People & parking lots

In the 70's as a young boy, I learned to look both ways before crossing any road. And, if a car was coming, call me crazy but I would actually defer my "right of way" to let a two ton moving hunk of metal go first.

Today? Pffttt. And what makes it even more unnerving is we live in the age of the idiot! How many ppl die due to texting or cell phone distraction, etc. Hell, we have minivans with dvd players in them, yet we have these ppl who insist on their "right of way" with impunity, regardless of common sense. It's almost as if they act like "strike me with your car & I'll sue.

How can you collect if you're a stain on the street?

I almost hit one of these "entitled" ppl while driving thru the Walmart parking lot, not from 10 or 20 feet away, but five feet in front of me while my car was moving.

Has the survival instinct really gone downhill so fast?

People don't look around to see what is happening near them. I was driving home from doing some things in town today .... I drove into our neighborhood and up our street. There were four women doing their morning walk .. in the middle of the street ... and they didn't move when the car came up behind them. They weren't paying attention ... just huff'n and walking ... and even when I tapped the horn they took their sweet time looking and attempting to move a bit.

a reply to: FlyersFan

I'd give ten to one they had an annoyed look when they did it too.

I got hit by a mini van as a pedestrian in a parking lot. I had a broken leg, severe contusions and nerve damage. I sued and won the case.

People don't pay attention to what they're doing.

a reply to: schadenfreude

We now have an entitled society where a lot of people think they own the 3 ft surrounding them. They can do what they want, including texting, talking on phones, no matter who or what is happening around them in those 3 feet.

I drove down the mountain to run some errands recently. It is a small college town. As I was driving around the square right off campus, it appeared 4 out of 5 people I saw walking on the sidewalks, had their heads looking down at devices in their hands...tapping away. Even when it came to crossing the streets, they didn't stop.

I see the Darwin Awards in many of their futures.

Des

Do you not realize that in almost all states PEDESTRIANS always have the right of way. just because you're driving in a straight line doesn't mean you can just plow through people who may be trying to get out of the elements or might be carrying something.

The fact that you may give up your right of way doesn't mean that's how everyone should look at it.

Furthermore, you're in a PARKING LOT, not a road. your head should be on a swivel trying to watch out for little kids and slow moving old people.

you suck.

I must be the only one that sees these "entitled people" walking slowly in front of you while giving you a dirty look that says " that's right, you BETTER stop!" Makes me wish my accelerator was stuck.

originally posted by: Whatsreal
Do you not realize that in almost all states PEDESTRIANS always have the right of way. just because you're driving in a straight line doesn't mean you can just plow through people who may be trying to get out of the elements or might be carrying something.

The fact that you may give up your right of way doesn't mean that's how everyone should look at it.

Furthermore, you're in a PARKING LOT, not a road. your head should be on a swivel trying to watch out for little kids and slow moving old people.

you suck.

And this is EXACTLY the kind of mentality & attitude that I am referring to.

No one is denying anyone's right of way, what I am suggesting here plainly, is the lack of common sense that has run so prevalent in today's age that entitlement mentality has replaced common sense.

In the 70's there was lil excuse for distractions, other than radio adjustments, cigarettes or screaming kids. Now? Well now you have home entertainment systems in one's own car.

And yet despite the obvious distractions that happen today, as well as the "dumbing down of America" test scores in schools, over-prescribing kids for adhd & the like and yet it's the driver that's at fault in parking lots & the like?

Pffttt.

Methinks thou doest protest too much.

Well I'll give the other side...as a pedestrian I hardly ever see people in cars look both ways. Also from your op you state that you were in a parking lot...well buddy pedestrians have the right of way there...it seems your the entitled one. I get the whole common sense thing but in the situation you described it was you who should stop. Might not help that the concentration of dumbasses at walmart are astounding.

OMG

I was explaining this to some friends literally last week.

I live on a street next to a fairly main road in my town with 3 schools very near by. When i walk down the main road to the shop depending on the time of day, im walking with kids in front of me, there is exactly one other minor road (with many houses on it, so lots of people)....

The amount of kids i follow who simply dont look over their shoulder before crossing is [and ive actually been counting when this happens] around 80% of the kids walk straight out across the road they dont even look up to see the cars turning in front of them, let alone behind!!!!

That is not a typo. Some times they are on their phones or have headphones in, some times just walking with no excuse.

I canot get my head round how kids are not taught this, i was, by BOTH my parents and my school!!! Every time one crosses in front of me i check for them so at least somone may be looking out for a car.

*sigh*

a reply to: schadenfreude

Ok I see that I misunderstood a little bit. you are referring more to how people on both sides of the situation are distracted. People walking looking at their cell phones and not looking both ways before crossing is beyond stupid.

Likewise, people behind the wheel doing anything other than driving when, especially in a parking lot, are asking for disaster.

Its a sore topic for me because just the other day I was walking with my 2 year old through a parking lot, holding her hand and my attention focused on getting to the curb safely.

Some soccer mom in a mini-van blows the stop sign from the path into the shopping center and speeds up as we are already well into the cross walk... i had to pick up my daughter and dash out of the way. AND this awful woman had the never to honk her horn and yell out of the window at me. meanwhile this MOM (she had those obnoxious stickers on her rear window showing her stick figure family) nearly killed me and my kid.

I always say there is nothing more dangerous than a stressed out mom in a mini-van or SUV on the road.

a reply to: Whatsreal

I get what OP is saying but isolated to walmart.
It is the only place I have ever had a "scare" that i was going to hit some one.
It is bad design by walmart IMO but people just go straight out those exit doors and cross the street without some much as a look in either way.
How hard is it to put up 2 stop signs where the entrance of the store is??

a reply to: Biigs

What do you expect when people these days are glued to electronic devices. I even saw several bicyclists with smart phones, with earbuds ....attacked to their handlebars. I had to google to make sure I was seeing right and they are sold all over the place.

