I get it, it’s early and your coffee has barely kicked in, but surely that doesn’t mean that all of you can’t see me trying to cross Larry Uteck. I have to take the bus to work due to an injury, that’s why you see me with a cane. I can’t do a mad dash to cross the road – you’d run me over without hesitation. My 1st bus drops me off 50ft from the intersection with a flashing yellow above it and have 10mins to reach the stop on the other side. I wear a bright jacket, so I don’t blend into the background and I stick my arm out to signify my intent…. and hundreds of you drive by. There’s plenty of time to slow down and stop; some courteous people have done so in the past. Most of the time, I have to wait until no traffic is coming, but days like today that didn’t happen.
Two trucks watched my plight as they waited to turn onto the road and tried to block the traffic for me (thankyou for trying). But that wasn’t good enough to stop you all from barreling through inbetween them and missing me by inches.
I follow the rules of the road, perhaps the rest of you could as well instead of pretending you can’t see me as I commute 2 hours in either direction to get to work. Would that minute I slow you down for really affect your overall drive? I had to watch my bus pass by from the intersection again this morning. Your lack of patience is going to cost me my job… or downright kill me someday. —That Woman You See Every Morning
This article appears in Oct 20-26, 2016.
A vehicle stopping in the middle of the road is asking to be in an accident. The middle of the road is not a crosswalk and though you are injured it does not give you the right to expect traffic to stop for you.
Welcome to the world of the disabled. At least your injury will heal. For people like my partner who uses a walker full-time, traffic not stopping at marked crosswalks (he’s not stupid enough to try to cross in the middle of the road) is just business as usual. Suck it up, sweetheart.
It sucks but at least you will recover and get your mobility back. That was the only thing that got me through the bus rides where I had to stand with crutches and a broken leg. Some seriously class-A a-holes in this city.
Asking people to stop at random places is asking for an accident. Worst case scenerio: someone dies. Maybe you.
I love it when a self entitled bus rider with a visible injury claims they have xray vision and can determine that the person sitting down is not worse off then they are.
But, but, but you don’t ‘follow the rules of the road’.
To any of the confused commenters… perhaps I wasn’t being clear enough wth my writing. I am crossing at a clearly marked intersection (there is a flashing yellow light above the center of it to ensure everyone knows it’s an intersection). I am not crossing at a random spot along the road, I am standing at the corner. Believe it or not, there is an unmarked crosswalk at every intersection that drivers are required to stop at when a pedestrian is trying this cross – that is the law being broken here.
To any of the confused commenters… perhaps I wasn’t being clear enough wth my writing. I am crossing at a clearly marked intersection (there is a flashing yellow light above the center of it to ensure everyone knows it’s an intersection). I am not crossing at a random spot along the road, I am standing at the corner. Believe it or not, there is an unmarked crosswalk at every intersection that drivers are required to stop at when a pedestrian is trying this cross – that is the law being broken here.
@themindofsarah You kinda double posted there 😉
I do agree that those drivers really did break a rule of the road. Stay safe when you are at any crosswalk in this city, as drivers tend to treat pedestrians as speed bumps. Be sure to where reflective tape/clothing especially at night or during the fog. Be seen, be safe.
There’s nothing more maddening than a pedestrian just jumping in the crosswalk without at least looking first. It’s not so bad if the car has time to stop without causing someone to hit from behind and then hitting the pedestrian. The other day at a crosswalk without a yellow light, one very careless pedestrian stepped out on the crosswalk from behind a pole with a phone up to his face, not looking first, nearly gave me a heart attack. I was close to the crosswalk so had little time to stop. Slammed on the brakes screeching the tires and not even distracting the guy from his phone. God I was a few minutes getting myself back together and could have shaken the s!!t out of him. So the driver is sometimes mor apt to be injured trying to spare the pedestrian. PEDS PLEASE BE MORE CAREFUL. A pedestrian can stop faster than a car in the incident mentioned above. Just saying….