This article appears in Dec 25-31, 2008.
Just Moved Here
Ok here it is. I just moved here from Ottawa and i noticed right away the disregard pepole have for moving cars. I know some have a button and lights wich helps, but that just gives them the right to jump into the road. And for the crosswalks with no but
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I know that some people walk out into the street as if the crosswalk was some kind of force field. However, I also know that in some other parts of the country, drivers are more aggressive, forcing pedestrians to be more cautious even though they may have the right of way. And so drivers from other provinces are not used to being constantly on the alert for pedestrians. I have a friend from BC, and when I am in her car, I am constantly screaming at her to watch out for the pedestrian! They are completely invisible to her unless they are actually in the middle of the road. And she gets all defensive, like the pedestrian was in the wrong for stepping into the crosswalk when the light turned green. Or someone will be standing at a marked crosswalk, clearly intending to cross the street, and my friend barrels through the crosswalk wondering why this person is standing on the side of the road giving her the finger.My point is that while you may be accustomed to pedestrians deferring to you out of fear, here they frequently assume – sometimes incorrectly – that you will respect their right of way.
I hear ya Richard, there have been a few times I almost hit someone who seemed to think cars can stop on a dime, it drives me crazy because someone will get hurt. Everyone needs to be a bit more careful and aware of their surroundings. Be safe / Drive safe
Miranda…they very often DON’T have the right of way…that’s the whole damn problem. I can’t count the number times in just my last visit to Halifax where people step out into a cross walk because the light is green…The damn light is for the vehicles guy’s, that little guy walking symbol or the red hand tells you to go or stay put.It even FLASHES for christ sakes ! But many people somehow think they’re in the right, just because the light is green in the direction they’re walking, vehicles turn on green lights too & if your suppose to be stopped & I can see you have a red pedestrian light while I still have a green light to proceed . My other peeve is those who are walking down a sidewalk & come to a cross walk & just keep on walking. You do not have the right of way. You are suppose to STOP, LOOK, & when its safe you cross. That cross walk rule gets broken more than the Ten Commandments ! ! !
More,People walking in crosswalks that are not at lights DO have the right of way. I completely agree that A) people should be stopping before they walk and looking for cars, because B) cars can’t stop on a dime just because a person leaps in front of them…I just had to quibble on one point and that is “But many people somehow think they’re in the right, just because the light is green in the direction they’re walking, vehicles turn on green lights too & if your suppose to be stopped & I can see you have a red pedestrian light while I still have a green light to proceed . “The only time a pedestrian does not have a walk light when the traffic light is green in the direction they are walking is for an advance green light. So if this is what you’re talking about I understand, but somehow I think you’re talking about right turns, in which case the pedestrian has the right of way and cars need to wait until pedestrians are out of the road to take their right turn.
Also has it occured to you that the pedestrian had a walk signal when they started crossing? That one pisses me off I’m rushing through an intersection the light changes to don’t walk/green and every car turning right wants me dead.
I watched a documetary last night about how our society is becoming ruder. The explanation offered was that for the last couple of generations, children have not been taught to consider others before themselves. And so we have a whole population who automatically put their own wants and needs first, and feel completely justified in doing so. So everybody thinks they should have priority in the right-of-way game. The driver curses the pedestrian who steps into the crosswalk just as he sees an opportunity to make a left turn, and lays on the horn. The pedestrian curses the impatient driver and slows down in retaliation. The driver, in his determination to get through the intersection before the light changes, ends up blocking the crosswalk, and is defiant when pedestrians are annoyed. He feels justified in blocking the crosswalk because it was the only way he could get through the intersection. The pedestrian, trying to catch the bus on the other side of the street, charges into traffic, daring drivers to hit him. He feels justified in forcing drivers to slam on their brakes because he had to catch that bus. Everyone puts their own needs first, with no thought for how their actions affect others. It was a very enlightening program. This ubiquitous “me first” attitude explains almost everything I see people bitching about on this forum week after week.
The facts are that Halifax pedestrians have become trained by clueless, overly “courteous” Halifax drivers, to walk recklessly into traffic without fear. Hell, I have even seen marked police cars stop to let jaywalkers cross instead of issuing them a ticket as they should. So pedestrians cross with impunity regardless of the situation. It is a miracle more are not mowed down. It is not a symptom of society becoming ruder, it is simply a case of pedestrians acting like idiots around here. FYI, there are times when the “Walk” light changes to “Don’t Walk” while the traffic light remains green. When you see that Dont Walk red light, DON’T WALK!!! The best/worst example is the corner of SGR and South Park. There are times when a car literally cannot get around that corner because of the idiot pedestrians crossing constantly regardless of signal.
Occasionally as a pedestrian, you have to move out into the road in order to get cars to stop at the crosswalk. I would never get across SGR at a crosswalk if I just waited on the sidewalk. You have to *slowly* creep out into the road so that the cars will be forced to stop for you. Most of the places downtown where pedestrians are bitched at for crossing quickly are places where the speed limit for cars ensures that you shouldn’t have to stop your car on a dime, you should be going slow enough that if a pedestrian comes out suddenly, you should have seen them 10 -20 feet away on the sidewalk before you get to the crosswalk ,and have plenty of time to slow down and stop. It always bugs me when drivers use the I cant stop on a dime argument, because unless the ped is trying to cross a highway and jumping out into traffic, you generally shouldn’t be going so fast that you would be hard pressed to stop if need be. If the car in front of you slams their breaks on you should have enough time not to rear end them, so you should then have enough time to stop for a person in a crosswalk. Unless of course you’re speeding, which you generally are.