When something else is taking your attention while walking or riding in traffic, you are the one who is being a danger to everyone around you.

I understand pedestrians have the right away in parking lots and crosswalks. But, is it also the drivers responsibility catch the attention of the pedestrian, and let them know it's time for them to cross the street, or to get out of the way for their own safety?

Des

Coming home the other day, stopped for a school bus in front of me. The kids got off and the bus went ahead. So what do the kids do? The three of them promptly walk to the middle of the street and start walking up the street, and as I get closer they take their sweet time to move to the sidewalk .yeah they had the right of way, and I didn't hit any of them but sooner or later it's bound to happen. All because they don't use common sense or they feel like they can just do whatever they want. Sometimes I think that the lack of brains is amazing.

Here in California, you can make a right turn on a red light after coming to a full stop & checking for a clear path. I've begun to wait for the green light under certain conditions due to what has become a common occurrence. Approaching an intersection, I stop for a red light. No vehicles or pedestrians are in sight; on the type of stop I'm talking about, to my right is an apartment building or similar obstacle that blocks my vision from seeing any further than the immediate corner. Don't forget, this same obstacle will block an approaching pedestrian's view of any cars making a right turn across their intended path.

Having done my due diligence, I start to roll to make my turn. At the same instant, a jogger darts out swiftly from behind the building on my right, no hesitation at all (I suppose because of having a green light), & suddenly there he/she is, out in front of my moving car! After this happened to me twice, I stopped making a "right on red" if I can't see past the corner on my right. As you might imagine, I get my share of honking from behind by drivers who probably haven't come that close to hitting anyone with their car.

After adopting that policy, I've had the same thing occur again several times, but of course, I wasn't moving, so no harm done... literally. I do see some joggers who pause at a corner, jogging in place as they check out the situation before crossing, but it's rare.

a reply to: schadenfreude
Yes, it has gone down the tubes. Everyday Im amazed at the things I see...even at my corner...or at my work.

1. Stop signs are not to be paid attention to...only if theres a cop around. Kids, cars, bikes...dont matter enough to stop.
2. Red lights mean continue rt through them..no need to stop unless its been say 10 secs or so.
3. Speed limits arent laws...they are general suggestions. Go anywhere from 10-30 miles per hr over. Thats cool...
4. Rt turn on red? Ok. Even if posted not to turn.
5. Rt of way? Nope. Not necessary. Whoever gives it the gas 1st can go.
6. Pull over for sirens? Nope. Not necessary...just keep going.
7. Seatbelts are un-necessary...unless you see the police.
8.Talking on the phone, texting, eating, doing makeup etc...are all ok...even at the same time.
9. Kids in car seats are stupid. "My kids wont stay in them anyway so..."

Im stunned at the negligence people exhibit. And often with little kids in the cars! Any of these things can get someone killed. One day it could be you or me.

a reply to: schadenfreude

I don't drive, full time pedestrian and bike rider and always follow the rules of the road. I have been hit twice one in the middle of the sidewalk and another time by someone backing out of a parking lot on to the sidewalk and hit me. I have been almost hit in the middle of a sidewalk and was able to dump my soda inside of the convertible.

While many pedestrians do use their cell phones and don't pay attention, they're not the ones behind the wheel of a vehicle that weights tons. Many drivers yell and flip me off when I step into a sidewalk and they are turning right, guess what the light says to walk, and some plow on through without a care in the world. I have seen 4 people killed on the sidewalk outside of my house in the last 11 years. 4 people lost their lives in the middle of a sidewalk.

Pedestrians always have the right of way, even if they are in the wrong in my state.

My husband is from the east coast, I am from the west coast. He was amazed when he moved out to California that cars would wait for pedestrians to pass in parking lots. He told me that on the east coast the pedestrian would get run over.

When we moved to Montana he kept telling me, "Don't think you can walk out in front of cars in a parking lot like you can in planet California." After we moved here, he had to take back his words. The drivers in Montana are even more considerate of pedestrians than they are in California.

A little kid runs out in the middle of the parking lot and all the drivers stop. I hear my husband mutter that in Virginia or North Carolina all the drivers would be gunning for points on who could hit the kid first. He was literally shocked over the "it is our job to look out for pedestrians, especially kids" attitude the drivers have on the western half of the U.S.

originally posted by: RickyD
Well I'll give the other side...as a pedestrian I hardly ever see people in cars look both ways. Also from your op you state that you were in a parking lot...well buddy pedestrians have the right of way there...it seems your the entitled one. I get the whole common sense thing but in the situation you described it was you who should stop. Might not help that the concentration of dumbasses at walmart are astounding.

Do I have the 1st amendment right to tell a cop to #$%^ when pulled over for a ticket? Yes.

SHOULD I tell a cop to #$%^ off if I get pulled over for a ticket? No.

Could I even expect an assbeating, considering for telling a cop to #$%^ off? Maybe.

The entire point, in case you missed it, is it ISN'T about whose RIGHT or WRONG, but who is going to win the argument from someone "in the right" vs. 2 tons of moving steel.

You can be absolutely RIGHT and still ABSOLUTELY DEAD if you think your entitlement will change the laws of physics.

It won't.

a reply to: Whatsreal

It's not isolated to Walmart, it's all parking lots, especially grocery stores. (in my area) that was only one specific example.

And for the record, I'm not advocating running ppl over, for pete sakes; I'm merely popinting out 30 years ago ppl deferred to the 2 tons of moving steel, rather than taking the chance they may get hit. That is totally gone now, and considering the distractions, on both sides around us, that's just plain dumb.