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Crosswalk question/rant

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Re: Crosswalk question/rant

  • lacqueredloverlacqueredlover member
    1000 Comments 500 Love Its Name Dropper
    I was hit by a car while having the right of way on a crosswalk when I was 15 years old and broke several bones in my body.  I even looked but she was coming so fast that I couldn't have stopped it regardless.

    People are assholes, I"m glad you're ok.
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  • VulgarGirlVulgarGirl member
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    jenna8984 said:

    ashley8918 said:

    jenna8984 said:

    So I'm part of a residents forum FB page for my town. Normally I try not to say much on there, but the other day I just had to.

    This guy posted "OK- you all need to slow the hell down! Get off your phone, turn down your rap music, and pay attention. My girlfriend takes our baby for a walk and this is the 4th time that she's almost got hit by the Dollar Tree/ Panera Main Street entrance. If she gets hit, I will find you and kill you."

    One person posted a meme of "keep calm and listen to rap music" which I thought was hilarious. Then another person said "threatening death on FB- that's bright". I said "I'm not arguing that people need to slow down but clearly she should walk a different route" (as it sounded like she was doing it for recreation and not like to get to work).

    He got all pissed off and said WTF is wrong with you?! I said "She's the one who continues to put herself and child in a situation that's proven to be dangerous time and time again...but what's wrong with me?!" He was still pissy saying "that's fucked up man". And I'm just like ok but which is going to be more beneficial to your girlfriend- you making a FB post, or her walking a different route?

    Gross. Victim (or, potential victim) blaming is not cool. Should a woman who almost got raped just not wear such short skits anymore, too?

    Dude shut up. This has absolutely 0% to do with rape so you can just stop with everything single thing being "blaming or shaming". Sometimes you have to admit that people really are just idiots and get what they have coming (in case I need to clarify, that is not in reference to rape in any way).
    So to clarify sometimes it's ok to blame a vicitim? 

    When exactly is it the victim's fault that a crime was committed against them?

    I will concede that death threats=not cool. But so is victim blaming. Always. No matter what the crime is. 
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  • jenna8984jenna8984 member
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    ashley8918 said:

    jenna8984 said:

    ashley8918 said:

    jenna8984 said:

    So I'm part of a residents forum FB page for my town. Normally I try not to say much on there, but the other day I just had to.

    This guy posted "OK- you all need to slow the hell down! Get off your phone, turn down your rap music, and pay attention. My girlfriend takes our baby for a walk and this is the 4th time that she's almost got hit by the Dollar Tree/ Panera Main Street entrance. If she gets hit, I will find you and kill you."

    One person posted a meme of "keep calm and listen to rap music" which I thought was hilarious. Then another person said "threatening death on FB- that's bright". I said "I'm not arguing that people need to slow down but clearly she should walk a different route" (as it sounded like she was doing it for recreation and not like to get to work).

    He got all pissed off and said WTF is wrong with you?! I said "She's the one who continues to put herself and child in a situation that's proven to be dangerous time and time again...but what's wrong with me?!" He was still pissy saying "that's fucked up man". And I'm just like ok but which is going to be more beneficial to your girlfriend- you making a FB post, or her walking a different route?

    Gross. Victim (or, potential victim) blaming is not cool. Should a woman who almost got raped just not wear such short skits anymore, too?

    Dude shut up. This has absolutely 0% to do with rape so you can just stop with everything single thing being "blaming or shaming". Sometimes you have to admit that people really are just idiots and get what they have coming (in case I need to clarify, that is not in reference to rape in any way).
    Whoa, excuse me?

    It is blaming. You are blaming the mother for walking in a certain place (much like people blame rape victims for wearing a certain thing), instead of blaming the people who drive like fucking morons (much like when people don't blame the rapist).

    So, someone who gets hit bay a car in a crosswalk "gets what they have coming"? HOW IN THE FUCK IS THIS NOT VICTIM BLAMING?

    ETA and please refrain from telling me to "shut up" like a petulant child.
    I'm not saving this is her fault if she does get hit. I'm saying it's petty much your human/ adult responsibility to try to avoid things which you KNOW are dangerous. Because at the end of the day, being in a body cast would fucking suck, regardless of who's fault it was. I'd rather not be in one, that be in one saying "man that driver sucked but it's fine because it wasn't my fault".

