So driving to work this morning, usual route. There's a crosswalk mid-block half way to work, it has the flashing lights thing to let you know someone is crossing.

It's a two lane street each way and I'm in the right lane, Van in front of me stops, people are crossing, flashing lights on. So far so good. Lights turn off, no people visible, Van goes. I follow. Not particularly fast either. Moron comes running across the street from my left, I see him last second and hit the brakes, no screetching since I hadn't even gone two car lengths, I don't hit the idiot but I'm now blocking his way on the crosswalk, so I move forward to let him through. The SOB!!! tries to kick my car and spit. I say tries because he actually made contact with the rear bumper but his foot slip off (just waxed, Thank God no damage), I hit the bakes again, start to get out and he starts running like a scared little girl. I shout after him "come back here you" (yes those are the exact words I utter, sounding like a 70's movie) but he's already all the way across the square.

My question, what would you have done differently?

i would have just kept on driving, but then again i was used to pedestrians not looking before they crossed back in new york.

i definitely would have checked for damage to the bumper if my car was kicked by a pedestrian. if there was no damage, i'd let it go, but if there is even the slightest dent or scratch, i'd park my car in the next available spot clear of traffic and hunt that bastard down and make him or her pay for the damages.

sometimes its just not worth it when you're used to living in a city where there are jaywalkers everywhere who act as if you're in their way and the cars you park next to are usually scratched or dented because most people don't give two craps when parking in the street or designated parking spaces.

i would have gotten out...no one tries to violate my car like that, haha

agreed, I would've grabbed the maglite & went to town on that fool's face, spitting is the absolute downright most disrespectful thing to do.

So explain more about this crosswalk with the flashing lights... do the lights flash when people just get to the crosswalk, or is it a signal-based walk/don't walk setup? Crosswalks are "yield to pedestrians" unless they're signaled, then people need to stop with the lights. And even on the "yield" concept, pedestrians are supposed to exercise caution when going between parked cars, etc, to insure that a vehicle can stop. If this person did just bolt without looking, then a cop would likely not ticket you if you hit that person - but he'd have to have seen the situation unfold - because by default, a person in a crosswalk has right of way...

andy

My question, what would you have done differently?

I think you did the right thing. Based on what you've described, it sounds like you kept your cool.

because by default, a person in a crosswalk has right of way...

andy

Unfortunately, too many pedestrians think "right of way" means they can step off the curb at any time and you have to bring your 1/4 ton vehicle traveling at 35 mph to a screaching halt.

I wish that the idea of pedestrians having the "right of way" had never been raised. I think that people really do expect a vehicle traveling along has to stop even though the vehicle has the green light in their favor.

I had a HORRIBLE experience where a young man stepped off the curb and I hit him. :paranoid: Fortunately, he was all right (he was 17 and drunk - I should have sued the bar for serving him alcohol) and the investigating officer could see skid marks where I had swerved to avoid him.

It's a shame because nobody WANTS to hit somebody. People, drivers and pedestrians, need to pay attention.

Be safe out there - everyone.

I had a couple dash out between two parked cars in a uncontrolled cross walk. I had to really lay on the brakes to stop the car. I knew the area very well. and was 5 mph under the speed limit.

If I had been in the Accord or Ranger. They would have got knocked off there feet. Its real good for them the Mazda stopped painfully quick. The shoulder belt put a painful area on me. :)

I can appreciate the reasoning behind "pedestrian's have the right of way" but honestly, its can be an abused law. Around a cross walk with a flashing signal, sure....its the *driver's* responsibility to drive with caution. If the lights turn off or its a cross walk without lights, people on foot have responsibilities and accountability.

Get the right lawyer and sky's the limit. A friends was sitting at a red light, second car in line. Sitting there. Not moving. Witnesses attested the light was red. A full car length behind the designated crosswalk. A drunk idiot (like you see on Animal Planet between Meercat Manor and Orangutan Island) ran into the side of his car, while he was stopped, sitting there, at a red light (did I mention that part?). The idiot somehow got his leg caught in the front wheel well, fell forward, dented the crap out of the car and broke his leg. Sued the crap out of my buddy for negligence and other crap. The first judge said okey-dokie. Thank God the insurance company stepped in and fought it for two years. The insurance company ended paying the guy $25K just to shut up.

Maybe its was our backward hick city or just one of those generally ridiculous lawsuits that you hear about, but how could this moron have had the right way? Granted, this is an extreme case of the law gone wrong. Some pedestrian's deserve to be run over. Not only because they're incompetent pedestrians, they just need to be eliminated from the gene pool.

