep walking even when they see car coming just trusting that the driver will stop.

Okay. SO what happens if a car just plows through the crosswalk. There is only so much vigilance a pedestrian can demonstrate. If you have the light or you are in the crosswalk, looking can only do so much if someone drives through it.

For the most part, all looking is going to accomplish is watching your death come at you.

Fear response (freezing) and the fact that people are slower than cars means that a pedestrian will always be at a disadvantage.

When incidents like the OP describes happen, the only way the pedestrian survives is if the car stops! All the vigilance in the world won't save her.

If the OP was being vigilant how did she not see a car coming.... looking at her phone ... probably.

You can't just stand at a crosswalk texting then all of a sudden walk into the crosswalk ... like drivers can read your mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, yes you had the right of way. I think the other poster’s point is that there’s no right of way in heaven. (Per a saying I once saw in another country.) This means don’t rely on others for your safety even if you do have the right of way. It could save your life.

I wasn't relying on others for my safety. I was crossing the street. Should we not cross streets? Should there be no pedestrians in the city? Should I have to worry about being killed just because I'm not in a car?

Yes, given the number of pedestrian deaths I would say a little bit of worry is not a bad thing -- basically, even when crossing with the light you should be cautious. I thought this was common sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never trust a car to stop even if you are in the crosswalk and you have the light. I am shocked at all the pedestrians that don't bother looking or keep walking even when they see car coming just trusting that the driver will stop.

Okay. SO what happens if a car just plows through the crosswalk. There is only so much vigilance a pedestrian can demonstrate. If you have the light or you are in the crosswalk, looking can only do so much if someone drives through it.

For the most part, all looking is going to accomplish is watching your death come at you.

Fear response (freezing) and the fact that people are slower than cars means that a pedestrian will always be at a disadvantage.

When incidents like the OP describes happen, the only way the pedestrian survives is if the car stops! All the vigilance in the world won't save her.

If the OP was being vigilant how did she not see a car coming.... looking at her phone ... probably.

You can't just stand at a crosswalk texting then all of a sudden walk into the crosswalk ... like drivers can read your mind.

This is OP. I wasn't looking at my phone. I'm an old Gen X person and my phone is not that important to me. When I started crossing Irving was clear and the driver on Hiatt street was at least halfway down the block. She blew through the stop sign to make the left when she almost hit me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in the crosswalk yesterday at Irving and Hiatt (halfway between 14th and 16th Streets) when a driver making a left turn onto Irving nearly ran me down. I kept thinking the car would stop... and it did, about 6 inches from me. I thought, "This is it" and my reaction was to let out a yell and and throw my arms up. The driver rolled down her window. I said, "You didn't see me?" She replied by berating me with, "I didn't run you over, so you need to calm down!" Then she drove off down Irving. If I did that, I would be apologizing profusely and asking if the pedestrian was okay. Yeesh. What in the hell? She's going to kill someone one day. I'm still a bit rattled.

It's just not safe for pedestrians out there. What can be done?

Some guy did the same to me. I feel for you pp

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP, yes you had the right of way. I think the other poster’s point is that there’s no right of way in heaven. (Per a saying I once saw in another country.) This means don’t rely on others for your safety even if you do have the right of way. It could save your life.

I wasn't relying on others for my safety. I was crossing the street. Should we not cross streets? Should there be no pedestrians in the city? Should I have to worry about being killed just because I'm not in a car?

Yes, given the number of pedestrian deaths I would say a little bit of worry is not a bad thing -- basically, even when crossing with the light you should be cautious. I thought this was common sense.

OH FOR GOD'S SAKE. I don't get how you people can't understand that OP was doing everything right in this instance. I suppose just being a pedestrian is wrong in your view.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never trust a car to stop even if you are in the crosswalk and you have the light. I am shocked at all the pedestrians that don't bother looking or keep walking even when they see car coming just trusting that the driver will stop.

Okay. SO what happens if a car just plows through the crosswalk. There is only so much vigilance a pedestrian can demonstrate. If you have the light or you are in the crosswalk, looking can only do so much if someone drives through it.

For the most part, all looking is going to accomplish is watching your death come at you.

Fear response (freezing) and the fact that people are slower than cars means that a pedestrian will always be at a disadvantage.

When incidents like the OP describes happen, the only way the pedestrian survives is if the car stops! All the vigilance in the world won't save her.

If the OP was being vigilant how did she not see a car coming.... looking at her phone ... probably.

You can't just stand at a crosswalk texting then all of a sudden walk into the crosswalk ... like drivers can read your mind.

This is OP. I wasn't looking at my phone. I'm an old Gen X person and my phone is not that important to me. When I started crossing Irving was clear and the driver on Hiatt street was at least halfway down the block. She blew through the stop sign to make the left when she almost hit me.

You have said this at least twice. I feel like you are fighting a losing battle. For some reason I cannot comprehend, people want to believe the fact that you were walking legally and carefully is moot and you are still responsible for bad, inattentive, and dangerous drivers.

Why, people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was in the crosswalk yesterday at Irving and Hiatt (halfway between 14th and 16th Streets) when a driver making a left turn onto Irving nearly ran me down. I kept thinking the car would stop... and it did, about 6 inches from me. I thought, "This is it" and my reaction was to let out a yell and and throw my arms up. The driver rolled down her window. I said, "You didn't see me?" She replied by berating me with, "I didn't run you over, so you need to calm down!" Then she drove off down Irving. If I did that, I would be apologizing profusely and asking if the pedestrian was okay. Yeesh. What in the hell? She's going to kill someone one day. I'm still a bit rattled.

It's just not safe for pedestrians out there. What can be done?

Well, I kind of agree with her -- you seem overly dramatic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Never trust a car to stop even if you are in the crosswalk and you have the light. I am shocked at all the pedestrians that don't bother looking or keep walking even when they see car coming just trusting that the driver will stop.

Okay. SO what happens if a car just plows through the crosswalk. There is only so much vigilance a pedestrian can demonstrate. If you have the light or you are in the crosswalk, looking can only do so much if someone drives through it.

For the most part, all looking is going to accomplish is watching your death come at you.

Fear response (freezing) and the fact that people are slower than cars means that a pedestrian will always be at a disadvantage.

When incidents like the OP describes happen, the only way the pedestrian survives is if the car stops! All the vigilance in the world won't save her.

If the OP was being vigilant how did she not see a car coming.... looking at her phone ... probably.

You can't just stand at a crosswalk texting then all of a sudden walk into the crosswalk ... like drivers can read your mind.

This is OP. I wasn't looking at my phone. I'm an old Gen X person and my phone is not that important to me. When I started crossing Irving was clear and the driver on Hiatt street was at least halfway down the block. She blew through the stop sign to make the left when she almost hit me.

Do you use a walker? She was 1/2 way down the block and you could not make it 2 car lengths... it's not a big intersection.