On the way to work I walk adjacent to a lane of traffic, and cars on the highway can exit onto that street using a lengthy offramp. I have to cross the offramp every day, and there’s a yield sign there for cars coming from the highway, but they never slow down or yield to pedestrians (unless it’s someone old driving). Since it’s a busy area, the cars can just keep coming, and I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time just waiting for the line of vehicles to end.
Right now I just get out my frustrations by pretending that I don’t notice any cars coming, and taking one step onto the ramp. Most drivers don’t care if someone is walking across; as long as they know that one sees them, they assume that one will jump out of the way. Drivers who believe that someone doesn’t see them will almost always yield.
This morning, for example, I pretended to be completely oblivious to two cars speeding down the offramp. I made one confident step across the path and then quickly looked up, while continuing to cross. The first car sped past me, but the second car slowed down suddenly enough to make the tires squeak. The car actually pulled to the side of the road and came to a complete stop. I could tell that the driver, a bookish man with light hair and glasses, was both angry and shaken, and had to stop driving to compose himself. I swear he was about to get out of his car to tell me off, had he not brought himself under control, and realized that it’s not a fucking MERGE sign, it’s a FUCKING YIELD TO PEDESTRIANS SIGN.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t always assume that I have the right of way (although I do believe that pedestrians are supposed to under the Highway Traffic Act R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 144 (28), unless the car can’t stop in time) and just walk across the crosswalk regardless of oncoming vehicles. It’s in everyones best interest to be safe, but I do my part by keeping an eye on vehicles, and not jaywalking or crossing unpredictably. This guy, as well as many others, have plenty of time to see pedestrians approaching the crosswalk but decide to never slow down.