Both car drivers and pedestrians have gotten more aggressive in the last few years. Drivers seem ever more distracted. A van full of children recently ran a stop sign at a four-way stop because the driver was on a cell phone. When I honked my horn, I got “the finger.”
Great parenting, no?
Pedestrians, often homeless or economically depressed, will knowingly walk into the street against the light as if to say, “I dare you to hit me.”
It used to drive me nuts, until I figured it out: It seems to be a pathetic way of asserting that they matter too.
Downtown, turning right on red isn’t the problem; turning left on red is. Many people aren’t expecting it. I’m told by the Chicago police that they’re aware of it, but have orders not to do anything about it downtown because trying to pull over drivers in heavy traffic only creates greater traffic problems.
When my friend died in Florida while crossing the street in broad daylight some 10 years ago because a driver wasn’t paying attention, I thought that was unusual. I don’t anymore. I understand why Congress at one time wanted to ban radios–drivers aren’t focusing on driving. As I tell my son, a car is not a mobile living room. Turn off the music and pay attention; you’re in a speeding bullet.
