Attack Pedestrians

[Kaonohi]

I spent 10 minutes writing a description of how 'certain' people are walking in front of busses, cars, trucks, etc. regardless of 'right of way.'

I accessed state laws about the law, and how pedestrians have right of way in crosswalks, under certain circumstances, and how many people are walking in front of vehicles as if the 'right of way' was allover, eternal, and infinate. I.e., certain locals are acting as if they have ultimate right-of-way over all vehicles under all circumstances.

This was first evident when a group of locals walked across the street in front of a bus on Hui Ulili St. in Ahuimanu, and would have gotten run over if the bus didn't jam on its' brakes.

It came home to me whan a fat boy in a t-shirt saying "Hawaii Gamecock Association... Feel my cock" walked in front of my car in front of Kaneohe Safeway. I hit my brakes in order not to hit him, and he gave ME stink-eye.

I think I've got to overcome my automatic brake reflex....

I'm beginning to believe in Lamarkian evolution....

Breathe... (sigh) I'm better than that (sigh) remember ... Aloha...


My post got deleted, - I don't know why.
So I posted this shorter one.

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

Is this the tourists or 'ordinary' people doing this? Sometimes tourists forget.

[Kaonohi]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

Is this the tourists or 'ordinary' people doing this? Sometimes tourists forget.

Locals. Mostly portagee-hawaiian mixed, or portagee-XXX mixed locals.

Tourists forget, but mostly in town and Waikiki, where we expect it.

Plus, when they do it, they are apologetic! Not arrogant.

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

Your post keeps changing......so it's not tourists?

[SusieMisajon]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

Portagee is the common denominator? Maybe the're just too busy talking to look before crossing?

[Blubearypye]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

I have seen many different types of people (age, ethnicity, gender, "locals", tourists etc) walk in front of buses, cars, or any moving vehicle...

Whoever decides to do this has only one thing in common...stupidity.

I have witnessed mothers push their stroller forward (with children inside) at Ala Moana Shopping Center in order to make the cars abruptly stop.

[helen]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

Speaking as a pedestrian, I try not to tempt fate with cars because it's going to hurt if I lose.

However what really gets me is that when I am crossing an intersection with the walk light being on (so that us pedestrians can cross the street legally) and as I am walking within the confines of the crosswalk, there are times that some drivers who have to make that right turn at the stop light and not seeing that there still people in the crosswalk.

[Leo Lakio]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

Speaking as a pedestrian, I try not to tempt fate with cars because it's going to hurt if I lose.

Yeah - hell-ooo! That's exactly what all of us who do the pedestrian thing have to keep in mind.

"I Had The Right-Of-Way" makes for a crappy epitaph.

[Enamorada]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

I totally understand how that can be extremely irritating!

When i lived in Phoenix, AZ that type of thing happened all the time and usually it was people that looked like perhaps they carried a gun and were tripping on mushrooms, crossing roads where the limit is 40mph, no where near the crosswalk.
So as much as i wanted to show my frustration, i decided my life was a tad more important than feeling the satisfaction of flipping the bird.

[Composite 2992]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

As time goes on and their luck runs out, there will be fewer people behaving that mindlessly.

Whenever I cross I'm always looking. Too many people fix their eyes only at the other side of the street instead of scanning either side of the crosswalk.

[cyleet99]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

Let's try this again. My post got deleted, too!

Very timely thread. Late yesterday afternoon, DH and I were taking a slow drive, in moderate traffic, northwest-bound along the North Shore. We approached the area of the Pipeline.

Then, less than 10 feet in front of our bumper, there he was. Red lifeguard hoodie, board shorts, and a VERY LARGE box of Heineken under his arm. Stuck his other hand out, gave us the stinkeye, and walked right in front of us with no hesitation. Headed straight for the lifeguard shack.

My response (as I grabbed the dash and my shoulder belt)
"What is he THINKING??"

DH: "He better look out for that BEER!"

Now mind you, I stop all the time to allow folks to pass over to the surf side; but his method left a lot to be desired. What really bothered me was the fact that he was in uniform and carrying alcohol.