:paranoid:

/ rant :D

It's a flashing light crosswalk where you need to press a button to activate the lights. No walk/don't walk signal though as far as I could see from the car. Thanks for the feedback. Maybe the thing I forgot to mention was that the car in the left lane also had to stop abrupbtly because the moron dashed across the street but obviously he was first in line on the crosswalk, and I was second with the Van already clearing the crossing and with obstructed vision from the car to my left (SUV). I basically reacted to him stopping and saw the idiot once stopped.

Thanks for all the comments guys :)

guns don't kill people.... people kill....


=)

guns don't kill people.... people kill....


=)

:thmsup::thmsup::thmsup::notworthy:notworthy:notwo rthy:thumbsup:

guns don't kill people.... people kill....


=)

road rage & LA traffic. and people wonder why there's freeway shootings, it's pretty dangerous out there

The pedestrian will lose versus a car every single time. Why dont people seem to get this nowadays? I blame the lawyers. It's almost a desired outcome to get some sort of personal injury so you can sue. It's hard to sue if you're dead though.

i might have accidently put it in reverse when he was behind you car

same problem with idiots on bicycles around here. someone got the word out that basically it will be hard for anyone to ever prove a bicyclist or pedestrian will be found to be in the wrong, so now they just do as they please and assume that all vehicles will stop and bow to them out of fear.

there was a crossing guard for a school who repeatedly would dash out between cars in this one crosswalk. this is a crosswalk with no stop sign, no light, no walk/don't walk, nothing. it's just a crosswalk-across a 4 lane road, plus turning lanes at this point. it baffled me as to why there was a SCHOOL crossing guard who should be teaching kids the proper way to cross the street doing this! she would cut between cars driving down the road. it was usually early morning, so light was pretty limited too. you usually couldn't see her until she was at the corner of your car. we watched her cause numerous cars to slam on brakes and had it happen to us a couple of times as well. (once when we were in the middle of a line of cars. why she even thought crossing at that point was even remotely safe, i don't know.)

the woman must have had a heartattach or gotten hit by a car later that morning the last time she ran out in front of us. she was standing in the middle of the crosswalk with her fists in the air once we passed her. anyway, we have not seen her at all since that day. there are now some much more responsible people running that particular school crossing. :yes:

Cyclists around here are just as idiotic, blasting through stop signs, going the wrong way up a hill and then trying to get to the right side of the road accross 4 lanes of traffic, going through red lights...just to name a few things these morons do I've seen on the road.

Cyclists around here are just as idiotic, blasting through stop signs, going the wrong way up a hill and then trying to get to the right side of the road accross 4 lanes of traffic, going through red lights...just to name a few things these morons do I've seen on the road.

And then they have the GALL to put "Share the Road" stickers on their vehicles! I'm all about being curteous, but passing on the right, not stopping at a traffic light/intersection, weaving in and out of traffic - ALL illegal. :furious:

And then they have the GALL to put "Share the Road" stickers on their vehicles! I'm all about being curteous, but passing on the right, not stopping at a traffic light/intersection, weaving in and out of traffic - ALL illegal. :furious:

i think i want a bumper sticker aimed at those cyclists that says "you want to share the road? then share the RULES!" :lmao:

i think i want a bumper sticker aimed at those cyclists that says "you want to share the road? then share the RULES!" :lmao:

Amen Brother! (Sister?)

:lmao:

Get the right lawyer and sky's the limit. A friends was sitting at a red light, second car in line. Sitting there. Not moving. Witnesses attested the light was red. A full car length behind the designated crosswalk. A drunk idiot (like you see on Animal Planet between Meercat Manor and Orangutan Island) ran into the side of his car, while he was stopped, sitting there, at a red light (did I mention that part?). The idiot somehow got his leg caught in the front wheel well, fell forward, dented the crap out of the car and broke his leg. Sued the crap out of my buddy for negligence and other crap. The first judge said okey-dokie. Thank God the insurance company stepped in and fought it for two years. The insurance company ended paying the guy $25K just to shut up.

Maybe its was our backward hick city or just one of those generally ridiculous lawsuits that you hear about, but how could this moron have had the right way? Granted, this is an extreme case of the law gone wrong. Some pedestrian's deserve to be run over. Not only because they're incompetent pedestrians, they just need to be eliminated from the gene pool.


Probably the same judge that awarded the stupid woman for spilling hot coffee on herself and sued McDonald, this kind of stupid stuff can only happen in litigation happy USA.....