When did crossing the street become such a life-threatening undertaking?

Not everyone in Glace Bay is a bad driver, but over the years I’ve noticed a lot of people doing stupid things while driving, such as texting, applying makeup, and my all-time favourite… reading a book. Yes, I actually watched someone reading a book they had propped up on the steering wheel while they were driving! That’s rather scary when you think about it.

As a pedestrian, it’s not uncommon to be left standing at an intersection as car after car drives past you. More often than not the only time you can cross the street is when there’s no traffic left because they will not stop to let you cross the street. Too many times I was halfway across the street when they drove past me – some had a look of shock or horror when they realized they almost hit me because they didn’t even see me in the crosswalk; others just glared at me as if I had no right to cross the street.

According to the Nova Scotia Driver’s Handbook, “Every intersection has a crosswalk. Many are unmarked. Drivers must yield to pedestrians at all intersections, whether crosswalks are marked or unmarked.”

Note the phrase: “Drivers Must Yield.” In another part of the book, it states: “You must yield the right of way to pedestrians in the crosswalk, including persons in wheelchairs.”

When the intersection has traffic lights and the sign indicates Do Not Walk, all pedestrians must obey the signal, but in all other intersections, it is the pedestrian who has the right-of-way, not vehicles. Glace Bay is not known for its abundance of traffic lights so guess what that means? For the most part, when you come to an intersection you have to stop and let people cross the street. It’s not just a courtesy thing… it’s the law. Unfortunately, that particular law doesn’t seem to get enforced very often. Who cares? Pedestrians just need to be more careful, right? Cops have better things to do than waste time ticketing drivers for not letting someone cross the street, right? Well, I guess it’s a matter of perspective and what side of the crosswalk you’re standing on.

Commercial Street seems to be one of the easiest streets to cross in Glace Bay. Even if you’re not near a crosswalk, the second or third car will usually stop to let you cross. That’s a good thing, but the Sterling Road area is more akin to playing Russian Roulette. You’re gambling with your life if you even think of crossing the street without first double and triple-checking that the driver is actually going to stop, especially up by the bakery where Minto Street meets Sterling Road. That’s a dangerous intersection. Or should I say, that’s the intersection dangerous drivers seem to find?

I’ve lost count of the number of times I watched people travelling up Minto Street while looking to their left down Sterling Road to see if they can turn right. They rarely come to a full stop and most times they never look anywhere except to their left because they’re only concerned with whether or not they can keep going. More than once I witnessed people quickly stepping back onto the curb because one of those tunnel-vision drivers almost ran them over. Other times the vehicle is stopped but as soon as there’s a gap in traffic the driver steps on the accelerator, never once looking to see if anyone is in the crosswalk.

It reminds me of the time I was crossing Brookside Street and I spotted a car travelling a little too fast on Water Street. The driver must have noticed that the cars on the other streets were stopped and the car on the Commercial Street bridge was only about halfway across so I guess she decided that rather than obeying the stop sign she was going to “go for it” and stepped on the gas. She raced through the intersection towards Brookside – towards the crosswalk I was already in! She missed me by about a foot and a half! Too close for my comfort, but that’s not where this story ends.

I can’t really describe what she looks like because all I saw as she raced by me was the back of her head – she was still looking towards the bridge to make sure she was far enough ahead of the other car turning onto Brookside street. Let that sink in for a minute…

She ran a stop sign, was speeding, and wasn’t even looking where she was going! I was lucky because I saw her run the stop sign and race through the intersection, but if I had of been a couple of steps slower, or if it was a small child or an elderly person in the middle of the crosswalk that day, they most likely would have been killed.

Another time I was crossing Main Street at the top of Commercial Street. Traffic coming down Main was stopped at the stop sign, traffic coming up Main were stopped at the crosswalk, and a moronic driver a few cars behind pulled out, crossed the centre line into the wrong lane, and sped up the street so they could turn down Commercial Street ahead of everyone else. This all happened as I was walking in the crosswalk. I had to jump out of the way to avoid getting run down. Just like that other maniac, the driver never even saw me. And, just as before, if it was a child or an elderly person in the crosswalk that day, this story would have a very different and very tragic ending.

The majority of these incidents and near misses were not done by young drivers. Now granted there were a few elderly drivers, like the little, old lady who was looking under the steering wheel to try and see the road because she was too short to look over it, but the majority of these incidents were by drivers in their 30s, 40s and 50s – people who have years of experience behind the wheel. They have no excuse for their horrendous driving and should have their license revoked because using a crosswalk should not be a life-threatening gamble.

To be fair, I’ve watched pedestrians walk into traffic without looking – some were distracted because they were staring at their cellphones, others seem to have the belief that a crosswalk has a magical barrier that will protect them and bring a 1,500 Kg car to a screeching halt. It will not. You need to pay attention just as much as those horrible drivers need to start focusing on the road. Never give them the benefit of the doubt. Make sure their vehicle comes to a stop before you step off the curb. Always assume they cannot see you, or they can see you and just don’t care because they know you’ll get out of their way. It seems people are always in a hurry and don’t have time for silly things like obeying traffic laws.

I’ve watched too many videos of drivers passing a school bus that had its flashing red lights on. Anyone who refuses to stop for a school bus should have their license taken away immediately! Not a slap on the wrist fine… Lose your license for a couple of years and pay the maximum fine possible because that’s what you deserve! There is no excuse for such pathetic, reckless and dangerous driving, especially when it comes to our children.

A driver’s license is a privilege; it’s not a right… but everyone should have the right to feel safe. Crossing the street or using a bus should never be a life-threatening event. Shame on you for making it that way.

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Originally posted on Kenn's Blog: "Between the Lines", Dec 2, 2018. Click HERE to read more of his writing.

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