Playing Chicken

Having already commented on the tendency of American drivers to generally ignore pedestrians, i decided that it would also be of some interest to look at things from the other point of view - particularly as i now have my car and have been doing a bit more driving of late (what with commuting in from West Ashley - where my workmate Stefka lives, and i have currently been residing). Now, i like to think that i'm a careful driver - in the ten years since i passed my driving test, i have not had a single accident. Okay, so for most of those years, i haven't been actually driving every day. Aside from that, though, i try to be a courteous and safe driver (who's that sniggering at the back??). Certainly, when it comes to pedestrians crossing the road/car park/street, i aim to treat them as i would like to be treated myself. And having been a pedestrian in Charleston for quite some time, i'm generally aware now of how to cross the road.

However, it seems that not everyone shares this persepective with me. Certainly, on my many wanderings round abouts to various malls, stores and supermarkets, as well as just generally on the roads themselves, there seems to be an almost suicidal nature that some pedestrians seem to have (thankfully, the minority, but still a sizeable amount). This usually involves them stepping out in front of you at the absolute last possible moment, requiring you to start praying that anyone behind you will refrain from denting your rear bumper; generally crossing the road with scant disregard for the traffic lights, the time of day, the road conditions or usually without actually looking. If mobile phones are a big menace with other drivers (and there are a CRAZY amount of people over here who insist on driving and talking at once), then they can be equally menacing as a source of distraction for pedestrians - to the point where people are SO busy gossiping about so-and-so that they decline to even think before they step out onto a busy road. Not only THAT, but there are a considerable number of people who enjoy standing in the middle of a busy highway at rush hour with bemused looks wondering why on earth they can't seem to get over the other side. Call me crazy, but that's definitely something i wouldn't even think about.