Crosswalk Culture

[HappyTexasMom]

Around here, I don't even start out from a red light briskly for fear of someone unning it from the other direction. It's such a conditioned reflex that it generally slows down every light .

How awful! I have a similar reflex, biking, walking, or driving, and always have. I've never been in an accident related to someone running a red light, so I'm not sure why, but it has saved me a few times. Right now I'm teaching my 8 and 10 year old boys how to ride in traffic, and it's really tough to get the point across about the difference between what right-of-way is, and what the rules are, and the fact that at any given time, someone else may not follow that rule.

P.S. I love your signature!

[marni]

P.S. I love your signature!

Thank you, there aren't many who recognize it.

marni

[Geonz]

I think it is time somebody designed an ink squirter... just to make a mark. Helmet cameras also have interesting potential... (and I also check for the red light runners and the greenlight anticipaters.)

[tulip]

When I first moved to DC from Paris, I was amazed at how the pedestrians actually DO wait for the walk signal. I figured that DC is a city filled with people who respect, or at least acknowledge, authority, so they wait for the walk signal. Drove me nuts! In Paris, the pedestrians just go.

Drivers, however, are a different story. I dreaded crossing the street in DC as a pedestrian (even when waiting for the walk signal along with everyone else).

[Owlie]

Where I lived last year, if you jaywalked you were liable to get squashed, unless it was late. If it was late, you were liable to get a ticket. Yes, this police department had that little to do.

HappyTexasMom, I have the same sort of reflex. Lots of people here have no clue what that octagonal red sign means.

Anyway, I bring this thread up again because I walked over to Starbucks for a change. There are five road crossings between my house and Starbucks...and three of them are across the same road. These weren't the problem. I had to cross at a very busy intersection with a marked crosswalk and lights and everything. I had my eye on an SUV-load of teenage boys, and it was lucky that I did, because they showed absolutely no interest in letting me cross even though pedestrians have the right of way. They turned right in front of me. Apparently the driver missed that part of driver's ed. Of course, I'm starting to think that a lot of drivers here in Suburbia have no clue how to deal with pedestrians simply because they never see them.

[Crankin]

Pedestrians in MA jaywalk routinely. Especially in the city. Many times, I am the only one at an intersection in Boston, waiting for the walk signal.
However, once you get out of the city/close in suburbs, I would say the majority of drivers stop for pedestrians in the crosswalks, waiting to cross. But some people are clueless.
Yesterday I was driving through Concord center, in a spot where I rarely drive. It was really congested and there were tourists everywhere, cars pulling in and out of spaces, cyclists, delivery trucks. There are 3 cross walks within a 1/4 mile stretch of Main St. I was in a long line of stopped traffic, waiting for people to cross. There was a UPS truck next to me, stopped at the curb on the corner, unloading. When I went to go, a guy walked right into the crosswalk, in front of the truck, and I could not see him approaching . I had to slam my brakes. I was shaken, especially since I ride through the same spot much more than I drive and kept thinking, what would have happened if I was on my bike?