Drivers & Pedestrian Considerations.

Bahaha! I am SOO glad you mentioned the car blocking the sidewalk thing. I thought it was only me that got steamed about that. What good is a sidewalk if a car is blocking it, right?! I assumed I am one of the few, because so many just shove the car in the driveway anyways.

we are big road bikers and runners - I get really annoyed when people don't follow the rules of against traffic/with traffic or when riding don't use proper hand signals. :)

I hate it when you are waiting to get somebody's parking space and they take extra long to pull out. I really feel this is so done on purpose-it might even be subconcious. It drives me nuts though!

Pedestrians have the right of way, and most of them take advantage of it. I can't stand it either. I want to scream 'My car is bigger than you! Move your @ss!!'... It's just inconsiderate of them. I know if I'm crossing in front of a car, I hustle!! You're not alone in being annoyed by this. It goes 2 ways. Drivers and walkers alike need to be more sensitive to each other... but it will never happen.

And don't get me started on the bike riders, who are supposed to obey all traffic laws like cars, but blow through stop signs then get mad at ME when I almost hit them when I had the right of way.

I hate it when people wait until the last minute to cross the street and they walk very slooowly. Then the light turns green and we have to wait for them to cross.

That makes me crazy too! It's like they know that you wouldn't "intentionally" hit them in the middle of the street, so they stroll across. This happens a lot where we live too- these folks strike me as being generally inconsiderate and entitled... if their mothers saw them...!

- Crosswalks are there for your safety, use them!
- Don't walk in the street at night with dark clothing on- I can't see you!
- Don't ride your bike in the middle of the street- use the sidewalk or stay close to the curb
- Turn your lights on when it's dim or raining/snowing!
- If you are carrying something in your flatbed or on your roof... secure it tightly!

I am a total pedestrian. I hate driving, so when my husband is not in town i mostly walk or rollerblade with my racing stroller. I could write a novel on how unfair my city is to the pedestrian. My main one would be though is to have a little patience at the crosswalks. Whenever i used to go all the way to the light in order to cross the street the allowance for me to cross was never long enough....mere seconds. By the time i got to the end of the street i had people revving their engines and honking, or starting to move. Needless to say this is scary to my children who are with me and now i have been reduced to jaywalking. I wait until there are no cars at all, in the middle of the road. I dont like breaking the law, but to keep my kids from freaking out , i will. More consideration needs to be given to people who , have to, want ...walk. I mean either they are poor and unfortunate and have to walk, or they are an environmentalist, or they like to stay fit, or they just like nature. But either way its to be respected.

btw----maybe for a little perspective to those complaining about crosswalks, i powerwalk through those things!, no leisurely strolls here..its never long enough! I live in houston where it is pretty rare to see a walker, jogger, biker, rollerblader, etc... , So i think that the timing on those crosswalks is based upon it being rarely used and the depth of our traffic problems. In any case, i avoid them.

I live and drive in NYC and it is quite the adventure for both the pedestrian and the driver here.

I don't think I have time to list all of the things that are annoying, but here are a few.

1. Mom's who push their strollers into the street ahead of them to check to see if cars are coming. I can not begin to tell you how scary and dangerous that is. It happens every day around here. They do it at the light or come out of nowhere between two cars. So irresponsible.

2. Second Avenue. Driving down 2nd avenue is like playing a game of Frogger. For some reason this avenue more than others has a higher rate of people not looking, crossing in the midde of the street, against the light, at random times. It truly is like a game of Frogger. You've got to have a good attitude while driving down 2nd avenue.

3. Drivers. Double parking around here is the largest cause of city traffic. Drivers just stop and get out of their car even if there is another car behind them. You are left to get around them.

4. Parking. You can always tell when someone is from out of town by the way they park their cars in the more residential areas of the city. They leave giant spaces in front of and behind their car essentially taking up two spaces. This is a big no-no here. Parking spots are coveted and when you see a car taking up two spots you know they aren't from around here. Many times other pedestrians will let that parker know that they are selfishly parking and that they should move up. I have done that as well.d

5. Drivers. I can't stand when people drive at 50mph down small side streets. This always scared me due to the fact that strollers are being pushed into the street and people are crossing in the middle of the block without looking.

6. Drivers who pull into the cross-walk when stopping at a red light block pedestrians from crossing the street safely. You are basically forced to walk in front of them into the street or squeeze behind them and another car. When you have a stroller you do have to go in front.

Basically, driving and walking around here is really like playing a video game. It really is. You have to be so alert, have great reflexes, and be able to just play the game without going nuts.

I could go on and on and on and on....... lol.

I will never be a pedestrian here in UT. Well mostly Utah County. Most everyone has a car and so there aren't a lot of pedestrians. Our drivers are not used to pedestrians at all, so I refuse to walk on busy streets.

Pedestrians need to remember that just because they have some sort of electronic that is really cool, they need to look where they are going and LOOK UP!! And yes, use a cross walk!!! It bugs me to no end when people walk slow and they KNOW you are right there waiting. That is why I like my horn.
Drivers just need to remember that hey, your in a several ton metal box on wheels. It doesn't mean that you can treat other people as if we were driving clouds. In one day alone I could have died 5 times by stupid people trying to cut me off or cut of a semi and if that semi had to break then it more than likely would have lost control and I being right next to it would be brought down with it.

no only do people do that here they do it on a BUSY 4 lane road. The ones that REALLY piss me off are the ones that intentionally walk SLOWER when they see you coming and you know they see you cause they look you strait in the eye.
The car int he driveway thing pisses me off too, also workmen park their big truck right on the sidewalk.
We have one guy that walks his dog and lets his dog just poop right on the sidewalk.
Then there's the people that drive their golf carts to the school to pick their kids up, most drive on the sidewalk and expect the people walking to get off the sidewalk so they can go by. I love our area but these people DRIVE ME INSANE

I will say I had someone yell at me from their car when I was going down the "wrong side" of the road ( not walking against traffic) and my house was on the other side from where I should have been walking but I was about 20 feet from my own house so I had to walk on the wrong side of the road, the other side also has no where to go off the road.

Things like you are describing annoy the heck out of me too...All you can do is use good judgement and caution when you are driving and/or a pedestrian because simply there just are way too many stupid people out there. Don't be one of them LOL :)

I hate it when people in cars do not treat bicyclists like other vehicles. My husband bikes to work, and I worry all the time that some idiot is going to hit him.

J.

I have walked my children to school for 7 years as the elementary school is literally around the corner. I do not trust any of the drivers whether there is a crossing guard present or not. We have had people drive at as when we were in the crosswalk before they were at the stop sign. We have have people not stop at all with a crossing guard standing in the middle of the crosswalk with a stop sign. We have been yelled at, cussed at and had had many horns honked at us. I am embarrassed for these drivers, yes I recognize them. Yes, you are a vehicle that is larger than me, but pedestrians have rights too.

In turn, I have learned to take my time around crosswalks. I stop, I watch for the random kid darting across and add to my travel time to be safe for everyone.