This guy makes some good points... not to mention, he’s pretty funny. The bottom line is that pedestrians need to be alert in San Francisco. Even if a driver is at fault for an accident, the pedestrian is going to lose (health, time and money) if there is an accident. Put that cell phone down... at least until you cross the street!” Granted, drivers in San Francisco are a menace. They run lights, cut off people in crosswalks, speed, change lanes without so much at a backward glance — I’m talking to you, Mr. BMW 740 on Kearny Street Thursday morning — and generally scare the bejeebers out of all of us. Bad, drivers, bad. But this is like when someone mentions what great weather we are having in January. Someone immediately has to say, “But we really need the rain.” And then, having fulfilled our politically correct responsibilities, we can get back to the real topic. Which, in this case is … the pedestrians in San Francisco are freaking nuts. Earlier this week I was among several cars waiting for a light to change. When it did, and we started forward, a guy stepped off the curb and walked right in front of us. Although I am a reluctant — perhaps repressed — honker, I did hit my horn. So did a couple of other drivers. The guy could not have been less concerned. He never even glanced over to see if one of those notorious heedless drivers was going to crash into him. He never increased his pace or gave any indication that he noticed. I told this story to a friend, who said he often has a similar experience — with the addition of a cell phone. A person steps out in front of you, staring at his phone, and then doesn’t bother to look up if you honk. He’s much too busy. We have lots of jaywalkers near The Chronicle building. Which is understandable — long blocks, people downtown in a hurry. I’ve jaywalked and I am likely to do so again. But I also think I’d better watch it. I’m in the middle of the street, no crosswalk, and cars may not stop. So what do we make of the guy we see every day — and I’m talking about a well-dressed business professional — who strolls out in front of cars and glares at them if they don’t stop and let him continue on his way to Blue Bottle Coffee? It is the cult of the militant pedestrian. Even when they are in the right, I worry about them. When the traffic light countdown gets to five or six, they step confidently into the crosswalk — which is their right — but without a look or concern that the driver turning right may not see them. That, it seems they think, is the driver’s problem. If there was an accident, it most likely would be blamed on the driver. But why take the chance? Just take a quick peek to make sure they see you. It would be good for all. On the other hand, my second experience this week was the little old lady, carrying a cane, who stepped blithely off the curb with one tick left on the crossing clock. She tottered across three lanes of traffic with cars waiting, but I can’t say she was oblivious. She held her free hand up in a “stop” gesture, so everyone would know that she was crossing and that they should wait patiently. I get that this is a bit of a rant. I have been told by a regular passenger in my car to stop saying sarcastically, “Gee, I can’t understand how so many pedestrians get hit by cars in city.” But c’mon. This isn’t a one-way street. So to speak. blog.sfgate/cwnevius/2014/01/30/the-militant-pedestrians-of-san-francisco-try-looking-up-for-a-change/
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 15:06:15 +0000
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