Turkeyhead.

[Ron Whitfield]

Welcome to the club...

I spent 10 minutes writing a description. My post got deleted, - I don't know why.
So I posted this shorter one.

Let's try this again. My post got deleted, too!

There is an unreasonably short time frame we have to post before the ax falls and all the time and thot to provide a worthy post is lost. I'll bet you were just delighted!

The only way around it, until HT admin. extends the time limit and tells us it's been done, is to post quicky and then flesh it out with the edit freature. Lame, but that's about all we got until the situation is easily fixed.

Per the topic; it goes both ways. Stupid irresponsible pedestrians and the same for drivers, only much worse for the obvious fact that the drivers with tons of metal and protection will be doing the damage should an incident occure.

Example; while recently crossing Nimitz in a marked crosswalk, near the Harbor Fire Sta., with plenty of distance from newly oncoming traffic, they were all pedal to the metal with me in clear view and nobody letting up off the gas as I approached the half way point. I kept a direct eye on the bunch as I made it to the median, with the main aggressor taking the cheap and gutless opportunity to say WHAT? as he drove by. I gave the proper responses to such arrogant and illegal idiocy and awaited his hopeful return. Hopes dashed...

I also noticed, that while HPD often puts major focus on jaywalking in ChinaTown, there is no focus around the Ward Center/Warehouse shopping centers where plenty of jaywalking/bad driving is rampant. Curious...

[zff]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

Back when we had that rash of pedestrian fatalities, I made this post in this thread, where I sort of go into what I think is a fundamental flaw in the traffic laws with regard to pedestrians.

In a nutshell: Traffic laws that favor pedestrians embolden them in a situation they cannot win. Whenever you step into a street or crosswalk, somewhere in the back of your mind, you're thinking "if he hits me, it's his fault". It's human nature for that to somehow make you feel like what you're doing is less risky.

Long ago, I read a news article about a driver who was cleared of any wrongdoing after hitting a pedestrian. In the article, someone was quoted as saying "I don't feel safe crossing the street anymore." I thought to myself "That's good, isn't it? You'll be more cautious now." Pedestrian laws have pedestrians thinking it's safe to cross a street. As if right-of-way protects you from injury.

We need to take some legal protection away from pedestrians.

[Random]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

We need to take some legal protection away from pedestrians.

It's a two-way street, pardon the pun.

I have encountered drivers who think their cars give them the right-of-way, period. It seems the bigger the vehicle, the more arrogant the driver.

Mind you, I'm a lawful pedestrian ... 99.999% of the time (when I was living on Oahu). Even I won't tempt fate with a vehicle as small as a KIA. Even I make sure I make eye contact with the driver to acknowledge me. Of course, half of them DO acknowledge you and don't give a crap. And it's not just on public road but in parking lots like Pearlridge or Ala Moana shopping centers.

Jaywalking is still illegal. Pedestrians should make use of crosswalks even if it is a long scenic route from their destination point, even for senior citizens. (Personally, I think senior citizens should take advantage of Handi-Vans ... or perhaps let our government give more budget since we may be seniors ourselves in the future with limited income to pay for taxis.) But sometimes drivers don't even acknowledge crosswalks either.

[admin]

Re: Attack Pedestrians

As has been discussed previously, there's no "time limit" that I'm arbitrarily setting for composing posts, nor is it "easily fixed."

Depending on the load on the server (which is consistently high, even with controls in place for user moderation and guest access), the individual sessions tracked for every logged-in user may expire during the time it takes you to reply. Especially if you're longwinded (like me) or take extra time to craft a response (like I wish I did more often).

In most cases, if you don't panic upon submitting and enter your login credentials when prompted, your "lost" post will carry through. However, it's good practice to reflexively select-all and copy your post text to your clipboard before submitting just in case.

Further comments about the site can be directed to existing threads in the Front Desk forum (and I've moved relevant posts from this thread there), or sent to me directly. Now, back to your actual topic.