Pet peeve #1 about roadway intersections

[ewmon]

We've all seen it — traffic at an intersection stopped because someone pushed the pedestrian crossing button, and then without paying much attention and mostly without warning, a kid dashes from curb to curb on a crosswalk.

 

Whether someone is driving legally or illegally, it's the *dashing* that suddenly puts the kid in front of an unsuspecting driver, especially with all these big SUVs that conceal what's on the other side of them. Crossing lights give pedestrians plenty of time to walk across the street, so these kids have plenty of time and don't need to run.

 

Alarm bells go off every time I see this happen. I was a little kid once, and I know how intimidating cars and trucks can be to kids in the street. I know it's counter-intuitive to ask kids essentially to spend more time in the street by paying more attention while walking swiftly/assuredly and not running: however, doesn't it make more sense?

[Phi for All]

I'm not sure what the peeve is. Do you object to running in the crosswalk in general? Is this a case where someone pushes the button and then starts crossing before the light changes?

 

I also don't get this part : "Whether someone is driving legally or illegally, it's the *dashing* that suddenly puts the kid in front of an unsuspecting driver, especially with all these big SUVs that conceal what's on the other side of them." What does the driver being legal or illegal have to do with the person crossing? And if the traffic is stopped for the light, why does *dashing* make a difference? And why, if he's already stopped, is the driver "unsuspecting"?

 

Sorry if I'm just being dense today. I just don't get this at all.

[ewmon]

These kids cross at the proper time, when the pedestrian light tells them to cross. I object to running in general because it creates the suddenness of the pedestrian appearing in front of cars. And if these kids trip and fall, then what? Temporary iimmobility and greater panic, dashing, not looking, etc.

 

Legally/illegally. Sorry for the use of these words. Someone driving illegally might run the red light (a blatant violation noticed/cited by the police). Someone driving legally might make a "rolling stop" (ie, not actually stopping) before making a right on red and run into a dashing kid (yes, technically running a red light, but many people do it, and the police don't seem to care). Someone unaware of the pedestrian light, might stop and begin to turn on red, and run into a dashing kid. Someone driving legally might stop over the crosswalk instead of at the stop line behind it and run into a dashing kid (yes, technically failing to stop, but many people do it, and the police don't seem to care).

 

SUVs. If a driver comes down a lane with a lane of SUVs on one side, they pretty much block the view of everything to the other side of them. The driver might want to make a right/left turn on red (see scenario in previous paragraph).

 

Drivers who have stopped. This more often applies to stop signs. Drivers in their sedans next to SUVs at stop signs unable to see *anything* to the other side of them because SUV hoods ("bonnets" in England) are taller than the tops/roofs ("hoods" in England) of the sedans. I've seen drivers in sedans creeping out (into crosswalks) to look for traffic or waiting until the SUVs drive away. It's like driving among commercial vehicles.

 

Maybe because there's been no studies, media attention and/or public uproar, then there's no issue here.

[Phi for All]

I understand now. And I can see your point about the running. Since kids often run for many reasons (from bad time management to sheer exuberance), I don't know that there's much to be done.

 

I disliked the SUV height problem too, until I got a light truck that puts me up just as high. Now I can't understand what you short lot are all on about. Again, not much to be done. If you figure that one out, try to apply that to floor seats at a concert. I hate paying good money to have people stand in front of me when I'm sitting, then stand on the chairs when I stand, then stand on the backs of the chairs when I stand on my chair.

 

But this thread is about your peeve, and I do get it. Running attracts the eye, no matter how far removed from the top shelf predator lifestyle we are, but it also disrupts our planning, especially when we drive. It is dangerous to have someone suddenly come into play when we've already scoped out how we're going to handle things a few seconds in advance.

 

I don't get as many kids running as you do, I guess. But I understand the disruption to your plans that it causes. I hate when you're turning left and there's one car close and a pack further out, so you edge a bit closer than normal and the doofus in the close car slows down, messing up your perfectly planned turn.

[John Cuthber]

What sports or utilities are these SUVs being used for?

It seems like a really good example of how the US looks to the rest of the world as if they have lost the plot.

Who goes out and thinks " If I spend more money, I can get a more hazardous vehicle that costs a lot more to run. Yep! that's the right choice for me!"?

 

 

Incidentally, if you can't see past the SUVs then you shouldn't be going much faster than walking pace.

[Psycho]

What sports or utilities are these SUVs being used for?

It seems like a really good example of how the US looks to the rest of the world as if they have lost the plot.

