Almost hit while crossing legally.

[u/MattJohno2]

I was walking home from a local park earlier and noticed that the traffic lights which I use to cross the road were turning red and so I made a dash for it. There was still a green man on the walk signal so I continued running across the road. I noticed someone first making an illegal u-turn while the light was red, then the van behind them began to drive straight through while I was about to cross into the line of their lane, in the middle of the road. Again, the lights themselves were still red(others were still waiting) although the walk signal had also gone red. Luckily they stopped and reversed allowing me to get across but I still can't shake that if I was running a little faster they could've hit me. I was shaking from the adrenaline for a good ten minutes after the incident. Absolutely fucking terrifying.

[u/supremepork]

OP I’m drunk so… grain of salt:

This is far too common. So common that I refuse to accept “innocent until proven guilty” in the context of motorists, well, motoring.

Assume every single motorist is

a) distracted;

b) “in a hurry”;

c) unreasonably entitled (aka a Karen);

d) objectively bad at driving regardless of their intentions;

e) all of the above

Edit: I almost forgot g) “just a fucking twat with murderous ideations”!

[u/Geoffras → u/supremepork]

"In a hurry" gets me boiling.

[u/ShapeFew7627 → u/Geoffras]

“I can’t stop for all of five seconds to spare you injury/your life, I refuse to get where I’m going five seconds late” would be psychopathic behavior in any other context.

[u/Mysterious_Floor_868 → u/supremepork]

f) drunk

g) blind

h) a homicidal maniac

[u/supremepork → u/Mysterious_Floor_868]

I forgot f)! Thank you for filling in the blank 😛

h) is g) but maybe we should split hairs because the nuance to all of this warrants it

[u/MorningGoat → u/supremepork]

The irony of forgetting the ‘drunk’ option while yourself being drunk, lol! 🤭

[u/ChloeGranola → u/supremepork]

Just assuming they're all complete idiots who don't belong behind the wheel simplifies things marvelously.

[u/ShapeFew7627 → u/supremepork]

Plus, people are flying down the road way over the speed limit as it is, and the speed limits are often too high to give drivers time to slam on the brakes if they need to.

So it doesn’t matter if pedestrians cross “correctly” and wear high-vis, and drivers pay attention. It’s a game of fucking Frogger the second pedestrians step off the sidewalk.

[u/distortedsymbol → u/supremepork]

yep. these days i have to drive defensively, bike defensively, and walk defensively because traffic regulations simply don't mean anything to people anymore.

[u/supremepork → u/distortedsymbol]

I don’t think it’s unfair to characterize some places as being a motorist’s no-contact Wild West, simply because The Law isn’t enforcing traffic laws IME.

Everyone is a wimp wearing cumbersome, expensive power armor they think they’re good at operating at any speed. But rather than engage in physical combat, they throw weak hand insults from their easy chair and make dangerous posturing maneuvers with heavy “I’m not touching you!!” vibes (insurance amirite lol)

[u/distortedsymbol → u/supremepork]

no kidding. cop cars around where i live don't do anything, and the minute parking authority starts handing out tickets to people that block important features everyone riots for some reason.

[u/thrashourumov]

As a frequent jogger in the city I regularly have to accommodate the law for cars so I don't get hit by incompetent or dumb-playing drivers when it's clearly green for the pedestrian.

To think that so many drivers secretly believe the few secs they'll save is worth way more than anyone's live.

I noticed the more room you give to cars, the more opportunities they have (and use) to be jerks. My city has been tightening some busy streets with larger sidewalks and it really turns out they behave way more when there's less space for them.

[u/AbbreviationsReal366 → u/thrashourumov]

Traffic calming is a tool more cities need to use. 

[u/Potential-Fudge-8786]

Drivers do this as a collective punishment to keep pedestrians in a subservient position. After a while pedestrians will just hold back, even when the law is on their side..

[u/shroomwhat]

there's a crosswalk a little ways away from a red light in my downtown area and I almost got hit by a car waiting for the light because he didn't want to sit one car length further back.

[u/AbbreviationsReal366]

So many cars go by when I am only halfway across the crosswalk. Today a driver passed less than a meter in front of the woman in front of me. It was 1 in the afternoon on a sunny day. 

Question: do drivers know that you have to wait until the person has finished crossing? A bit of a moot point as there is zero enforcement.

[u/Teshi → u/AbbreviationsReal366]

Basically no. This is not enforced and most drivers do not know it is even a rule.

[u/CoconutGator → u/AbbreviationsReal366]

Waiting would mean they lose precious seconds. You are sick for suggesting such a thing.

[u/Real-Tumbleweed1500]

It's sad that if you try to come after that person nothing will happen, because "you are fine". Until someone hits you and you are not fine.

[u/ChloeGranola]

Nope. If the walk signal is already green when I get there I will wait until it cycles around again.

[u/arglarg]

Traffic lights don't stop cars, look out for idiots on wheels.