as a more frequent pedestrian and cyclist than driver, i am sick to fucking hell of getting almost hit by asshole drivers in their metal boxes. LOOK AROUND YOU. ’cause guess what? you hit another car, big deal. your premiums go up. you hit ME, pregnant and toting my 6 year old, and i’m fucking dead. or, in the very least, hospitalized with dreams of homocide.
yesterday (friday) i had some moronic douchebag have the nerve to give ME the finger when i stepped, carefully, out on the crosswalk with my arm outstretched and the other cars stopped. he barely stopped in time. i would have called the cops on him to report dangerous driving (token gesture, i know) but he was some inconsiderate southern wank (i’m allowed to insult, being dual citizen myself) who couldn’t be held responsible for his own actions. or even chastised!
i am sick sick sick of getting nearly plowed down by drivers all over the city (busy intersection or not, crosswalk lights & sounds or not).
i’m devising a system which i hope to implement with all the other peds/cyclists in this otherwise lovely city; it’s modeled after a european system wherein cyclists and pedestrians slap on a sticker to the offending vehicle that alerts everyone who sees it to their offensive and inconsiderate ways. the glue used on these stickers doesn’t like paint. or should i say, it REALLY likes paint. you have to sand those puppies off. not dangerous or all too damaging, but definitely peevish to those less-endowed, value-challenged losers who prize their stupid metal boxes over basic courtesy or human life.
does everyone really need to go SO FAST to get where they’re going?
—mama’s gonna knock you out
This article appears in Sep 10-16, 2009.
While I agree that drivers need to be more attentive and yield to pedestrians and cyclists when appropriate (admit it, you non drivers do stupid shit too, you’re not perfect), if you ever slapped one of these stickers you speak of onto my car, I’d have your ass in court so fast your head would spin. It’s destruction of private property and vandalism.
I agree with Never Wrong. If anyone ever sticks something to my car and I see them, the police will be getting a call with a very good description of the pedestrian/cyclist to whom the very expensive detailing bill should be sent.
OK dual citizen here are the facts. I can complain too b/c we’re duals. We drove here from PA. 6 years ago. When entering NB, we kept seeing these signs PED-X (you know, the pretty yellow ones) along the highway. It was a highway, of course there shouldn’t be any peds crossing. We had NO CLUE what they meant and ASS-U-ME d they meant no crossing by pedestrians.
As you said, the guy was from “away”. Maybe he thought the same thing we did. It’s YOUR responsibility to look out for your own safety first. Otherwise, you’re DEAD right! Right?
MGKYO: “i stepped, carefully, out on the crosswalk with my arm outstretched and the other cars stopped. he barely stopped in time.”
The problem appears to be your crossing procedure.
FYI: One does not step ‘out on the crosswalk’ until ALL the cars have completely stopped in both directions. This ensures a) that they have seen you and b) that all cars ARE stopped before you venture into the crosswalk. Problem solved.
It’s funny how people visiting from Toronto & Montreal marvel at how polite the drivers are here.
I would hate to live in Vancouver or Toronto right now with all the silly tensions between cyclists and cars (yeah I know that’s here too but not nearly on the same level).
I’ve always thought that people should be forced to attend proper driver training (such as Young Drivers of Canada), as opposed to just doing the test after training with friends or family. If people need to do this to possess a firearm then it should be the same with a car (another lethal weapon if used a certain way).
I too agree with NW, anyone who thinks they’re entitled to put a semi-permanent sticker on my car deserves to be taught a lesson.
Homocide?
How did you know the driver was a homosexual?
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, at the risk of being called, I don’t, proviphobic: most of the worst drivers here are from out of province who do not necessarily know the rules of the road here and Halifax’s general respect towards pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers. We should be proud of what we have here. I am serious people, I have been to so many different places around the world and the drivers here are some of the best I have ever encountered. Not saying they’re all perfect, but definitely the most courteous and polite I’ve ever encountered overall. I’m still always so happy to be back on the roads here whenever I’m away. Like I’ve said before, even when you cross over the provincial border into New Brunswick or PEI you can see a major difference in driving habits, and it’s not good!
People here have no clue… European system? Where is this “system” in place? I was just in Europe (various places)throughout the summer and it seemed to me that pedestrians had no right of way whatsoever…
And yeh… putting one of those stickers on will definitly calm the driver down instantly… Good call…
You put a sticker on my car and I’ll get out, chase your pregnant ass down and write VANDAL all over your forehead with a sharpie. Tit for tat. I’m probably less pregnant than you, so I could probably out run you. See you around, Dualie.
I’m all for the sticker idea-if the driver wasn’t totally fucking stupid it wouldn’t be necessary. I have nearly been mowed down by cars while crossing pregnant and with a 4 year old in tow-sure you wait until all the cars are stopped before crossing but if some idiot comes flying up after you have already started walking there isn’t much you can do short of having your own personal crossing guard.
qpmzwonxeibcruv , “most of the worst drivers here are from out of province”
Untrue and unfounded. Please try again.
I learned a nice trick when at Dal. When crossing a crosswalk, hold one arm out in front of you with a nice sharp key in hand….make sure the key is held tight so that when the offending car cuts in front of you in the crosswalk, it leaves a nice scratch along their paintjob. if they stop, volunteer to call the police and mention you had you key because you were heading home and that the dumb arse driver failed to yield to you the pedestrian. Worked for me. The driver was pissed and left with his nice, newly scratched car.