Who goes out and thinks " If I spend more money, I can get a more hazardous vehicle that costs a lot more to run. Yep! that's the right choice for me!"?

 

 

Incidentally, if you can't see past the SUVs then you shouldn't be going much faster than walking pace.

Indeed, his peeve actually seems to be that he can't run red lights in case people are crossing and he runs them over.

[Phi for All]

What sports or utilities are these SUVs being used for?

Soccer, or football to you. Driven by soccer moms who will run your ass over if you make their kids late for practice.

 

The utility part is that they can be used for many things. They can hold just the driver, or the driver and one passenger, or the driver and two passengers (three, four, five, six and sometimes seven passengers, plus the driver). They can also be used to haul groceries from the store to home. Oh, and they can also hold cups and television sets. They have four-wheel drive, but that's only used in bad weather. Most US SUV owners won't even let their wheels touch dirt, much less go off-road.

 

It seems like a really good example of how the US looks to the rest of the world as if they have lost the plot.

Who goes out and thinks " If I spend more money, I can get a more hazardous vehicle that costs a lot more to run. Yep! that's the right choice for me!"?

I have a neighbor who went out and bought two Hummer H2s just as the company was going out of business. At first I was appalled. Now I just laugh as I drive by, because they're so wide he can't even fit one inside his two-car garage because of the rest of his junk he stores in there, and they won't fit side by side in his driveway either. I don't know him at all but I hope his wife yells at him every day.

 

The biggest benefit to his Hummers is that he wouldn't even hear the crunch if a child ran in front of him at a crosswalk. One can only hope his coffee might fly out of his cup holder though.

[Xittenn]

I have a pet peeve with idiot drivers trying to run me over at intersections. I'm not sure how this is even possible because I am pretty tall and a rather noticeable human being.

 

The last time it happened it was at an intersection with a pedestrian island. The driver was turning right but I was already crossing over onto the island. She was quite a bit away when I started crossing the ten feet that separates the island from the regular sidewalk. The driver was watching an accident far away and I had to jump out of the way so she wouldn't hit me. I smacked the car and it startled her. She stopped, looked at me and got mad because I smacked her car. I informed her that she had just about hit me, using my loudest "I'm gunna smack more than your car in minute" voice that I could use. I had more than the right of way she wasn't near the intersection when I was crossing and cars are supposed to yield and progress with caution regardless. She wasn't even in the turning lane when I started crossing, and she was also not watching her speed.

 

In Canada there are drivers. Pedestrians for the most part do not exist, or exist in smallish quantities, with exception to certain downtown areas. But what the hell are you supposed to do if you do not drive? They get so mad when you delay their turning at intersections because you are crossing the road, or they honk and smile. Either or I have to watch my ass constantly!

 

I think drivers need to be replaced . . . . . . . . . . because people can't drive, period.

 

[Genecks]

Most of the time, the problem is with the driver not the pedestrian.

A good pair of brakes and eyes alleviate most problems.

 

My current pet peeve is with pedestrians while I'm trying to bike around them on campus.

Too many of them are on cellphones and don't look up, thus they sway along the sidewalk as I try to maneuver around them.

And then there are the people who just won't move, because they are that arrogant.

 

Generally, I don't care too much about this issue if I have a good pair of brakes.

My eyes are pretty good, unless it's raining.

 

I've taken a liking to just biking on the dirt rather than the sidewalk.

Grounds-keeps wised up and started laying pebble pathways.

Edited November 9, 2011 by Genecks

[Phi for All]

I was in Italy a number of years ago and a native told me the only way to survive as a pedestrian in Rome is to NOT look at the cars. According to him, if they could see you looking at them, they assumed you wouldn't be so stupid as to walk out in front of them. And though I thought the Italian drivers were reckless, they were always paying attention to what was in front of them, unlike the driver in Xitten's example.

 

The trick is to cross the street looking ahead but keeping enough peripheral awareness that you don't step out directly in front of a car. I was amazed that it worked. People honked at you sometimes, but they were honking at everything anyway. When they saw you walking, whether you were looking at them or not became part of the equation of how to treat you as an obstacle. Hesitate and they kept right on going. Walk with a measured stride and they slowed to compensate. The worst thing was changing your stride once you started; that messed everyone up.

 

I can appreciate that more now, but at the time it just seemed crazy. Now, everything in driving to me is about timing, taking a look at how fast someone is moving (walking or driving) and making adjustments to your speed to interact successfully with them.