For a Good Laugh....

[turquoise1]

You have to wait a while for the cars to yield when you're crossing SW Park Avenue between the South Park Blocks. Cars just zoom down Market, etc.

[UrbanAdventurer]

Common sense comes in handy. I'm not standing on the brake pedal for someone and holding up traffic behind me just because someone's in a jaywalky mood. Nor would I expect people to do it for me. I'll wait for traffic to clear in both directions.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

Some people take it to extremes though.
I'll stop for someone waiting to cross the street, but I have had it happen time and again where a pedestrian walks up to the curb, and instantly the car in front of me just slams on it's brakes with no regard for the safety of those behind them.

Before you say people shouldn't follow so closely, I agree, but that isn't what happens in the real world.

If they are going to stop, stop. But do it safely.
I'm sure the pedestrian would rather wait a fraction of a minute to cross safely thaan witness an accident right in front of them.

Here is a link to pedestrian laws:
Pedestrian laws in Portland - PortlandAfoot

If you read it it says that cars must stop, but it does not say that cars have to come to an unsafe abrupt stop just because they see someone that might be crossing the street.
In fact all it says is that cars must stop for pedestrians, but does not say they must stop for someone waiting to cross the street.

The last part requires pedestrians to yield to vehicles while crossing the street, (does this mean cars don't have to stop if someone is just standing there waiting to cross?) and forbids pedestrians to cross the street if a vehicle cannot stop in time.

This law needs to be rewritten to be a little more clear.

First off, I never advocated anyone come to an abrupt, unsafe stop. You're reading more into my statement than what's there.

As for pedestrians needing to yield to vehicles, the full text of the law is here:

814.040 Failure to yield to vehicle

(1) A pedestrian commits the offense of pedestrian failure to yield to a vehicle if the pedestrian does any of the following:

(a) Suddenly leaves a curb or other place of safety and moves into the path of a vehicle that is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.

(b) Fails to yield the right of way to a vehicle upon a roadway when the pedestrian is crossing the roadway at any point other than within a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.

(c) Except as otherwise provided under the vehicle code, fails to yield the right of way to all vehicles upon the roadway.

(2) The offense described in this section, pedestrian failure to yield to a vehicle, is a Class D traffic violation. [1983 c.338 §555; 1995 c.383 §84]

You'll see that it's only when they're not at a crosswalk (marked or at any corner), or when there is an immediate hazard.

Of course, it's not legal (or smart) for a pedestrian to just jump out into the street and expect cars to slam on their brakes. But that doesn't mean that it's not illegal for drivers, just because stopping might seem inconvenient, not to stop for a pedestrian when they have ample warning, and a safe distance in which to stop.

Personally, I'd rather see pedestrians make it safely across the street and arrive at my destination 10 seconds later, than to just buzz by them. So, I guess I'm one of those drivers y'all can just hate on.

Though I wouldn't categorize it as "slamming on" my brakes. I wouldn't do that. That's a recipe for disaster whatever the reason, when driving. (My favorite is when people do it because they want to turn and just see the street ... as though going around another block or two isn't an option.)

[pdxMIKEpdx]

Well ok then.