pedestrian rundown

RBR Quote:

Overheard: "Drivers in America and Australia just have attitudes. I
don't necessarily say attitudes towards cyclists, but towards other
road users. People just don't realize the danger they're causing other
people." -- Cadel Evans, 2007 ProTour champion, admitting that
training on the road has its unsettling moments.

Blend this with the experience the other day of the F150 almost running over the pedestrian... I'm sitting there at a stop light when this fucking nob drives up next to me in the right turn lane in his big ole' truck. The dude in the crosswalk is right in front of me, walking left-to-right, and as I'm sitting there, the F150 is creeping up and wanting to turn right on red. But somehow, he completely fails to notice that there's someone in the crosswalk. He's looking left, the guy is right there... I don't know how this is even possible to be so clueless, but the F150 driver either doesn't notice, or doesn't care, and doesn't stop until the pedestrian in front of his bumper gets freaked out and has to pound on his hood to get his attention and keep from getting flattened into the crosswalk. Somehow does F150 guy think he owns the entire road?

I was in the car a couple months ago when Mom and Dad were in town for a visit. There are a number of pedestrian crosswalks in the middle of loooong blocks on campus. They're not the most visible, but they're signed with high-visibility signs and have striped crosswalks. People use them. Thery're there for a reason. But when it was obvious that Dad didn't seem to be slowing down when there are pedestrians in the crosswalk, I had to repeat a couple times "Dad... pedestrians." before he clued in. After passing the crosswalk, he made some comment like "what the hell are those people doing?" to which I replied "They're crossing the street. They're in the crosswalk. They have the right of way - you're supposed to yield to them." to which he muttered "they just walk out there in traffic like they're flaunting it" to which the only thing I could think to say was "What, are you expecting them to yield to you instead of you yielding to them?" Sure, Alberto Gonzalez might think that the Geneva Convention is quaint, but hopefully the Rules of the Road don't end up in that same rubbish bin of quaintness.

Of course, the whole pedestrian crossing takes a more difficult turn when we start talking about mordern roundabouts. There's more of them coming to roadways in the U.S., and while they are safer than 4-way stops and signalled intersections for motorized traffic, they create significant challenges for people with disabilities.