If the hand is flashing, DON’T FUCKING CROSS.
—It’s not Quantum Mechanics people.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2009.
It’s not that hard…
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If the hand is flashing, DON’T FUCKING CROSS.
—It’s not Quantum Mechanics people.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2009.
29 Comments
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dude, there’s plenty of time to cross with it flashing. it flashes between 11 and 13 times in places without the new-fangled countdown timers…
and some of those have timers of 20 seconds… you expect people not to cross when they have like 22 seconds to cross 4 lanes?
idiota
I’m totally a flashing hand crosser. It means “WALK FASTER!” doesn’t it?
when the hand is flashing: WATCH FOR PEDESTRIANS!
Between the time the hand flashes, and your light turns green is PLENTY of time for the pedestrian to make it. Sit and wait, you lazy fuck!
Flashing hand means: run across crosswalk now mofucka!
The Flashing hand means the light is going to change in 15 seconds or less so you’ve still got time to cross. Learn the rules of the road, idiot.
The flashing light means do not walk; pedestrians are not supposed to enter the crosswalk if the light is flashing, if you are already in the crosswalk you keep walking. How do people not know that?
Ya, I’m gonna wait because a hand is flashing… it doesn’t take me 10 seconds to cross a small crosswalk. Flashing hand is just a suggestion to a young buck like me, daddio.
An increase in “jay-walking” tickets not only has curbed this a bit in several cities, it also helps pedestrians feel better about themselves, becuase now they’re actually pitching in to the maintanance of the roads, lights, painting of lines etc etc…instead of free-riding while we drivers foot all the bill….
Crossing during a flashing hand is not jay-walking, and why would anyone accept such a ticket if they weren’t jaywalking?
Queen is correct.
People drive thru red lights all the time… Drivers are just as bad.
“”Crossing during a flashing hand is not jay-walking, and why would anyone accept such a ticket if they weren’t jaywalking?””
Uh, yeah it is…you can finish crossing (obviously) but you may not start to cross.
LMAO at “accept such a ticket”…”I’m terribly sorry officer, but I shan’t be accepting that ticket today unfortuanatley, ta ta!”
You’ll accept it all right big guy, or we’ll tase you bro’
And if not paying your ticket is your idea of civil obedience, sodeypop, that’s your right. Enjoy.
Signed
a concerned citizen
Well thank you for your concern sir! 🙂
I’ll continue to cross the street quickly and safely when the light is still red. I think I’ll be fine…
Yes well in Ottawa it’s against the law to eat ice cream on Bank St on a Sunday.
does that mean everyone follows it? or uses their fucking head and thinks…
hmm that’s kinda stupid since there’s no reason not to really.
http://www.gov.ns.ca/tran/hottopics/crossw…
If you read page 16, it will show you that Queen is indeed right
If the hand has JUST started it’s lil flashing/blinking dealie, I sprint across the street. I make it across with time to spare, and unless someone is doing a right turn they shouldn’t be moving anywheres because the traffic light is still read.
And yes, I check for any possible right-turners before I make my mad-dash
I’m sooo sick of pedestrian mentallity. You can’t just do whatever you want because a car is stronger/bigger than you, therefore you think they’re bad and everything about them is bad which gives you the right to do whatever you want in the streets. I seriously thought this whole crosswalk thing was common knowledge…I was taught this shit in elementary school. People really don’t know this? Where am I? If it’s flashing, you ARE NOT supposed to enter the intersection. If youre’ in it, its an alert to tell you the lights are going to change. Sure, a pedestrian may have time to run across, but you’re not supposed to. It’s much the same as a yellow light for cars, you’re not supposed to gun right through it to try and make it (although lots of people do). If you’re in the intersection when the light turns, you drive on through.
Jeez.
“You can’t just do whatever you want because a car is stronger/bigger than you”
It’s BECAUSE the fact that the car/truck/SUV/whatever is bigger/stronger than me that I run like hell if I have the time. I know if it came down to me, and a few tons of steel going at high speeds, my ass will get OWNED.
If people just waited for the hand to say you can walk, you wouldn’t have to run through the intersection now would you? Wait for your turn like your supposed to. Most of the comments in here are pretty funny because I am sure most of you have had shitty things to say about people riding their bikes and bending the rules a little and shitting down their throats for it. And I know I have read alot of bitches about cars vs crosswalks, but yet here you are saying naa fuck it I am going to walk across when it says not to because I dont want to wait. Well shit isn’t that all fine and dandy, the next time I read a bitch in here about someone not like something someone else did on a bike or in a car my comment will probably be a big FUCK YOU to whoever writes it and to whoever agrees. Thats the fucking problem these days most people are so damn self entitled that having to wait an extra minute for something seems beneath them. It’s bullshit. Grow up.
Well gee Kirbul, I’m soooo sorry that me running across the street probably doesn’t interfere with your day. If I’m running across the street, it could be because 1) The weather is shitty, and I don’t want to be outside (sorry, I can’t be in a nice, warm comfy car) 2) I’m running late 3) My bus is about to pull away.
Running across the street really doesn’t bother me anyways… I’m young, in good shape, but none the less; the 15 second sprint is a good lil work out for me.
And as I mentioned earlier, I only make a break for it if the light JUST changed from the lil walk sign, to the flashing hand.
Shit… Sorry Kirbul, I really shouldn’t of flown off the handle like that.
(and I mean that sincerly)
You know what , it’s not that you run for it MS. I really don’t care. The part that pisses me off, is all the bitches and comments I have read in here from pedestrians complaining about people biking or driving and not doing everything by the book, and how they were afftected by it one way or another. But one of the very few laws you pedestrians have and alot of you are saying fuck that I am not waiting. Thats what pisses me off. How does it go what’s good for the goose …
You never enter an intersection on a yellow light? People bend the rules; its human nature. Run me over; I dare you.
IIRC: when the hand is flashing the light is usually still green….if the light is green, then why the fuck do I have to wait for another?
“”If the hand has JUST started it’s lil flashing/blinking dealie, I sprint across the street.”‘
This is fine (although still jay-walking)…but many other pedest-rians will enter on a flashing hand, and then proceed to saunter across the intersection without a care in the world, as if they were fat German tourists taking in the Louvre for the first time while listening to Wagner on their iPod…
PK, the light may be green but, erm, it’s about to suddenly turn RED and you’re gonna get run over. Don’t enter on a flashing hand, lol…think of the children!
In the UK, although they have everything else arse-backwards…they DO have a yellow before a green (and after) which is quite sensible….it also gives women notice to put down the eyeliner and get ready to roll…
Driving through a yellow light and walking/running through a flashing hand light (or even the beginning of a solid hand light, if you’re quick) are very different, and here’s why:
Yellow lights don’t last much longer than how long it takes the average car to get through an intersection. A flashing hand signal lasts far longer than how long it takes some people to get across a road.
The issue is that most cars travel at the same speed, but pedestrians’ speeds vary widely. The pedestrian lights are tuned to serve the (reasonably) SLOWEST of the people who might want to cross a road.
It makes sense for pedestrian lights to cater to the slowest potential crossers, but, jaywalking laws notwithstanding, it does NOT make sense for a person to have to hold off crossing when they can walk or run quickly enough to do it before the lights in their direction turn red.
Let’s hope some places in the world have jaywalking laws that reflect that. …and that any stupid ones we have are not enforced…or better: taken off the books.
“PK, the light may be green but, erm, it’s about to suddenly turn RED”
Actually, the light turns yellow before it turns red :p
But if a pedestrian is crossing the street when the traffic light is yellow, said pedestrian better know how to teleport, because then you’ve got no time before you can be squeeshed