A commentary I did for Composition class...
Carl Montes
ENC1101a
02/21/2005
Hostility Through a Pedestrian’s Eyes
As a pedestrian, I have known much hostility to happen on the road I travel. I’ve seen many instances while biking along the sidewalks of S.R. 436. Many people driving in their vehicles don’t seem to care much about the pedestrians. When pedestrians such as myself try to cross a road (especially at the corner of Aloma Avenue and S.R. 436) when the signal flashes “walk,” many of the people in their cars don’t seem to care and decide to turn the corner anyways. The people on the road also don’t seem to care as much as they should about other drivers. I’ve seen them change lanes without signaling, speeding ahead, and other sorts of rude road rage. It’s as if they think they’re the kinds of the road and all should make way for them. Innocent drivers on the road have to be very cautious because of the hostile ones. The roads these days have become a battleground for chaos.
If I’m not mistaken, I do believe there’s a law generally saying that once a pedestrian sets foot or bike tire on the crosswalk when it is his or her turn to cross, then he or she has the right of way. Well, it looks like the drivers don’t seem to realize that. I really despise drivers who turn the corner when it’s our turn to walk. We pedestrians are held back because of these inconsiderate people. The sign flashes “walk”, but they decide they can just turn right there at a red light. Therefore they leave us with a situation: Either we try to cross the street when the sign says walk and get run over or we stand back on the sidewalk, defeated and belittled, having to wait for the sign to flash “walk” again. Personally, not only does this destroy what little dignity I have left, considering I’m a college student pedestrian, but it delays me. There are times when I’m in a hurry to go somewhere, and those are the times when I cannot afford those delays, especially when I’m trying to catch the Lynx city bus. Furthermore, it’s a life-threatening situation I must face every day. And I fear that one of these days one of those inconsiderate drivers is going to turn the corner right as I’m starting to cross and hit me. Way to follow the law, geniuses.
Oh, but the hostility does not stop there. As I’ve said, there is much of it on the road as well. Many times I see instances of improper lane changing. One person, Person A, is driving in one lane, while another person, Person B, is driving in another lane. Person A decides to change lanes in front of Person B without using the turn signal or waiting for a good enough gap because he/she decides that it is all unnecessary. Person B then has to slow down suddenly, thus he/she is either honked at by the now disturbed person driving behind or hit by that driver.
I recall an incident a few days ago when I was coming home from a hockey game and I had to wait for the city bus at night. I saw that someone in a mini-van was properly positioned before the red light, waiting for it to turn green. Suddenly, a wagon came rolling in and smacked the mini-van in front of it. Oh, but the madness didn’t end there. The person in the van came out and savagely tried to pull open the door to the wagon and confront the driver. After a bit of hustle and bustle, the man inside the wagon finally gave in and came out. Then the van driver started yelling at him. Before I knew it, they were at each other’s throats about whose fault it was. I was so disgusted, I ran to the next bus stop to be away from that uncivilized display.
I also worry about the innocent drivers on the road. They do their best to drive professionally and safely on the road. However, because of the other drivers on the road, the less considerate ones, their efforts might be in vain. There have been too many instances where an innocent driver is driving along the same road that a drunk or hostile driver is using, most likely in the opposite direction. The bad driver suddenly makes a bad move and either crashes into the innocent driver’s vehicle or barely misses it. If the bad driver misses it, the innocent driver would most likely have had the life scared out of him or her. If the bad driver manages to hit the other vehicle, not only would the bad driver have to pay a price either by law enforcement or death, the innocent driver would also have to pay a price with either death or with a crippled body to some degree. Must these good drivers pay for the bad habits of the bad drivers? I think not.
Many have forgotten what they have supposedly learned in driving school, therefore the road has become a dangerous place. This is a major contributor to the reason why I was afraid to learn how to drive back in high school. But eventually I will need to learn how to drive. So when I’m on the open road I could either be hit by a hostile driver, or maybe even become corrupted into a hostile driver myself. But no matter what happens in the future inside my vehicle, I will always wait for the pedestrians to cross before I turn the corner, for I will always remember the road’s hostility through a pedestrian set of eyes.