350 yr. old cactus near Petatlan, Mexico.
ATTEMPTING TO SHARE SOMEONE ELSE'S SPACE CAN OFTEN LEAD TO CONFRONTATION.
WE MUST ALL LEARN TO SHARE OUR DWINDLING SPACES
COLUMNS ON THIS PAGE
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The pedestrian makes eye contact with the driver to be sure the driver has seen him
and is going to stop.
For the last few weeks I have been giving you safety tips to make you street smart. You've probably sloughed a lot of them off saying that it is too much to remember. It's not though. It's what runs through a professional driver's mind, or should, every minute of every day.
Now you are going to say, "But that's for professional drivers". Yes, it is, but it is also for you. It is for every user of the street. It is not a game out there, it is life and death.
While walking home this evening I was thinking of what I was going to write in this weeks column. I noticed that ahead of me on the pavement was the glow of a pair of head lights. Obviously there was a car, screened by a hedge, waiting for a break in the traffic.
Dressed in black I stepped into the crosswalk, did a little dance around the front of her car as she let her foot off the brake, and continued on my way.
Had I been a little slower with my two step, or had she stepped on the gas a little harder, I would now be in the hospital. Who would be in the wrong?
According to the law, I was on the crosswalk, and she would have to pay me a lot of money. That would be poor comfort if I had to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.
I, in actuality, was in the wrong. I knew she was there, I knew she couldn't see me because of the hedge. I knew she probably wasn't watching in my direction because she would be watching the traffic coming towards her to see if she could get a break. I failed to make eye contact with her.
Sharing the street means knowing what the other person might do. Knowing how much room it takes to swing a big truck around a corner is as important to a pedestrian as it is to the truck driver.
I don't write this column to make money but to impart the knowledge and experience I have gained in my fifty years as a pedestrian and a professional driver in the hopes that you won't make silly mistakes like the one I made this evening.
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More about this in next weeks column.
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Even with street lights, pedestrians are hard to see at night.
Last week I told you about the stupid mistake I made while crossing a street. What did I do wrong?
I was walking after dark wearing dark clothing. I didn't wait at the curb until I was sure the driver had seen me, ie. I didn't make eye contact with the driver.
Visual contact is very important especially at night and even more so if it is a wet night. Because we have so many wet nights it is important to remember that a driver's visibility is reduced considerably because of the rain on the outside of his windows. He may have wipers to clear the windshield but the wipers may be faulty, the class may be pitted, or both.
As pedestrians we usually approach vehicles from the side. The side windows will not have wipers.
As well as the outside of the glass, the inside could be visually impaired, particularly on a cold night, by fog, or the reflection of some amulet dangling from the mirror.
It is the duty of the driver to pull over and remove all objects and mists or fogs from the inside and outside of his windows and mirrors but as pedestrians we must realize that though we are in a hurry, because we are cold and/or wet, the driver may not be a good driver and hasn't taken the time to properly prepare his vehicle before he commenced his journey, and therefore we must rely on ourselves to stop, look, and listen before stepping off the curb.
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Next week I want to talk about those objects that drivers hang in their windows.
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Pets can block your vision.
For your safety, and their's, they should be in
retraints.
This week I thought we would return to the subject of blind spots and how we can reduce them, or their size, by removing objects that block our vision.
Hanging things in your car windows, mounting things on your dashboard, or putting things on the deck in the back window are a no, no.
We have a strange phenomenon in Vancouver that I have never see anywhere else, an aversion to the sun. On a sunny day I see people driving around holding a newspaper or magazine between their face and the window of their car.
Excuse me, how are you supposed to see where you are going if you are turning a corner?
Likewise I see curtains or sun filters on the passenger windows. How can you see if there is a pedestrian beside you if you are turning to the right.
The only windows a driver does not need to look through is the side window directly behind the drivers seat and the driver's side of the rear window. No other window should have anything that will obstruct his vision (MVA Sec. 195 (1) (b).
Placing things on the dash, even if they are not high enough to obstruct the drivers vision, will often cause a reflection that will obstruct the driver's view.
As for placing things in the back window, even if they are not high enough to obstruct the drivers vision, is just plain dangerous. If they are not securely fastened they may become airborne if the car has to come to a sudden stop.
What is between the rear window and the front windshield? the driver's head, the passenger's head. I once saw an umbrella that had been lying in the back window of a car that stopped suddenly. Its point had impaled the dashboard. Luckily it had gone between the driver and the passenger.
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Next week let's talk about back packs.
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These
passengers are NOT standing back leaving room for passengers to
alight.
However, with a bus they shouldn't have to.
Only the elderly and the handicapped should exit from the front door of a bus.
These soon to be pasengers have slung their bags onto one shoulder ready to move them to their front,
where they are more controllable in a crowded
situation.
