I am so tired of this

I am so sick of people refusing to yield to pedestrians. yesterday, I was crossing the street. I had the right of way. A woman in a van was making a left turn towards me. She didn't let me cross. She just went on driving without considering that it was her duty to yield to me. I've had this happen several times. I cross the street and its my right of way and the drivers don't yield. Or if they do, they kind of pushes us to run to cross quickly. It only takes a second to cross the street. Where are the cops when you need them? I also get really irritated when I see or hear drivers speeding in a residential area. Everyday or night when I am at my apartment, I always hear cars going by really fast. I want to complain to the city officials but I am only one person. No body else cares if someone gets hit.

Nena - I agree completely! As a mother with preschoolers, it's even worse. I hate it when I'm crossing the street with them, and some driver either refuses to yield or makes us run across the street. It seems that some people are in such a hurry that they don't care who they run over.

The speeding in residential areas is even worse! I live in a neighborhood with tons of small children. The teenagers in the neighborhood go so fast down the street that if there was a kid in the road, they'd end up mowing them over before they could stop. It was so bad for a while that the neighbors and I (3 families all-together) called the PD and complained. They set up speed traps very soon after that, and the problem was resolved for a while. Thankfully, a lot of the speeding on my street is late at night when the kids are in bed. But give me a break! These teenagers need to grow up and figure out they're not the only ones in the world!


Man, was that a vent or what? I'll get off my soapbox now.

You should try doing deliveries in a city environment with an 18-wheeler. The pedestrians all seem to think they've got blue tights,a red cape and a big "S" on their chest.:tounge2: Downtown Boston is about the worst..must be all those beans.

I think it's just a sign of the times we live in where evryone's busy doing the old corporate shuffle and the tempers wear thin. But don't give up hope;the last time I was in NYC an Exec type lady in a Mercedes actually stopped and waved my truck out of the alleyway I was unloading in. I darn near fainted.

I bet you did, KF! That would be a shock!

Nena
I have the all the same problems you do when I am a pedestrian crossing a busy street. It isn't just that drivers are failing to yield to pedestrians either, they are also failing to yield to funeral processions. Several times I have seen cars forcing their through a funeral procession just because the traffic light has changed and they want to get through the intersection. I always thought you were supposed to show respect and let the funeral procession pass first no matter what.

People can be really inconsiderate that way.

Ah, just flip'em off and yell at them :LOL:
I know what ya mean ...... people just won't stop for pedestrians, whether it's crossing the street, or crossing the walkway to get into a store! I just look at them as they drive by.

Alicia, I feel the SAME way! I used to walk to school since the college is like 3 blocks away from my house. But I had to cross a major street to get there. There IS a crosswalk, but I would have to leave about 20 minutes early each day because I knew I'd wait at leat 10 at the crosswalk every day. I think in all my years of walking, maybe 4 or 5 cars actually stopped when they saw me waiting at the side of the road. I remember crossing, and the drivers who had to stop to let me cross always gave me dirty looks! Outrageous! What has happend to common courtesy?

KF,

I used to walk and drive in Boston, so I have to ask, don't you know the rule about eye contact?

Essentially, drivers don't make eye contact with each other, because the person who initiates eye contact yields the right of way. You've got to have good peripheral vision because you have to watch everything out the corner of your eye while looking straight ahead. After all, if you don't see them, they don't exist, right?

Pedestrians, now, usually make eye contact but they are trying to send you a telepathic message: "If you hit me, I will sue". I have even seen jaywalking pedestrians stop in the middle of the lane so that oncoming traffic is forced to stop. And then they yell at the drivers! Even New York City isn't as bad - at least they tend to cross at the corners there!

:tounge2: :tounge2:

Ha ha ha ha ha.... I know how annoying it is too... being a "non-driver" (as yet) I have to walk alot of places... I think its the same everywhere these days..... however I have to say, that I recently started having driving lessons, and some people just REALLY are horrible!! Now I hate to say it cos I know it deosn't include ALL of them, but its mostly kids!! (young teenagers) They just walk out in front of the car taking as long as possible to cross and get outta the way, giving you evil looks like "you're not going to run me over ha ha ha" Man it drives me nuts!! I experienced this on my FIRST ever lesson..... little did they know I probably couldn't have stopped the car anyway even if I'd needed to!!! ha ha ha ha ha :laughing:

The campus of the college I go to is on main st. with one half on one side of the street and the other half on the other side. I constantly have to go back and forth across the busiest street in town all day. Not a single person will stop; don't ask how many classes I've been late for! I get so pissed I just take off across sometimes and MAKE them stop, then I get yelled at and fliped off! Oh well.

It makes me SO angry when drivers think that just because they are in a car that they are more powerful and they can plow right through a crosswalk or down the street!

Most of the time I stop and wait for the cars to stop for me...but most of them never do. Sometimes I wait FOREVER and then I just go. My husband is always yelling at me for doing this, but I tell him that I have the right of way since I am the pedestrian and they are not. He thinks that one day that someone isn't going to care and just hit me!

Most of the time I stop and let people cross because I always think that what if that was me standing there waiting to cross...

The problem is, if a pedestrian and a car decided to have a fight over who has the right of way, the pedestrian might be morally right, but the car wins . . .

I like to freak out pedestrians by actually stopping for them. You'd be surprised how confused they get.

:tounge2:

I have lived in Dubai so long where we have pedestrian crossings but they are not honoured (if that iks the right word) by drivers - there is no law that says that they have to stop for pedestians so I as nearly all pedestrians here get used to dodging traffic here.....I would get suspicious if a car stopped for me. And as far as speeding goes here.....I best not touch that subject - It totally makes me mad here as speed limits (what are those kinda attitude!) then people wonder why the death rate is soooo darn high (I think it is the third highest in the world) for such a small country it is horrific!!!!!