Drivers with no intelligence
I’m not alone in my frustration with impolite motorists. As a pedestrian, I take my life in my hand around here, when I check both ways, cross in the middle of a marked pedestrian path with traffic lights in my favour. In other words, there is no safe way to cross the street unless you are accompanied by a squirrel or in the presence of the police.
I work across the street from a primary school. There is a traffic signal in place to permit cars to leave the school premises, and it also has a pedestrian crossing. There are two crossing guards on duty, within twenty meters of each other, dressed in yellow jackets with hand signs. This afternoon, I watched a car drive through the red light, making BOTH guards jump to safety, in order for the car to advance a full three metres beyond the lights when he came up to the bumper of the car ahead. And then the car sat there for the full two minutes necessary for traffic to get moving again.
What did this person gain?
There is a small store just up the street, in an area that has limited parking. The store has a single space in front, with a municipal sign clearing marking it as a ten minute zone. At lunchtime, I watched a man get out of his pickup, glance at the sign, and then head off for a meal at a restaurant over on the next street. The store can simply do without parking, because this driver has other plans.
Other than a spot for his lunch break, what did this person gain?
Some months back, I watched a car park in front of the doors of the local fire station, while the driver crossed the street to pick up his drycleaning. When he returned to his car, an angry firefighter pointed out the clearly marked “NO PARKING” area, and the double doors of the fire station. Our man with the clean clothes suggested that if there was an emergency, the truck could simply go around him.
All of this within two city blocks. I can’t go on.
