Okay, so I just watched a well-dressed 30-something guy come wandering down the street, talking on his phone, so absorbed in his conversation that he did not notice he was ambling into a street with five lanes of traffic just as the signal started flashing DON’T WALK.
Not surprisingly, when the light turned green and all that traffic started moving, he was smack dab in the middle of it. He looked up, looked very surprised, kind of jumped… and kept talking on the phone. (“Dude, I’m about to be run over!”)
I was in one of those five lanes of traffic, and like everyone else, I went. I last saw him in my rearview mirror, standing in the middle of Houston Avenue while cars passed within a foot or two of him. My assessment was, if he’s that stupid, why should I miss getting through the light? Maybe he’ll learn something.
Probably not though.
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Darwin was right!
Just FYI, if you are on the west coast (all three states) you would have gotten a ticket for driving while he was in the street. Even when they shouldn’t be in the street, pedestrians have the right of way here. That was one of those lessons I almost learned the hard way when I left Texas for Portland.
That could theoretically happen here – but one of the people driving a foot from him was a cop.
Darwin award candidate.
Something similar happened in Toronto and the person involved not only didn’t learn anything, but never will again.
It’s not just phones, of course; I’m always surprised by how many cyclists and runners I see with iPods in busy areas. Or at night; maybe it’s my east coast city boy nature, but it always seems to me that walking around after dark with earphones is pretty much a big “MUG ME” sign.
When I lived in NYC, I often had the earphones for a walkman plugged into my ear (of course the other end was often just stuffed into an empty pocket). It’s a great way to avoid being mugged. You just wave off the mugger, like you think he’s a panhandler, as you sidestep out of his way. The mugger thinks you can’t hear him and goes on to the next target. It can be very effective.
I had a neighbour once who mugged people for a living in Herald Square. He worked regular business hours, just like the rest of us. My curiosity got the best of me one day, and I befriended him to learn all the ins and outs of muggers. It was very informative. I was surprised to learn that his approach to his “job” was very professional and that he was on a first name basis with many of the business owners on his “route,” and was even known, not unfavourably, by some of the cops on the beat.
Ditto John’s response to Rob in Portland — in theory they’d be ticketed here in PHX too, but that didn’t stop SUV drivers on 2 separate occassions last night almost killing me (and my dogs) as I crossed a street. I’m even a “considerate” pedestrian, not one of those who self-righteously steps out regardless of traffic, so I waited until I could cross without really inconveniencing drivers — and it would have worked if these buffoons hadn’t been going about 50 mph. (Which admittedly is customary surface street speed in PHX…) Instead they barrelled ahead, one almost clipping me, then 15 minutes later crossing back the other guy literally swerving to zoom around me.
The swerving is, I expect, a result of most SUV drivers having no concept of the size or dynamics of their vehicle, leading to speeding, exaggerated turns, and near-stops to make simple right hand turns.
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