Here I was, biking up Oxford street tonight, when I spotted an 8-to-10-year old waiting at the intersection to cross. So I stopped. And waited, and waited. For a WHOLE MINUTE as cars behind me continued up the street! I stop-signalled, pointed to them and then to the pedestrian, everything short of shouting down a car or blocking their path. How disgusting is that?
Cars in the city are known for “vehicular privilege”, in that because they are able to slaughter you they feel entitled to the right-of-way. All to hurry up to get to the traffic jam down the street. Disgusting. —Then one who stops
This article appears in Jun 23-29, 2016.
Yep! Welcome to Halifax.
Gawd help you if you’re disabled and crossing the street. Most drivers would rather have you as a hood ornament than stop for more than 5 seconds. The level of driver patience these days is at an all-time low. And for what? As the OP posted: ‘all to hurry up to get to the traffic jam down the street’.
Intersection of Oxford and what? Was there an overhead crossing light that the child had neglected to activate? Was he standing in a position where drivers could see him – not beside a pole, or a tree….
And I never see cyclists blowing through red lights, stop signs weaving from road to sidewalk, driving on crosswalks (suppose to dismount). Shall I go on?
spike strips…
it is against the law to pass a vehicle that is stopped at a cross walk.
just wondering, does this not apply to cyclists?
Probably didn’t happen, or there is a lot of embellishing going on here. Can’t see that kind of thing happening, but I guess its possible.
Ironic. When I’m driving. There is no shortage of people that will come to a complete stop and hold up traffic just to let me make a left hand turn. Then they get mad at me when I make them take the right of way that they never should have offered me.
I’ve stopped at crosswalks etc to let people cross and sometimes have a car or two asshole-along to my left. I suggest moving more to the left to be more obvious about what is going on, if it is safe to do so,
I saw a bright one yesterday weave across a lane of traffic on Mumford, just seconds from getting hit. I guess crosswalks are redundant these days.
Funny enough, I often find the opposite scenario when it comes to pedestrians and vehicles. I often see people walk out into the street without looking (either staring at their phone or off into the distance) or without activating signals. I’ve learned to anticipate these moments, and do what I can to slow down in anticipation, but there’s times when I’m simply too close to the crosswalk to stop. The oddest part is that some people have the audacity to yell at me (as I drive past) that I need to watch where I’m going. To illustrate how prevalent this is: the intersection of Quinpool and Beech has traffic lights and pedestrian crossing indicators, as well as a large, high-vis yellow sign that states: “Press button and WAIT for signal” (emphasis given in the original sign); how many other major cities in Canada (or the US) need to have signs at crosswalks to remind people how to properly cross the street?
I’m not saying pedestrians don’t have the right-of-way at crosswalks, but I am saying that a little bit of consideration (by both parties) goes a long way; I’ve never had an issue crossing a street as a pedestrian, but I use marked crosswalks whenever possible, and I always wait to make sure vehicles see me, even after pushing the button to activate the signals. Regardless of what the law says, I consider it my responsibility to make sure I don’t end up under someone’s tires, and asserting my dominance in the crosswalk over a car is not worth my life.
So, I will continue doing my best to make sure people can cross safely at the crosswalks, but all I ask in return is that you, dear pedestrian, take a second from your busy life to acknowledge whether or not it’s safe to do so.