Parking lots are by far the closest to hell a driver can experience behind the wheel. It’s no surprise that if you want to become an expert driver from Day One, you should start your driving lessons in a crowded mall lot (for the would-be drivers who truly have balls, may I suggest the Triangle of Fob?). Just about everything bad that you could possibly imagine happens in a parking lot: cars on the wrong side of the road, motorists who don’t signal or check blind spots or look to see where they’re going, endless paint trading and mirrors getting torn off, and pedestrians who seem to Apparate right in front of your moving vehicle.
Ah, yes…the pedestrians. Humans are funny creatures in the sense that they think they have more authority on two skinny legs than the humans sitting inside a two-ton steel machine. Their reasoning is that because the law prohibits drivers from hitting them, they can do whatever the hell they want and no four-wheel monster is ever going to touch them, no matter what. Yet, a quick search in StatCan shows that over 200 pedestrians were injured in collisions involving motor vehicles in 2004 (the most recent data available); one can assume that the rate has been more or less steady over the years, seeing as pedestrians will always behave the same (that’s what I think, anyway).
I witness terrible behaviour in pedestrians all the time; whether they’re walking in the middle of the road, ignorant of their surroundings, or parents letting their young children run freely, or passing right through a parking spot while you drive in, they just don’t seem to care much. And everyone does it at one point or another; as a university student on campus, even I don’t have much regard for oncoming traffic as I’m crossing a road (though I still make sure to be aware of possible collisions), because I’m the student and you’re just a driver coming into my campus. The entire mindset is screwed up, and we’re all to blame for promoting such thinking when we use our two feet (or even walking-aids) to get around.
Just a few weeks ago, waiting outside in line for a concert, I witnessed a Mercedes slowly backing out of its parking spot after checking to see if it was clear (it was). But in the near distance, some employee was hurriedly pushing a cart full of garbage and walked RIGHT behind the reversing Mercedes; yes, the driver would have been at fault if an accident did occur, but the employee clearly could have waited a second for the car to move forward again. Instead, that jackass took his chances and was just a couple feet away from being hit until the Mercedes driver slammed on the brakes, at which point he (the EMPLOYEE) glared at the driver with a dirty look. Unbelievable! If I was the driver, I would’ve gotten out of my car, sock the guy for nearly causing an unnecessary accident, and tip over his garbage cart for nearly dirtying my Mercedes (and as payback for wasting my time), then drive off. I’m glad I wasn’t.
However, the incident that really takes the cake for me happened many years ago at a small Chinese plaza. It was in the late evening, virtually no traffic (but the parking lot was fairly full) and my mom was backing up into this one free space. Halfway getting the car parked, out of nowhere this brilliant Filipino lady decides to cut right behind our moving van and scares the crap out of my mom. Adding insult to injury, the idiot gives my mom a frowned “are-you-blind, can’t-you-see-I’m-walking?” look. My mother was furious, and though I was of a young age I could tell that possible retaliatory actions were floating around in her head. But she really couldn’t do anything about it.
Or could she? Thus begs the question, when pedestrians are purposefully setting themselves up for death-by-car, should the driver go along with it?* It could even be a good thing; after hearing on the news several cases of idiot pedestrians being crushed by vehicles as they unknowingly attempted to play chicken (and posthumously given Darwin awards), I’m sure most people would catch on and learn to respect the rules of the road. If they have to learn the hard way, so be it.
*This is NOT a serious discussion, don’t get any ideas.
Filed under: Driving, etc., Social Commentary |
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regarding the “i think i’ll walk behind a reversing car” episode you described, which got you so angry: i don’t remember them doing that (except rarely) in the midwest or east coast. but MAN!!! they do it ***ALL THE F-ING TIME*** here in southern california (complete with the angry glare if — despite all your best efforts — you happen to not see them, and come close). drives me nuts when i’m backing out. and when i’m a pedestrian, i stop, and people backing out look like they can’t believe that someone actually stopped for a backing car.. heheh
Yeah, whatever happened to common courtesy, eh?
But if I ever saw you wait for me in person, I’d probably get out of my car and shake your hand.
As a pedestrian, I’d like to think I’m constantly trying to make a conscious effort to watch where I’m going and stop when cars are trying to get in and out of parking lots or making turns, etc. But there are a few drivers, I feel, I have to make eye contact and STARE at them while I’m crossing the street, otherwise, who knows? We’re not all bad. Like some drivers, there are some idiots out there that make it bad for the rest of us two-legged ants.
PS thanks for the comment on my blog! And in regard to your response re: SWPL - I think one of the posters IS Canadian - he made mention of Toronto’s East Chinatown in an interview with The Assimilated Negro - check it:
http://theassimilatednegro.blogspot.com/2008/02/stuff-white-people-like-interview-part.html
You just have to scroll down a little ways to get the reference. He says the other guy who posts is from Vancouver … or maybe he’s lying to justify his posts. who knows?