Please teach me how to cross the street!!!

[Anonymous]

So... I'm a pregnant pedestrian crossing a street out of a metro station (Ballston if it matters). There's no traffic light so I stop by the side walk, look at both sides and if there's no car of if the car is far away enough I start crossing. That's the way I was taught to do. Is it right or wrong? if there's no light the pedestrian has the right of the way?
I did it today - with my big belly and take out dinner for our family on my hands - I saw a car turning into the street I was about to cross 1 block away from me and I started crossing. (Yes, I was crossing walking on the pedestrian crossing area between the beautiful lines drawn just for us to step on) The driver of the car accelerated his van as much as it was possible and when he was 2 inches away from me he came to a sudden stop. (honestly I can't believe he made it so quickly! He passed straight through 2 other sets of pedxing areas without stopping - did I mention we're right out of the metro station? yes a lot of pedestrians crossing all the time) I freaked out and kinda ran... and once I finished passing in front of his car he honked his horn 3 loooooong times and started again accelerating as fast as he could making that terrible noise and coming to a stop 2 buildings away to make a delivery.
I was FURIOUS! and people who saw it happening made faces and called this driver bad names.
I guess I just needed to vent.

Where did kindness go?

[Anonymous]

Yes, we were honked by a lunatic driver a few days ago, too... and escaped certain death by a millisecond on the beltway where 270 and 495 divide (this other lunatic attempted a sudden U-turn right in front of us because he had missed the division).

Crazy people everywhere. Just model good behavior.

[Anonymous]

Goodness OP. I am sorry you went through that. Yes, please vent. I am glad you are okay.

Not to one up you, but I was pregnant in Vietnam, and you take your life in your hands trying to cross ANY street sans lights and traffic patterns with a gazillon moped drivers with air conditioners and such on the back of their bikes. I felt like a pregnant frogger, just waiting to splat all over the pavement. There were a few days that I just gave up trying to cross, and walked back to our apartment. Husband standing on the other side of the road TOTALLY understanding my fear.

So Ballston sucks. It could be worse. Take care, and vent away. People can suck sometimes. Don't let it suck the fun out of your pregnancy.

[Anonymous]

I live near there and remember quite a few incidents while pregnant and walking my dog. I cannot believe how many people would not stop for me. Worse, one day a car have pulled out and tried to block traffic for me, so I could cross. And the car it blocked, put the horn on full blast and while I was crossing, swerved around the other car and almost hit me. There was no sun glare and they had to see me (I was huge..and did I mention walking a dog).

I found - when possible - it's worth the effort to walk to an intersection with a light (there are a lot of them near the Ballston metro). Even then you have the lunatics, but at least they aren't going full blast. Of course, when you are having pregnancy pains, or really, really have to pee, sometimes you do have to take the shortest route.

Good luck to you and be careful!

[Anonymous]

I was crossing a couple months ago, in a crosswalk, with the green pedestrian walk signal, at a light, pregnant, pushing a stroller, and someone started turning left into me, slammed on the brakes, swerved around me, and managed to yell "BITCH!" as he passed. (This was Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring, so sadly the assholes are not limited to VA.)

Some people are just special... I like to think they'll get theirs. Or really, they already have, if that's the kind of miserable people they are.

Glad you're okay, OP.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the support girls. I wish this men could be pregnant once in their lives so they would never do this again!

[Anonymous]

Maybe I just never noticed it before I got pregnant, or maybe I was more slow-moving than I realized, but I swear, there were times when I was prego that I wondered if I had a big target painted on my belly that everyone but me could see. Maybe pregnant ladies are worth more points if you hit them in peoples' real-life games of Grand Theft Auto? Geez. Anyway, you didn't do anything wrong, OP - some people are just jerks! I console myself with the idea that someday those same people will do the same thing to someone with poor impulse control (or a gun) and they'll face consequences for their douchebaggery.

That said, I do get kind of cranky when I'm waiting to turn and pedestrians decide to cross when the "do not cross" is already flashing. In my mind, they had their turn - the entire time the walk signal was flashing - now it's my turn. Oh well. Sigh.