Pedestrians, Yielding to Them

The school I drive my daughter to each weekday morning is pretty big, with a big parking lot area to go with it. When I enter it to let her off (and then turn around to leave), I often encounter students who walk right in front of my moving car. I always stop in time and show consideration for them. For the most part, I keep my eyes peeled for anyone who may be approaching my path from a distance and automatically yield to them. This is, to me, a normal standard practice that anyone in any parking lot needs to follow, for people walking in shopping center parking lots are also notorious for completely disregarding moving traffic and often step out in front of vehicles from spots hidden to the drivers. But when discussing what happens on the open road, the situation seems to get reversed.

At the traffic light near the same school that I am leaving, I wait to turn left at the green light (without a lead). There are usually students standing there waiting to cross when it turns green for them. And since I would be turning left into their path of crossing, I am required by law to yield to them. But I never see any students automatically start to cross when the light turns green. Instead, they just stand there waiting for all of the cars to turn left in front of them. I have tried on occasion to get a student's attention by waving him or her on, but my efforts have always been ignored. Those students, I'm sure, are quite aware from personal experience that most drivers will not respect their pedestrian rights and, since they don't want to get flattened by them on the way to school, they wait for everyone to pass first before crossing (if their light is still green, that is).

I read in yesterday's Gainesville Sun that a study done in January showed that only about 20% of drivers in Gainesville yield to pedestrians in crosswalks as they are legally required to do. The response? The police are instituting a "pedestrian patrol" to ticket pedestrians they catch jaywalking. Well, there are times when jaywalking may be the safest way to go, especially considering the tendency for drivers to ignore pedestrians at intersections! Why not instead concentrate on ticketing the jerks who won't properly yield to them?!

The common sense solution, of course, is for everyone, both drivers and pedestrians, to take a chill pill and demonstrate a little patience and courtesy for the other guy. This goes beyond what is legally required. It is an important element of simply being a well-functioning, civilized human being. Let's all consciously work at staying civilized, O.K.?