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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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COMING TO OUR SENSES
Watching summer traffic in a small town like ours quickly proves that some people have never navigated streets and sidewalks without traffic signals. Some drivers, seeing no red lights or stop signs, actually accelerate through intersections to ward off pedestrians using crosswalks. Many pedestrians, seeing no walk or don't walk signals and hearing no chirps or whistles, nonchalantly step off the curb as if daring drivers not to yield. An air of entitlement emanates from both camps. Then there are the drivers who stop at every intersection, whether it is necessary or not. This confuses other drivers as well as pedestrians. Soon there is a standoff as drivers' feet move from accelerators to brake pedals and back again, causing their vehicles to buck through intersections while pedestrians step forward into the crosswalks and then backward onto the sidewalk. Occasionally a courteous driver will stop at a crosswalk and yield to a waiting pedestrian only to watch three or four other drivers speed through the intersection from the opposite direction. Pedestrians in this situation generally smile nervously and shrug their shoulders toward the driver who paused. My rule of thumb, as a pedestrian, is to stop walking a little short of the crosswalk until I can assess the situation. Then, when I'm sure the coast is clear or see drivers waving me across, I step up to the curb and cross the street. Somehow when familiar rules, guidelines, and procedures get changed, competition and conflict seem to supersede cooperation and common sense. Then fear and confusion ensue. We see it in everything from traffic to economics and from playgrounds to bureaucracies. I hope one day we will finally come to our senses and reverse this trend.
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SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
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