Quote:
Originally Posted by 4X4
One fine saturday morning I was going to help a buddy do some concrete work, so I had a bunch of stuff in the back of my truck, and an upside down wheelbarrow on top of it all. It was only a few blocks away, so like an idiot, I didn't strap it down. Just puttering down a 50kph road, this stupid bitch texting away on her phone suddenly just walks right into the street at 45 degrees, doesn;t shoulder check to see the truck coming, so I slammed the brakes, all my tools in the back slid forward and the wheelbarrow popped up and smashed my back window. OEM that window was $1200. Found it for $400 at an aftermarket place. Insurance wouldn't cover it. I spend the rest of the day wishing I'd have pulled over and berated her, but it was also my fault for not strapping my tools down. But god dammit, who is so stupid that they just walk into the street? This was 33rd ave in Marda Loop. 50kph, but busy enough that you need to be a special kind of stupid to just walk into the street. Texting and walking will do that to you.
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The real problem is the perception of immunity. People don't care that it is dangerous, they know that you have to stop and if they are hit, even if they are jaywalking, you will be found at fault.
I work in an area where, on a daily basis, pedestrians walking down a sidewalk do a sudden, I'm going to say purposeful, 90 degree turn and walk out into the road. So help you god if you don't slow down because they flip out. They know that drivers have to stop so they don't care. It is crazy the recklessness.
Just the other day I was driving up 4th street by that Mcdonalds around 32nd in the north. Some jogger going down the sidewalk at a good pace made one of these 90 degree turns into a busy roadway on a saturday afternoon. Cars both ways skidded to a stop as she ran into the road. And this was at a cross walk at an intersection with no specific above road pedestrian lights or light signals for drivers. It was just a regular intersection with vehicles doing 50-60km/h. She didn't look or even flinch. She had her music in her ears and for sure didn't give a crap that she almost died and almost caused multiple fender benders.