Hey Assclown in the silver Jetta, ya you. Thanks for blowing through the crosswalk at Quinpool and Robie this morning. The little white dude in the traffic light means it’s my turn to go.
Anyhoo, in honour of you getting to the lights @ Robie/Jubilee 4.7 seconds faster please understand that I thoroughly enjoyed the 1/2 cup of coffee I dumped on the side of your car as you blew by me in the crosswalk.
—Rage against your machine
This article appears in Feb 19-25, 2009.
Right on, Coffee Thrower. A few more javas should be tossed at these inconsiderate boneheads.
Awesome. Good work. I hate seeing coffee be wasted in such a fashion, but i really hope that it stinks up his car for the next few weeks…
Good job RAYM!! I personally find glass Coca-Cola bottles are the best ammo to sling at these assholes, but a big coffee stain will do nicely!
I typically bypass driver/pedestrian bitches. They’re pretty much all the same – drivers are evil, pedestrians have a death wish, blah blah blah. However, I feel compelled to respond after a recent incident.
I am a driver, a pedestrian and a cyclist. I chose my mode of transportation based, on where I’m going, the weather, and how rushed I am. In all three instances, I try to be courteous and attentive.
But the other day, while driving my car, I had a pretty close encounter with a pedestrian. I can’t exactly say why it happened – maybe I was going too fast, maybe I was off in a little dream world, I really don’t know. All I do know is I gave this poor pedestrian a terrible scare, and I feel terrible about it.
My point? I’m not an asshole, or a self-entitled jerk who thinks I’m better because I’m behind the wheel. I’m just an average person who made an honest mistake. So before you write someone off as an asshole or jerk because they cut you off in traffic, or didn’t yield to you in a crosswalk, just take a second to think that maybe this person isn’t evil and despicable. Maybe they just made an honest mistake.
The problem Jennie, is that if you’re off in your own little world, that can kill a person. Worst mistake you can make while walking down the street is bumping into someone else and getting a bruised ego.
“maybe I was going too fast, maybe I was off in a little dream world, I really don’t know”
That statement alone wouldn’t necessarily make you “an asshole, or a self-entitled jerk”. But the fact that your statement is made in regards to while you were driving, you are an asshole. You can’t zone out or end up in your own little dream world while driving. Ever. Period. It’s dangerous and just plain stupid.
i agree…not really a place to zone out, while driving. shame on you jennie. mistakes can be made yes, but when driving tons of metal at speed…mistakes can be deadly.
so get your mind off your next purchase, or that cute guy you saw at the club, chug a large single single and get in the game.
Dr Fever, I disagree. I’ve seen plenty of pedestrians just wander on out into traffic, otherwise occupied with their thoughts, a phone, music, who knows. They can very well play their own card in getting themselves killed.
My faves are the ones who wander down a parking lot via the middle of the “car” lanes. No I don’t honk at them, but I still get a dirty look when they wake up and realize ; oh shit there’s a car 5 feet behind me
Jennie, I think most of us have been there. I know I’ve scared myself before whilst driving. Kinda gets the heart rate up a bit. Suppose that makes me an asshole or self-entitled-jerk… I’d take the former if given the choice.
I also think I’m a great driver. I’ve never been pulled over for anything in my 10 years as a motorist. I suppose that only means I haven’t “been caught” doing something illegal but really, probabilities over 10 years are on my side.
I also doubt Fever, NW, and John haven’t ever done something that got their heart rate up a bit. I could be wrong, I mean they could be 17 and only drive to the corner store and back…. or don’t even have a license. I don’t know. I think we’ve all been there though or are too inexperienced to never have had the chance.
your inferences are off the mark zZz in regards to my driving history. and i can honestly say that i do not space out while driving. especially in the the city with so many plugged in pedestrians roaming about.
Drivers, pedestrians and cyclists are fucking crazy in this city.
If I drive, I hate the other two. If I walk, I hate the other two. If I bike I hate the other two.
And hey, OP! AWESOME MOVE! I just wish his window was rolled down when you tossed it!
Never wrong and John –
Wow! You guys are amazing. You’ve never, ever, ever made a mistake behind the wheel. Kudos to you. That’s awesome.
My point was, 99.9999% of the time, I’m a really, really, really courteous and conscientious driver. And I’m actually a pretty nice person. I had a close encounter that I feel badly about. I just wanted to make the point that even the most cautious and courteous drivers slip up sometimes. It’s not always because you’re an asshole – it’s because you’re human.
Elvis Q– and that is the case, pedestrians are stupid as well. I’ve had the issue where, when driving, people are crossing the street when they shouldn’t be, blah blah blah. It’s the driver’s responsibility though, to be aware of those dangers and keep your head on a swivel, as it were. Driver need to be reminded constantly that they’re driving a vehicle that weighs typically more than 1500 KG, and can do serious harm to anything that is soft. Thankfully, the design of newer cars softens that impact, but most cars on the road don’t have these features. Sure, pedestrians need to be aware of cars, and they have a responsibility as well, but this is not the OP’s case. Clearly, they were obeying all traffic and safety laws, and the driver just cut them off. Not to mention too, I hate that bloody intersection. It’s confusing at the best of times and with the snowbanks the way they are, it’s now full of blind corners. Zzz– I’ve been driving for about 10 years now, much like yourself, and sure there have been moments that have made me jump, it happens while you’re driving. I don’t think I’m a great driver, but at least I’m careful.
