Quote:
Originally Posted by VivaLFuego
A law that 99% of drivers don't adhere to, and when I learned that pedestrians have the ROW in such situations and started stopping, I created hazardous traffic situations (including irate people behind me swinging out to the other side of the yellow line to pass me while gunning it). As much as I am for ped-friendly streets, this is another stupid (or rather, revenue-driven) idea like the red light cameras. Either it has to be enforced universally so all drivers adhere to it, or not at all, because the selective enforcement leads to even more dangerous traffic conditions.
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I realize it's incredibly hard to change entrenched ways of driving, but you know, there are lots of places in this country where people actually follow that law. In a lot of Pacific Northwest cities, drivers ALWAYS stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk, and usually stop for pedestrians even when they're not in a crosswalk. I've seen the same behavior in small towns throughout the Upper Midwest, but then small town drivers are always more courteous.
That said, in Chicago I tend to drive like a Chicagoan for the same reason you do: driving courteously could put pedestrians in more danger because of psychotic drivers gunning it to get around you. But I still stop for pedestrians whenever it's safe to.
I think these operations should be happening all the time, but at signaled intersections since they can catch plenty of people flagrantly and dangerously breaking the law there. Maybe focus on particular behaviors, like drivers making right turns while pedestrians are trying to cross the street (I swear to god this happens like every time I walk anywhere).