Quote:
Originally Posted by fredr123
/raises his hand
I think I've been nearly clipped more times by cyclists downtown than I have been by motorists. Just sayin'.
I would guess most people who stop in crosswalks do it while the light is yellow or just turned red. That is to say, there would be no pedestrians in the crosswalk. Walking around those vehicles to cross the street might put you closer to traffic coming from the other lane but to say it's always dangerous is not correct. Inconvenient. Possibly dangerous. But it's probably not as bad as you and others would suggest.
|
If you re-read my original post, you will see that it is ALWAYS dangerous for my girlfriend, and for anyone else who has a disability. Don't just assume everyone is able to climb over an engine bonnet if necessary.
For myself, it's annoying and gives me a big scowl, but for many others it's more than dangerous. I'm not sure what it's like in Calgary, but here in Toronto there are a lot of deep and bumpy streetcar tracks on the street, where if someone in a wheelchair has to go at an angle to get around a car they also run the risk of getting a wheel jammed in the rut and being stranded there. It's never happened to my girlfriend, but it HAS actually happened to an older guy I know who has since passed away from cancer. He got stuck in a streetcar track in his manual chair and not one person got out of their car to help the guy - someone on the curb had to run out and get him out.
I don't care if it's the guy ahead of you who speeds ahead that is reponsible or not, it's dangerous and irresponsible. The driver is in a huge hunk of steel, take the extra two seconds and see if the light is yellow or red before you boot 'er out.
And for the record, another pet peeve of mine are bikes on sidewalks. I've felt more threatened by them than cars, to be honest. If someone in a wheelchair, who doesn't have the ability to jump out of the way, gets nailed by a cyclist it could be nasty.