                                                                     

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  • ashley8918ashley8918 member
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    My uncle was hit HARD by a car while walking his bike across the street (as is the rule) on the way to swim lessons when he was 10. The driver (who was never caught - hit and run) was FLYING through. Several bones (including part of his spine and his jaw) were broken, and he was on a feeding tube for the better part of a year. The bills almost bankrupt his family, and he almost never walked again. He most definitely never learned to swim, and has severe PTSD to this day because of the whole incident. And guess what, it WAS a "known dangerous intersection", but fuck you (general you) if you think that it was in any way his fault.
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  • jenna8984jenna8984 member
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    I'm sorry I didn't mean to tell you to shut up, but like Chemfan pointed out in another thread, it's getting annoying that lately every thread quickly derails by someone trying to pull the "blame and shame" card. (not always you, just people in general) Sometimes, just let that shit go and let the conversation move on the direction it's going.

                                                                     

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  • KatieinBklnKatieinBkln member
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    jenna8984 said:

    I'm sorry I didn't mean to tell you to shut up, but like Chemfan pointed out in another thread, it's getting annoying that lately every thread quickly derails by someone trying to pull the "blame and shame" card. (not always you, just people in general) Sometimes, just let that shit go and let the conversation move on the direction it's going.

    I guess the other option would be for people to stop blaming and shaming? Nah, that would never work!
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  • VulgarGirlVulgarGirl member
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    jenna8984 said:

    I'm sorry I didn't mean to tell you to shut up, but like Chemfan pointed out in another thread, it's getting annoying that lately every thread quickly derails by someone trying to pull the "blame and shame" card. (not always you, just people in general) Sometimes, just let that shit go and let the conversation move on the direction it's going.

    So don't call shit out? Don't call out sexist comments, shitty behavior, non-gender inclusive language, racism, homophobia, just shut up and talk about flowers? 

    Yeah shutting up is why we have racism, sexism, vicitim blaming, homophobia...
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  • ashley8918ashley8918 member
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    KatieinBkln said:

    jenna8984 said:

    I'm sorry I didn't mean to tell you to shut up, but like Chemfan pointed out in another thread, it's getting annoying that lately every thread quickly derails by someone trying to pull the "blame and shame" card. (not always you, just people in general) Sometimes, just let that shit go and let the conversation move on the direction it's going.

    I guess the other option would be for people to stop blaming and shaming? Nah, that would never work!
    What a novel idea!
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  • ashley8918ashley8918 member
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    Huh. That sounds an awful lot like telling a woman who gets raped or assaulted that she shouldn't have been walking alone at night. 


    Oh no, that's just me being "annoying" and playing the "blame card".
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  • lyndausvilyndausvi mod
    Moderator Knottie Warrior 10000 Comments 500 Love Its
    KatieinBkln said:

    kaos16 said:


    KatieinBkln said:

    I think cars are technically supposed to yield to pedestrians nearly everywhere. Different places vary in how intensely they follow this, though (my little tiny smalltown growing up was a great place to walk, and therefore a shit place to drive, since so many people couldn't be bothered to walk 50 feet to the next marked crosswalk rather than just stepping out in front of cars because they could).


    I did find that both CO and San Fran were extremely pedestrian-oriented in this way. NYC is ok, but you have to pay attention and realize that you jaywalk at your own risk (with all the traffic, including auto, pedestrian, and bikes, things only keep moving if everyone goes when they're supposed to and stops when they're supposed to stop. As a pedestrian or bike, you can sometimes catch a lull and go against the light, but god help you if you do so and cause a car/bike to stop or slow down, because you basically just fucked 100 other people who would've been able to keep going, but now can't, and back up the whole system).

    I wonder if car culture vs. walking or bike culture is especially correlated. I think it's clear that in pedestrian-heavy places (like NYC, or my tiny hometown, or where I went to college and everyone walked) the cars tend to stop. But what about elsewhere? Anyone have experience with a place that is generally car-oriented but particularly good about yielding to pedestrians? I cite All the European cities as the converse--people walk everywhere, en masse, but the day I jaywalk in Paris is the day I die. Dem Puegeot drivers are maniacs!
    FYI - Not sure where in Brooklyn you live, but my SIL lives near Williamsburg.    She 100% believes her VW bug has the right of way.    Warning, if you are in that area, plan to use a cross walk and see a VW bug, for your own safety, do not cross.


    Seriously, she should not have a license.
    Dear god, I live in Williamsburg. Duly noted, steer clear of the VW bug!

    I mean, I guess I'm being generous when I say cars always stop in NYC. They usually do in Manhattan where I tend to walk, but out in the boroughs it can get dicier, since there is a bit less traffic so people can speed. There's an elevated highway in my neighborhood and the frontage road that runs under it has had MANY an accident with cars hitting people, so i guess it's not exactly all rainbows and bunnies. But I would never cross that street against the light, especially in the dark. Cars go way too fast for that.


    ha.