Back packs, shopping bags, umbrellas, carriages, shopping carts. Encumbrances that we must all be careful with.
As Vancouver tries to become more metropolitan with its increasing number of sidewalk tables the sidewalks become narrower and narrower and as the population of the city continues to grow the sidewalks become more and more congested.
Sharing the streets means remembering what you have in your hands. When meeting someone else in a narrow area put one hand, holding a bag, behind you and the other in front of you until there is room to carry them by your side.
Back packs of course don't have this problem because they are always behind you but when you get into a crowded area such as a store or a bus then it is much safer to take them off and hold them in front of you so they don't bash the person beside you when you make a turn.
If your hands are already full then be very careful, check beside you, and behind you, before you twist your torso. That's easier said than done but it's your back pack and you are responsible.
If you are terribly burdened with back pack and bags maybe you should wait for another bus if this one is too full.
Elevators are another bad place for back packs. If you really can't wait for the next one, walk in but don't turn around. Get someone to select the floor for you and then back out when you get there. Sounds silly but it will avoid giving someone the back pack swing head smack.
Sharing the streets starts with courtesy off the streets.
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Next week I want to talk more about sharing the streets with animals.
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These dogs are well
controlled with short leash and are attractions for passersby
rather than annoyances.
Sharing the streets with dogs is not just a matter of cleaning up their messes after them it is a question of control amongst people.
I think one of the worst inventions to date is these leashes that extend out and spring back like a tape measure. Instead of controlling our dog we are letting them control us.
Having been a member of a kennel club, a trainer, and a handler, I could get really fanatical about this subject. I often have to hold myself in check from making comments when I see people walking their dogs.
There's this dog on the far side of the sidewalk and there's this handler on the other side of the sidewalk, and there's this leash stretching across your path of flight, just at shin height.
This is a potentially dangerous situation. It could lead to a tripping, either on the leash or over the dog as it is reeled back in. In either case the tripee is probably going to fall on the dog in which case the dog is going to get upset and bite the person that fell on them.
Even if it doesn't result in a tripping it could result in an unpleasant altercation with a dog that is being summarily dragged across in front of a stranger.
A dog on a walk should be on a leather or chain leash, maximum six foot length. The dog should be kept at heel when there is the chance of other people. The dog should be wearing a wide leather or nylon collar. Never a choke or metal collar. (Choke collars are strictly for training.)
If you haven't already trained your dog to work in public than he shouldn't be in public.
On the other side, walkers and joggers should refrain from stopping to pet dogs. If you think it is a really nice dog give the owner a compliment. If you really must pet, ask permission. Maybe the dog doesn't take kindly to strangers and may get defensive, or maybe the owner has just groomed him for a show and really wouldn't appreciate his coat being mussed.
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Next week I would like to talk about `Stop Lines'.
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This intersection has
staggered stop lines and each vehicle is properly stopped behind
their respective line.
What are `Stop lines'? Why are there stop lines? Where are stop lines?
`Stop Lines' are lines, or imaginary lines, on the street that take the place of stop signs. A vehicle, be it car, bike, or truck, is supposed to stop with the front end, or bumper, in line with the stop sign. A stop line is in line with where the stop sign should be.
Often it is impractical or impossible to place a stop sign where it should be. By impossible I mean that there is a tree, pole, or other obstruction, preventing the erection of the stop sign where it should be erected.
By impractical I mean that it wouldn't be cost effective to put a stop sign at the end of every back alley or side street or every intersection that is controlled by lights.
Oh, did I say back alley? Caught you there did I? Yes, you are required to make a stop when leaving a lane, driveway, or going from a minor side street to a more major street. There may not be a stop sign, or a stop line, but you are still required to stop before entering the crosswalk (City of Vancouver By-law Sec. 36).
Quite often you will see a sign that says `Stop Line' with an arrow pointing to where the stop line should be.
Where are stop lines? There is a stop line before every crosswalk. Painted, or unpainted, the crosswalk line is in line with the house side of the sidewalk, or where a sidewalk would be if there was one, and the stop line is about a foot down the street from the crosswalk.
I say `about' because, on some multi-lane intersections you will find the stop line, in the lane nearest the curb, one foot back from the crosswalk line, but in the next lane it will be further back, and in the next lane it will be even further back. This is to allow large vehicles room to turn the corner.
Or would if people would obey the rules and park behind the stop line. Painted or not, if you come to a stop with your front end over the stop line and in the crosswalk you are illegally parked.
Do not infringe upon the crosswalk, it is there for pedestrians to use. You will get your turn to proceed after the pedestrians have cleared the street. If it takes awhile remember, you are sitting in a nice warm, dry car. They are in the cold rain.
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Next week let's talk about the pedestrian's responsibility to the motorist.