Also, on the note of walking during the flashing hand if the traffic light is still green, I generally know the timing for the lights in the city that I walk by frequently. And I will definitely keep going if the flashing hand comes up but I know I have enough time to get across. There are certain lights (the one at Queen and South Park is particularly bad) will give the ped a walking signal ONLY if they press the button within a certain amount of time before the lights change, then it will stay walk for about 20 seconds, then flash and go back to stop, but the traffic light stays green for another full minute or two. Theres no way I’m going to stand there waiting for another light rotation because the ped light tells me to when I can easily get across safely.
Ok… I’m getting sick and tired of this constant argument. Yes some pedestrians need to be paying more attention to where they are walking. But some drivers need to watch where they are driving. No one group is at fault here. ALL INVOLVED ARE!!! I’ve seen pedestrians and drivers so some stupid shit on the roads and sidewalks and the only way to solve this problem is for everyone to take some fucking responsibility and not only think of themselves. We are all human and we will all make mistakes but to put the blame exclusively on one group of people is moronic and unacceptable!
Richard,I have been to Ottawa, where people seem to have a sense of disregard for the whole world, except where they occupy it. Welcome to a city which still has a modicum of courtesy toward others. You should thank God you moved here in 2008, not 1988. Back then, the whole STREET screeched to a halt when someone even walked by a crosswalk. Regardless what an import thinks of that behavior, that was what it was like. Yeah, in some cases that was a little overkill. Now, in 2008, the pendulum has certainly swung the other way, so I have no sympathy for you, since you see all too often people just blowing right by pedestrians that they clearly could have seen, but chose to say fuck it.BUT at least Stephen Harper doesn’t live here. So take the good with the bad…
I agree with People are stupid.People should not be driving that fast in the first place. Especially at night when it is a lot harder to see. Why can’t you just slow down a little when you come to an intersection or crosswalk? That makes it so much more safe for drivers and pedestrians alike. Hmm, actually, better yet…. why don’t you take up walking?
I thought I’d share some observations from my short walk this morning. Usually I let these things go as soon as they happen, but on this occasion I decided to take note of the behavior I encountered.I left my house and walked to the intersection of Evans and Titus. That intersection is equiped with a flashing light over the crosswalk. I pressed the button to activate the light, and after ensuring that all approaching traffic had ample time to stop, I stepped into the crosswalk. At that point one driver chose to accelerate and race through the crosswalk, rather than stop and allow me to cross.A few blocks further on, at the intersection of Dutch Village and Alma, I stopped to wait for the traffic to turn left on the flashing green. When the left turn signal stopped and the walk signal came up, I started to cross. After I started to cross, one last car squeezed (illegally) through the intersection, and was then forced to stop on top of the crosswalk, in turn forcing me to squeeze between the bumpers of two idling vehicles in order to get across the street.Next, crossing Joe Howe at the Superstore, I pressed the button to activate the pedestrian walk signal. When the light changed I once again stepped into the crosswalk. Not one, but three cars made a right turn out of the Superstore parking lot directly into my path, forcing me to stand in the middle of the crosswalk while the signal changed. At the crosswalk in the parking lot just outside the store, another driver stared me down as he refused to stop even though I was already in the crosswalk when he approached.So over the course of a twenty minute walk, no less than six drivers blatantly cut me off, willfully endangering my safety for their own convenience. I did nothing illegal or unsafe. That is what it is like to be a pedestrian in this city every day. Now tell me again, Keith, how Halifax drivers are excessively courteous to pedestrians.
Adi…you are mistaken.If there is a pedestrian light at an intersection…the pedestrian is suppose to obey that signal. the green light for traffic is independant from that & often pedestrians go by the green light for vehicles, instead of the pedestrian light. THis isn’t about your wrong, I’m right…this is about most people believe (around here anyway) that as long as there’s a green light up, they have the right away as a pedestrian.Your suppose to obey the pedestrian light system, if your walking that’s why its there.
Those of you who somehow believe your god given right to just walk out ,even if there’s a crosswalk.My 3/4 ton 4×4 loaded with scaffold weighs around 6000 lbs. You on a heavy day may hit 125- 250lbs, anyone want to guess who’s going to come out on top of that wrestlng match ?Stopping & taking the time to look, can save your life, That in itself should be all the incentive anyone needs when they decide to cross a street. None of this has anything to do with who’s in the right…its just uncommon sense. Well its certainly not common sense in Halifax anyway.
You think it’s bad here, try moving to New Delhi.
Don’t give me this shit about pedestrians not following the walk light system. How many drivers out there boot it through yellow lights when they have time to stop? Or how often do you see drivers talking on their cells when we all know it’s illegal now? Like i said before, we all just need to take some responsibility and start following the rules!