    We ate at Sweet Chix.    Pretty damn good chicken






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
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    Do people not abide by the "look both ways before you cross" rule anymore?  Yes, cars should stop when you are IN the cross walk but they do not have to stop if you are NOT crossing the street yet.  So to just start walking out onto the cross walk without really looking or under the assumption that cars will stop for you is just dumb.

    So in some cases the pedestrian can be to blamed for an accident or in other cases the driver can be to blamed.  If a pedestrian just juts out in traffic and gets hit, well I blame that on that pedestrian.  If the driver just plows through a cross walk and hits someone, well I blame that on the driver.  Overall people just need to be safer and more aware of their surroundings.  So put the phones down (both pedestrians and drivers) and just freaking pay attention to where you are going.

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  • TrixieJessTrixieJess member
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    TECHNICALLY: Pedestrians have the "right of way" where I live, in practise though, you are taking your life in your hands every time you cross the street. I have been narrowly missed by several cars on numerous occasions. Once while I was pregnant, I almost killed some woman who I went after because she stopped within an inch of hitting me. FI had to drag me across the intersection while I was screaming expletives 8 months pregnant, not my finest moment.
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  • Jells2dot0Jells2dot0 mod
    Moderator Ninth Anniversary 5000 Comments 500 Love Its
    princessleia22 said:

    In AZ state law requires that you stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk.  Whether people actually do that depends on where you are.  I've seen some areas that are very good about stopping and some areas where people don't stop at all.  In Tempe, they have started putting blinking red lights at some crosswalks along a pedestrian trail, so when a person wants to cross, they press the button and it gives cars blinking red light to stop until crosswalk is clear.  That seems to be pretty effective and I wish they put more of them up.  But, it's not effective to put them everywhere either.

    We have the flashing lights to cross in front of my office in Goodyear. I have been almost hit three times. I now just stand there until I know the cars have stopped.

     







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  • flyingfoxesflyingfoxes member
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    We have a crosswalk here at work where there's the flashing lights and pedestrians have the right of way.  My coworker has almost been hit 3 times trying to cross either to work or back to the parking lot.  Some sucky ass drivers just don't pay attention, even with the giant speedbump right in front of the damned crosswalk.
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  • theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
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    Maggie0829 said:

    Do people not abide by the "look both ways before you cross" rule anymore?  Yes, cars should stop when you are IN the cross walk but they do not have to stop if you are NOT crossing the street yet.  So to just start walking out onto the cross walk without really looking or under the assumption that cars will stop for you is just dumb.


    So in some cases the pedestrian can be to blamed for an accident or in other cases the driver can be to blamed.  If a pedestrian just juts out in traffic and gets hit, well I blame that on that pedestrian.  If the driver just plows through a cross walk and hits someone, well I blame that on the driver.  Overall people just need to be safer and more aware of their surroundings.  So put the phones down (both pedestrians and drivers) and just freaking pay attention to where you are going.
    Let's give people a little benefit of the doubt here. All the times I mentioned I wasn't just hopping out in front of a moving car that's 3 feet away - I was already in the middle of the street and people came careening up on me, either from down the street or around a corner, because they weren't paying enough attention to see that "a block down the street someone is stepping off the curb at a crosswalk." I'm willing to bet most people here aren't dumb enough to assume the law will protect them from broken bones, either.
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
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    jenna8984 said:

    ashley8918 said:

    jenna8984 said:

    ashley8918 said:

    jenna8984 said:

    So I'm part of a residents forum FB page for my town. Normally I try not to say much on there, but the other day I just had to.

    This guy posted "OK- you all need to slow the hell down! Get off your phone, turn down your rap music, and pay attention. My girlfriend takes our baby for a walk and this is the 4th time that she's almost got hit by the Dollar Tree/ Panera Main Street entrance. If she gets hit, I will find you and kill you."

    One person posted a meme of "keep calm and listen to rap music" which I thought was hilarious. Then another person said "threatening death on FB- that's bright". I said "I'm not arguing that people need to slow down but clearly she should walk a different route" (as it sounded like she was doing it for recreation and not like to get to work).

    He got all pissed off and said WTF is wrong with you?! I said "She's the one who continues to put herself and child in a situation that's proven to be dangerous time and time again...but what's wrong with me?!" He was still pissy saying "that's fucked up man". And I'm just like ok but which is going to be more beneficial to your girlfriend- you making a FB post, or her walking a different route?