Jennie: I’m not saying I’m a perfect driver, no one is. I’m saying I have never had a close encounter with a pedestrian. Because I pay attention 100% of the time. When I took my drivers test 13 years ago, I got a perfect score. First one the guy doing the test had ever had in 23 years of testing. Unlike the vast majority of drivers out there, I don’t allow myself to get lazy behind the wheel. I maintain good driving habits and obey the rules of the road at all times. I’m not saying you are an asshole all the time, but when you fuck up and have a close encounter with a pedestrian, you are. Pedestrian safety should always supercede driver expediency. And yes, I am well aware that a lot of pedestrians just walk out when the shouldn’t, but that’s part of driving. You have to keep an eye on your surroundings at all times, which includes watching out for idiots.
Sorry, I don’t believe you. You’ve never taken your eyes off the road for a second to change the radio/answer a cell phone/reach for something/whatever? Never? Sorry, not buying it.
P.S. I got a perfect score on my driving test too. It’s not that hard to do.
I’m the OP on this one.
Jennie, I agree with what you are trying to say but have to agree with the majority here. Zoning out behind the wheel is just not acceptable. It doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen … it just comes with serious consequences sometimes. So while it might not make you an arsehole for the rest of your life; it certainly makes you an arsehole for the moment.
In my circumstance I was walking Northbound on Robie trying to cross in front of the Holiday Inn. The walk sign was clearly lit, I was clearly in the intersection and the driver was looking the other way trying to merge onto Robie from Quinpool. My paying attention to the driver was the only thing that saved me from being hit. He was too busy trying to make his break in traffic.
Sadly, this is not a rare occurance. I’m cut off in crosswalks a couple of times per week. I’m not kidding. Generally, I’m a pretty couteous guy but yesterday I just flipped my twigs and don’t regret it at all.
No one means to make a mistake when driving. Sometimes it just happens. All we can do is strive to do our very, very, very best. I disagree that a rare slip makes you an asshole. It makes you human. And again, I don’t believe a single person who says they’ve NEVER made a mistake driving.
Jennie: Obviously your reading skills are on par with your driving skills. I said I’ve never had a close encounter with a pedestrian, not that I’ve never taken my eyes off the road. And I even said I know I’m not a perfect driver, so learn to read what’s written, not what you think is between the lines. As for your pathetic attempt at rationalizing your lapse in judgement: I don’t need to take my eyes off the road to change the radio station, that’s what pre-progamming is for. I don’t answer/use my cellphone while driving. It’s a proven fact that it impairs your driving more than alchohol (hands free or not). And if I need something in my car, I either have one of my passengers get it for me, or I wait until an appropriate time to get it, like when I am stopped at a red light. So don’t try to defend your close encounter with the pedestrian by either A) saying you felt really bad about it, because the pedestrian doesn’t give a fuck if you feel bad, or B) trying to imply that every driver is like yourself and is inattentive at times.
If only we could all be as perfect as you, NW. The world would be such an awesome place.
And for the record, my reading skills are just fine. I was cleary able to read the line you wrote that said “Because I pay attention 100% of the time”.
There are a lot of factors that cause driver distraction, not just the few I mentioned. Maybe you’ve never talked on a cell phone, but I’m willing to bet you’ve taken your eyes off the road at least once.
And if everyone were like you Jennie, the world would be doomed to an even faster downward spiral than it already is. IQs would plummet at an astronomical rate. You fuck up while driving, but it was just an “honest mistake”. You act as though it wasn’t really your fault that you fucked up because “No one means to make a mistake when driving. Sometimes it just happens”. Fuck that. You screwed up and it is your fault. It’s idiots like you making excuses for your fuck up that make the world a shitty place. Accept responsibilty for the fact that you almost ran someone over because you were being a complete idiot by daydreaming and/or driving too fast.
Put down the shovel NW.
Perhaps you’re the one who needs a lesson in reading comprehension, NW. I do accept responsibility for my close encounter. But it happened in an instant, and there’s nothing I can do now except hope that the pedestrian sees this and at least knows that I feel really bad about it. Again, I accept responsibility – I admit that I made a mistake and it was wrong.
The only point I was trying to make was that drivers who have the occasional slip-up (i.e. every driver on the road) aren’t necessarily evil people who go around looking to make pedestrians, or other motorists, miserable. For the most part, they’re good people who made honest mistakes.
I’m not an “idiot who makes the world a shitty place”. Far from it. I’m actually a pretty nice person who genuinely cares about the well-being of others. But I’m not flawless. Every time I get behind the wheel I strive to be courteous, conscientious, and alert. The vast majority of the time I succeed. But I’m not going to pretend I’m without fault.
Again, anyone who’s ever driven a car has made a mistake, at some point or another.
Im going to bypass responding to the majority of these comments… and just say that as a pedestrian inside and outside the city (read as I walk in Halifax, I also walk on the side of the highway in the sticks), is that this issue – like so many others – comes down to respect.
Neither pedestrians or drivers should have this constant belief that they have the right of way! No matter what legislation, or common courtesy says. Treat each sitution uniquely, and for gods sake, pay attention! Dont jay walk, dont speed, watch for signal lights (peds, dont start to cross when there are just four hands displayed, wait for the little white dude! – motorists, go when the light says, and hell, check the crosswalk anyway – and WAIT if you have to. Etcetera.)
It drives me nuts, theres no one person to blame. Pay attention to your surroundings and you can avoid most of these bitches!