I found another 42 the other day, bet getting a picture of it proved a bit too exciting to suit me.
Standing at the corner while I waited for my walk signal, a car came up to the intersection and stopped at their red light. As my pedestrian crossing light came on and I stepped out into the intersection, this entitled SUV-driving idiot brushed past me turning right. She bumped me enough to make a sound against her vehicle, but she didn't stop. In fact she sped up and crossed into a further lane of traffic on Poplar so quickly I was unable to get the license number.
Then a few days after this happened to me, The Younger Son was brushed once and almost hit again by cars on his way home. The first car turned right onto Goodlett from the east-bound left-turn lane on Southern against the light and leaned on the horn as he brushed The Younger Son in the crosswalk. The second car almost hit him turning right on red out of the Dixon Art Gallery parking lot while The Younger Son was walking with the light. He doesn't think that second car ever even saw him.
Just for the information of anybody reading this who doesn't already know:
Right on red after stop does NOT mean you can run over pedestrians as you turn!
What is it with these people? They are totally self-absorbed and unconcerned about anything that doesn't directly affect them. Well, if I could get you convicted of a hit and run, that would affect you! But I bet you'd claim that you hitting me with your SUV while I was walking in a pedestrian crosswalk with the light while you should have been yielding at your red light was somehow my fault.
If police cars aren't safe from the careless self-centered disregard of SUV drivers, what hope does a pedestrian have?
I swear, I think driving SUVs should require a special license and annual driving tests in traffic with bikes and pedestrians, and should be limited to people with souls.
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I hope you are all right. I don't think we could ever go back to a time without right turn on red but sometimes I wish we could. Even when driving it's dangerous, people who don't stop before turning or become enraged when people driving straight won't stop so they can turn first. The suv thing is a whole other issue which escalates with more expensive suv's. They all think they own the road and are indestructable but Cadillacs and Lexuses are the worst.
ReplyDeleteI´m happy you are both all right. Some people should be pulled off the streets and forced to become pedestrians themselves. Drivers are often totally unaware of the world pedestrians and cyclists occupy. Every fall, we see a number of men who have decided to start biking to work, for health purposes I imagine. Except, they don´t know the town has a whole network of bike&walkways not going anywhere near the roads. So they bike along with the motor traffic. After a week they give up. Or perhaps one or two finds the right place to pedal, but somehow I doubt it...
ReplyDeletebob, we think grand marquis drivers are the absolute worst. we think they should be legally prohibited from backing up, because they apparently can't see anything behind them.
ReplyDeletewe think suv drivers should be prohibited from city streets except when driven by people with commercial licenses and containing at least 4 people.
this trend towards buying huge road-hogging vehicles by people who seem to want to be alone, who can't stay inside the lane lines and who think traffic laws are for other people is a danger to the human race.
not that i have strong feelings about it... ;)
viktoria, around here there are no walkways except for sidewalks, which some entire neighborhoods don't have. there are a few bike trails, but nowhere near our routes. bike lanes are hit or miss, appearing for a few blocks and then disappearing into "shared" lanes with the cars. like that'll work :/
ReplyDeletei bought a bike last year to use as transportation to mother's, but every time i try to take it on the road i get abused by car drivers. it's scary.