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More worried about sun on her face, than being struck by a vehicle,
this lady is paying no attention to other traffic
or the fact that she is not even in the crosswalk.
We've talked about how vehicles, bicycles included, should stop, behind the stop line, to allow safe and easy passage of pedestrian but what about the pedestrian's duty to the motorist.
Many is the time I have stopped, impeding traffic behind me, to allow a pedestrian to cross the street but they are busy looking the other way or not paying attention to me. Rather than honk to get their attention I step on the gas and drive away.
I have said before that it is the duty of pedestrian's to stop, look, and listen before they enter a crosswalk. It is also the duty of the pedestrian to be aware while he is in the crosswalk.
Crossing the street is not a game. The crosswalk is not a place to be talking on a cel phone, or adjusting the volume on a walkman.
Yesterday I watched a young couple who were so intent on their conversation that they failed to notice that they had stepped off the curb. They never noticed they were on a crosswalk until one of them tripped on the curb at the other end. At no time did either of them notice that a car had had to make a sudden stop within inches of them.
If we, as pedestrians, expect traffic to give us the right of way then we must respect their rights to the street as well. If we want to cross the street, be aware of the traffic, make sure they are aware that you want to cross.
When you do start to cross proceed directly to the other side. Don't take a short cut out of the crosswalk. This requires a greater distance to reach the far sidewalk and a longer time that traffic has to wait for you to clear the street.
Sharing, if you will pardon the pun, is a two way street. Road rage can be avoided if we all work together.
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Next week let's talk about parking lots.
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Crosswalks can be found in
private areas as well as public
and should be used there as they
too indicate the safest place to cross through
traffic.
I'm sure if you asked an automotive insurance company they would tell you that more accidents happen in parking lots then anywhere else. Oh, sure they are not the smash, crash, end in death, type of accident you see on the freeways but they are still frustrating, avoidable, conflicts, that cost time and money.
Sharing the parking lot is an important part of sharing the streets. We mentioned before that pedestrians shouldn't walk behind vehicles when they are backing up and vehicles shouldn't back up if pedestrians are moving behind them, yet it is done all the time in parking lots.
The biggest cause of accidents in parking lots is the same as anywhere else, impatience. People are in a hurry to get home before the ice cream melts, you are in a hurry to get out of the parking space because someone else wants it, you are in a hurry to get to that empty space before someone else beats you to it, you are in a hurry to get to your car or to the store before you get wet, or cold, or both.
How many accidents could be prevented if we only took the time to pay attention to what we were doing? How many times have I talked about pedestrians staying in crosswalks? When was the last time you went out of your way to use a crosswalk in a parking lot?
Sounds silly doesn't it, but it's not. Crosswalks are painted in parking lots for the same reason they are on the streets, to prevent injury to pedestrians. See and be seen.
Go where the traffic expects you to be and drive like you expect a child to come out from under every car keep your vehicle in low gear and keep your headlights on. Don't step out from behind some truck and expect a bicycle to see you coming. Don't ride your bike through the parking lot like you were in a marathon.
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Next week let's talk more about parking lots.
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Though pedestrians aren•t legally pedestrians if not on a crosswalk,
courtesy says that they have the right of way in a parking lot.
Last week I talked about sharing a parking lot. This week I was walking through a parking lot and I saw a tow truck trying to park a car in a very tight spot. A small car came down the lane and cut around the front of the tow truck but was then blocked by parked cars.
The tow truck started to pull forward and I yelled at him, luckily he heard me and stopped. His front bumper was two inches from the mirror on the little car in front of him.
The driver of the tow truck was looking at me wondering why I had yelled at him. I was pointing at the car in front of him. He was looking in the direction I was pointing but kept looking at me to see what I was pointing at. Finally he opened his window and said, "What?"
"A car", I yelled back.
Puzzled, he set his brakes and stepped out of his truck. To his surprise there was this idiot in this tiny little car cursing him for blocking the lane.
The driver of the car, not only didn't have the sense to back up when he saw the truck looming over him, he had the audacity to blame the truck driver for blocking his egress and for almost running into him.
Unfortunately for the driver of the truck as he probably would have been in the wrong if he had run into the little car despite that fact that it was so small and so close that he couldn't see it beneath the hood of his truck.
In actuality though, the driver of the car was in the wrong. He should not have pulled in front of the truck while it was backing up. He should have waited, back, out of the way, until the truck was finished what it was doing. Then he could have proceeded unobstructed and safely.
Ads on TV will tell you that exceeding the speed limit is the major cause of accidents. They are wrong, impatience is the major cause of accidents. If we would all sit back and give the other driver time to do what he has to do there would not only be fewer accidents there would be no road rage.
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Next week we will talk about spitting on the sidewalk.
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