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Reflections on Crossing the Street
I was driving a few days ago when I noticed a man standing right at the edge of the sidewalk at a crosswalk. He was on his phone, but it looked pretty clear that he was wanting to cross the street with being so close to the street already.
I was on the opposite side of the street, but I stopped for him anyway, thinking he would notice pretty quickly. There were no cars coming on the side close to him so it was a great time for him to cross.
He didn’t cross. Still on his phone.
Technically I could’ve driven through the intersection, but traffic was so slow it seemed silly to rush when I could be helping someone get across a busy street.
I know I really appreciate when cars stop for me. It can be so frustrating when they don’t, especially when I’m pushing a stroller. Cars seem so much less likely to stop when I have the stroller and I’m not about to be assertive about crossing when it’s my kid that’s out in front.
When my dad’s also walking with us I’ve noticed cars are much quicker to stop. Maybe because he’s tall. He can also move faster than I can if I have the stroller so he can be assertive and then get out of the way if needed.
Anyway, this guy was still on his phone, not crossing.
