Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Wrong of way

Not once, but twice, on my drive to work today I was reminded of one of my all-time pet peeves: Luke Slowwalker.

Today's otherwise pleasant commute was interrupted by the teenagers, who were literally too cool for school, preening their way across the street; and the lethargic soccer mom, glued to her cell phone at a busy intersection and oblivious to the green light and snarling traffic on both sides of her. They just made me want to floor the gas pedal and pick up the spare, to use a bowling analogy.

What infuriates me is not the wait but the amount of effort (or lack thereof) displayed by Luke and Laura Slowwalker. I'm totally okay with letting people walk in front of my car if they first look at me, wait for recognition and sprint or jog across the lanes. And I don't blame senior citizens or disabled people or small kids who don't know any better for taking their time because many of them don't have a choice.

But all remaining pedestrians who are meandering in nonchalant fashion just a foot or two away from the double yellow lines should become fair game for hood ornaments. At that point, my cartoon crush and her cohorts should cut car insurance costs for patrons who knock out the 10-pin in Darwinian fashion.

And you know the problem's bad when all of this comes from a man who had to go to the hospital after being hit by a moving vehicle.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

One of my pet peeves is when I'm crossing the street, and every motorist on the street glares at me, as if I don't belong there.

Their light is red & mine is white. It's timed to stay that way until I've crossed the street. So I walk at a normal pace. More glares.

They especially glare when I get to the other side of the street, and have to wait while I finish crossing.

Do I run now? No. My light is still white. Theirs is still red. The law says they have to stop, but wait for me. Even more glares.

Motorists expect pedestrians to scamper across as quickly as possible, so they don't have to wait 10 seconds.

It's especially fun when they fill the crosswalk, so I have to go around them. Lately I just smile & wave, thinking "thanks for not killing me!".

Chris Serico said...

Sidewalks are for pedestrians. Roadways aren't.

You're slow. Move it.

But thanks for reading my blog! :)

Wes Prang said...

I hope you are still alive, and also, that you have not killed anyone.