    Gross. Victim (or, potential victim) blaming is not cool. Should a woman who almost got raped just not wear such short skits anymore, too?

    Dude shut up. This has absolutely 0% to do with rape so you can just stop with everything single thing being "blaming or shaming". Sometimes you have to admit that people really are just idiots and get what they have coming (in case I need to clarify, that is not in reference to rape in any way).
    Whoa, excuse me?

    It is blaming. You are blaming the mother for walking in a certain place (much like people blame rape victims for wearing a certain thing), instead of blaming the people who drive like fucking morons (much like when people don't blame the rapist).

    So, someone who gets hit bay a car in a crosswalk "gets what they have coming"? HOW IN THE FUCK IS THIS NOT VICTIM BLAMING?

    ETA and please refrain from telling me to "shut up" like a petulant child.
    I'm not saving this is her fault if she does get hit. I'm saying it's petty much your human/ adult responsibility to try to avoid things which you KNOW are dangerous. Because at the end of the day, being in a body cast would fucking suck, regardless of who's fault it was. I'd rather not be in one, that be in one saying "man that driver sucked but it's fine because it wasn't my fault".
    Taking general personal safety measures (like looking both ways before crossing the street) is all well and good, but doesn't account for other people's crappy behavior.

    And any time you get into a car, you're automatically putting yourself in a situation for potential danger.  You can't avoid everything that is dangerous, that's just unreasonable.

    If there's a repetitive problem in this area, then clearly generally a good amount of drivers in this area are choosing to be unsafe and inattentive, NOT that this one person is walking unsafely.  I'm sure there are others who have experienced the same.  If she was literally standing for an extended period of time in the entrance or intersection and choosing not to move, then I'd see where she'd have some accountability in her almost getting hit.
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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
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    lolo883 said:

    Maggie0829 said:

    Do people not abide by the "look both ways before you cross" rule anymore?  Yes, cars should stop when you are IN the cross walk but they do not have to stop if you are NOT crossing the street yet.  So to just start walking out onto the cross walk without really looking or under the assumption that cars will stop for you is just dumb.


    So in some cases the pedestrian can be to blamed for an accident or in other cases the driver can be to blamed.  If a pedestrian just juts out in traffic and gets hit, well I blame that on that pedestrian.  If the driver just plows through a cross walk and hits someone, well I blame that on the driver.  Overall people just need to be safer and more aware of their surroundings.  So put the phones down (both pedestrians and drivers) and just freaking pay attention to where you are going.
    Let's give people a little benefit of the doubt here. All the times I mentioned I wasn't just hopping out in front of a moving car that's 3 feet away - I was already in the middle of the street and people came careening up on me, either from down the street or around a corner, because they weren't paying enough attention to see that "a block down the street someone is stepping off the curb at a crosswalk." I'm willing to bet most people here aren't dumb enough to assume the law will protect them from broken bones, either.
    For the love of god lets stop reading into peoples posts so much!  I am not talking about anyone specific in this post.  I am talking about some of the general population in the world.  From what I have read in this post, that it seems like there are people out there (from peoples stories, not the actual posters on here) that just assume that traffic will stop for them regardless and will just start walking out in the middle of the street.  If those people get hit I think it is on them because hello, when you are 3 you are taught to look both ways.

    I am not sure why you decided to pick my post a part when it was pretty much all in generalities.

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  • KatieinBklnKatieinBkln member
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    Do people not abide by the "look both ways before you cross" rule anymore?  Yes, cars should stop when you are IN the cross walk but they do not have to stop if you are NOT crossing the street yet.  So to just start walking out onto the cross walk without really looking or under the assumption that cars will stop for you is just dumb.

    So in some cases the pedestrian can be to blamed for an accident or in other cases the driver can be to blamed.  If a pedestrian just juts out in traffic and gets hit, well I blame that on that pedestrian.  If the driver just plows through a cross walk and hits someone, well I blame that on the driver.  Overall people just need to be safer and more aware of their surroundings.  So put the phones down (both pedestrians and drivers) and just freaking pay attention to where you are going.
    I mean, sure. There's "blame" and then there's the law, though. The law almost unilaterally states that the person driving the machine that weighs a ton has the responsibility not to run it into a fragile human. As another example, it would be very, very stupid of me to walk naked into a prison yard full of convicted sex offenders, but it would still be against the law for them to rape me.

    I swear, for all the stupid shit I see day in and day out, I am shocked at how many people seem to think it's somehow against the law to be dumb. No. In many cases laws exist to protect our dumb asses. The biggest idiot in the world shouldn't have to get hit by a car, because we put the onus on car drivers (the more powerful party) not to run into people, idiots or otherwise.

