The Issue with Crosswalks.

I am sick to death of hearing about crosswalk injury and fatalities. These incidents are so preventable, no one should ever be hit in a crosswalk. Ever. It's so ridiculous. And yet, we see the funeral of a 14 year old girl splashed all over the news. Why? Because there are drivers out there who simply cannot pay attention or simply should not be out on the road (both in many cases).

Then there are some arrogant drivers out there who firmly believe that whatever it is that they are off to do it is MUCH more important than the lives of others on the road. As an example, I have a friend who was crossing the crosswalk on Spring Garden rd and a car hit him. Not hard, but enough that he lost his balance and brought his hand down on the hood of the car to stop himself from falling. The driver got out of his car and started screaming at him for "hitting the car"!! This man hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk and got mad because there was a handprint on his hood. My younger brother nearly got taken out by a cab driver while crossing at an intersection. When he called out "Hey!" the driver turned his vehicle around and came after him. My brother and his friend had to run down the road and get into the nearest store to get away from this driver.

For me personally I have a frightening number of close-call stories, and they all involve my children and I using lit crosswalks and intersections.

And what happens when a driver hits and kills someone? A ticket for failing to yield. Nice. While I am not advocating that people get life in prison (I have issues with the prison system that I just don't have time to get into now), and I realize that the driver of that car has to live with him/herself knowing that because they were not paying attention someone died, that fine is an insult to the injured person.

And now the gov't is making noise about changing crosswalks to have red lights that people have to stop for.

You know what would work great too? Fining people even when someone is not hit. Failing to yield applies when you miss the pedestrian too, although I don't think it'll happen. I have called the police more than once (not 911, it's irresponsible to call 911 in a non-emergency. There is a non-emergency number to call) and given license plate and description of the vehicle that nearly killed me and my child...and was told "odds are we are not going to catch them, but thanks for calling." You have the make, model, colour, license plate number AND the direction they were headed on...but you don't think your officers can find them???

And did anyone see the front page picture of the Chronicle Herald the day after the cheerleader was hit? A young boy waiting to cross at the same crosswalk...as a police cruiser flies past him. Why on earth would your every day civilian yield to a pedestrian if our "finest" don't?

It's very similar to the new anti-smoking by-law. You're supposed to get a fine if you smoke in a public area, even if it's outside. It includes busstops. Ever try to get out of the rain at the shelter at the bridge terminal? Can't...it's lousy with smokers. I'd rather get my kids wet than have them get poisoned thanks. Can you just imagine how much money the city would get if they started handing out the fines for that one? The mind reels...

The other matter is the call for testing older drivers to make sure that they are equipped to be on the road at all. My grandfather was made to take a road test. He passed, with flying colours. Oh, so he must be equipped, and he keeps his license. Meanwhile, this is the same man who mistook the gas for the brake and drove into his house. No one was seriously hurt thankfully, but it was a matter of paying attention and reduced reaction time. Tell me...when did you pay more attention to the road? While you were with the examiner or later when you were just cruising into your own driveway?

Now, the drivers are not the only ones at fault. There are pedestrians out there who firmly believe "I have the right of way and you giant metal things will stop for me." Pedestrians have to pay attention too, use the crosswalks, use the lights on crosswalks and make sure that cars are stopped before stepping out. Those painted white lines are not a magical forcefield that will protect you from oncoming traffic. I used to be a pedestrian with all kinds of attitude, then I became a parent and realized that my boy needed me more in one piece than broken or worse because I wanted to make point. But as cautious as I am now, not one outing happens without us nearly being hit.

You'd think that when you make eye contact with a driver, he or she is not going to suddenly go to make the turn while you are directly in front of them. You would not think that while in the crosswalk with the vested crosswalk guard who is holding a large red stop sign, that you are going to see that guard get clipped by an impatient driver. I'm sure I must annoy drivers as I slowly make my way across crosswalks, but I am going to make sure that everyone is stopped and that no one is going to decide to pass a stopped car to get through before I go pushing my daughter in the stroller across that street.

You can make all the laws you want. You can jack up that failure to yield fine as high as you want. You can decide that drivers can't use cell phones while driving. You can light up crosswalks so that they are seen from space.

Without enforcement, it means nothing.

That's the real issue with crosswalks.