Friday, March 03, 2017

Driving home and seeing a pedestrian sprawled on the street

I was driving home at around 20:25 on Thursday night. I was roughly two streets away from my home in a residential area.

I was stopped at the three-way intersection. In front of me was a black pickup truck with its hazard lights blinking. I had to drive around it, on the opposite side of the residential street.

The image in my head still shakes me. In front of the pickup truck was a body of a person. That person was in a starfish position, head up.

The driver of the pickup truck was standing on the southwest corner of the intersection. He was on his cell phone, calling 911.

Part of me wanted to pull over and see how everyone was. I was so shocked that I decided to drive home.

Moments later, I heard the ambulance siren. I hope that the pedestrian is okay. If I am in this state, I can't imagine what the pickup truck driver is going through.

There are a number of problems with both pedestrians and drivers in my neighbourhood:

  • At this specific intersection, pedestrians feel that they own it. They will walk diagonally across the intersection. Um, no. You cross one side of the street, and then the next.
  • At night, pedestrians often wear dark clothing. For drivers, it's difficult to spot you. The person hit was wearing black pants. However, the person's jacket was red, which should have stood out.
  • The speed limit in our residential area is 40 km. I have seen many folks exceed that speed limit. We have speed bumps and I live around the corner from an elementary school. Slow down, drivers!
  • I have often seen folks do a left-hand turn in my area and do not see me coming. I have to honk. Drivers need to pay more attention to both pedestrians and cars. Look both ways before you go.
  • Pedestrians need to look both ways before they cross the street, too. I deliberately back my car into my driveway. In the morning, I pull out and see everything and everyone. Thursday morning, a woman walked past my car. I waited for her to cross before I pulled out. I was driving and she nearly walked into the side of my car. I don't care if you are wearing a hoodie. Turn your head before you cross the street. Again, as a pedestrian, you don't own the road if you pull a stupid action like this one.
  • We are so distracted by our phones, music blasting in the car, and much more. Lose all of it. You're better off doing so.
I just hope that this pedestrian is okay. I keep looking online to see whether there are any reports. So far, I haven't heard a thing.

2 comments:

  1. Awww CB...so sorry you had that experience but very happy you weren't the driver or pedestrian. Hope they are both okay. The problem with many reds is that they appear black in the dark. Pedestrians walking after dark in the streets really need to wear reflective clothing.

    Hugs and blessings...Cat

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Cat. I hope that they are okay, too. You're right about certain shades of red that are difficult to see at night. Reflective clothing is best, but many folks don't think about the benefits of owning such articles and being seen at night.

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