    It drove me nuts when said idiots walked in front of my car back when I drove all the time. You bet your (general your) ass it did! But I would not only be an idiot, I'd be a criminal idiot, if I thought I didn't have to worry more about hitting them than they did about being in my way.
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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
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    KatieinBkln said:

    Do people not abide by the "look both ways before you cross" rule anymore?  Yes, cars should stop when you are IN the cross walk but they do not have to stop if you are NOT crossing the street yet.  So to just start walking out onto the cross walk without really looking or under the assumption that cars will stop for you is just dumb.

    So in some cases the pedestrian can be to blamed for an accident or in other cases the driver can be to blamed.  If a pedestrian just juts out in traffic and gets hit, well I blame that on that pedestrian.  If the driver just plows through a cross walk and hits someone, well I blame that on the driver.  Overall people just need to be safer and more aware of their surroundings.  So put the phones down (both pedestrians and drivers) and just freaking pay attention to where you are going.
    I mean, sure. There's "blame" and then there's the law, though. The law almost unilaterally states that the person driving the machine that weighs a ton has the responsibility not to run it into a fragile human. As another example, it would be very, very stupid of me to walk naked into a prison yard full of convicted sex offenders, but it would still be against the law for them to rape me.

    I swear, for all the stupid shit I see day in and day out, I am shocked at how many people seem to think it's somehow against the law to be dumb. No. In many cases laws exist to protect our dumb asses. The biggest idiot in the world shouldn't have to get hit by a car, because we put the onus on car drivers (the more powerful party) not to run into people, idiots or otherwise.

    It drove me nuts when said idiots walked in front of my car back when I drove all the time. You bet your (general your) ass it did! But I would not only be an idiot, I'd be a criminal idiot, if I thought I didn't have to worry more about hitting them than they did about being in my way.


    I realize that there is a law and that no matter what the driver will be charged because law.  I am just saying that from my point of view I will blame certain people depending on their stupidity level.  Blaming someone =/= law.

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  • littlemushroomlittlemushroom member
    Sixth Anniversary 500 Love Its 500 Comments First Answer
    KatieinBkln said:

    Do people not abide by the "look both ways before you cross" rule anymore?  Yes, cars should stop when you are IN the cross walk but they do not have to stop if you are NOT crossing the street yet.  So to just start walking out onto the cross walk without really looking or under the assumption that cars will stop for you is just dumb.

    So in some cases the pedestrian can be to blamed for an accident or in other cases the driver can be to blamed.  If a pedestrian just juts out in traffic and gets hit, well I blame that on that pedestrian.  If the driver just plows through a cross walk and hits someone, well I blame that on the driver.  Overall people just need to be safer and more aware of their surroundings.  So put the phones down (both pedestrians and drivers) and just freaking pay attention to where you are going.
    I mean, sure. There's "blame" and then there's the law, though. The law almost unilaterally states that the person driving the machine that weighs a ton has the responsibility not to run it into a fragile human. As another example, it would be very, very stupid of me to walk naked into a prison yard full of convicted sex offenders, but it would still be against the law for them to rape me.

    I swear, for all the stupid shit I see day in and day out, I am shocked at how many people seem to think it's somehow against the law to be dumb. No. In many cases laws exist to protect our dumb asses. The biggest idiot in the world shouldn't have to get hit by a car, because we put the onus on car drivers (the more powerful party) not to run into people, idiots or otherwise.

    It drove me nuts when said idiots walked in front of my car back when I drove all the time. You bet your (general your) ass it did! But I would not only be an idiot, I'd be a criminal idiot, if I thought I didn't have to worry more about hitting them than they did about being in my way.


    That is not actually the case. Most, if not all, state's pedestrian laws place a requirement on the pedestrian to not become an immediate hazard by suddenly leaving the curb/sidewalk in front of a vehicle. Many states also have laws that say pedestrians must yield the right of way to vehicles when they are not in marked crosswalks or when they have not yet entered the roadway.

    The laws are pretty clear that BOTH the vehicles and the pedestrians have certain responsibilities to avoid accidents.
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  • buttercup1958buttercup1958
    1000 Comments 500 Love Its Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    Omg, we get it. Everyone is a knight white and Chit Chat is a shit show.
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  • ashley8918ashley8918 member
    2500 Comments 500 Love Its First Anniversary First Answer
    edited May 2015
    buttercup1958 said:

    Omg, we get it. Everyone is a knight white and Chit Chat is a shit show.

    Uhh...Okay? Not exactly sure what you are saying here, or what your point is.
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