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More of a peeve than a rant. But I would really like to know why people insist on walking in the street?
My area has perfectly good sidewalks. I always thought they were made for pedestrians. No one in my area uses them. They all walk in the street. Sure, it's a quiet residential area, but there are still plenty of cars, mail trucks, UPS and FedEx deliveries.
Most times they tend to walk towards the middle of the street. When cars drive by they move as little as possible, leaving just enough room to drive through without being hit. It's a recipe for disaster.
I see people pushing baby strollers down the middle of the road.
What really got me was tonight. I am driving home a little after 10pm. Walking down the road are four women, all next to each other. They take up over half the street and make no effort to move aside. To top things off, they are all wearing black clothing/jackets. You can barely see them. Darwin is rolling over in his grave.
I honestly don't understand it, especially when combined with the total disrespect for cars and trucks.
lol, I have been thinking about some of the same things myself. Today I saw man pushing a stroller in the street and there was a perfectly good sidewalk next to him. Go figure?
Also there needs to be a public service announcement about walking in the street at night with dark clothes on. Some people are ignorant to the fact that if you"re crossing the street (not in a crosswalk) with dark clothes on at night and there's a car coming in the opposite direction, the other cars headlight glare make it almost impossible for me to see you until its almost too late.
lol, I have been thinking about some of the same things myself. Today I saw man pushing a stroller in the street and there was a perfectly good sidewalk next to him. Go figure?
Also there needs to be a public service announcement about walking in the street at night with dark clothes on. Some people are ignorant to the fact that if you"re crossing the street (not in a crosswalk) with dark clothes on at night and there's a car coming in the opposite direction, the other cars headlight glare make it almost impossible for me to see you until its almost too late.
I know what you mean about the oncoming glare. I was driving down a busy road a few nights ago and and elderly couple was crossing the street.
It was a marked crosswalk, but for some reason there were no streetlights. They were both wearing dark clothes and moving pretty slow. Never watched for oncoming traffic - they simply assumed everyone would stop because they were in a crosswalk (at 10pm).
Of course, I managed to stop but it was still startling.
I remember having a conversation with my son about this many years ago. We were in a situation where we had the right of way, but the car didn't see us. He insisted he was "right" (and he was). The point I made after I pulled him back by his collar is that "right" means jack squat when you are in a wheelchair (or worse). You see a car and you give it a wide berth. In car vs. pedestrian, car always wins.
I always use the sidewalk when there is one available, unless it is covered by snow. I do notice people walking in the street from time to time, and there are some places where it is too dark to see the sidewalk at night so I have to walk in the street.
Here in Westbury there is more of a problem with cyclists riding on the sidewalks (often the wrong way) instead of using the street. Many ride the yellow line in the middle of the road, and of course they look like they are riding kids bikes, grown men, no helmets, most likely illegals.
Which brings me to the only other reason I'll walk in the street when there's a sidewalk, and that is if there are guys hanging around on them. Its not a good idea to walk by people hanging around that appear to be up to no good.
Sidewalks are supposed to be for walking but obstruction is illegal, not sure why our Village cant seem to arrest these guys for that.
You could stop and ask some one why they are walking in the street instead of the sidewalk.
IMO its a power trip akin to some one hogging the passing lane on a busy expressway.
The street is a public area (in 99% of cases). People have a right to walk on it. Sure it is safer for all involved to walk on the sidewalk, but people do have a right to walk on the street.
Somebody with a dog on a leash takes up nearly the entire street (but we've had heated discussions on this forum over whether dogs should be walked on the sidewalk or in the street).
Other reasons people may use the street:
for the large group they may want to walk next to each other and the sidewalk isn't wide enough;
for the stroller there may be areas of sidewalk where tree roots have made it uneven and difficult to roll over;
unevenness of sidewalk could apply to anyone out at night as they may feel they won't see something and trip;
for joggers/runners I've been told that the street pavement is a little more forgiving on joints than the sidewalk;
there could be a sense of 'this is my neighborhood, slow down when driving through' or maybe even just an attitude of 'well if you hit me I will sue you'.
I don't mind it so much if they have half a brain.
It's the arrogant streetwalkers who mosey along and give you that **** off look when they are holding up the flow of traffic because they think because they are a "pedestrian" they have some god given right to own the road.
I have, and will, hit you.
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